Mississippi State men’s basketball slumped back into the loss column on Saturday in Columbia, S.C., falling 97-89 against South Carolina
The Gamecocks had lost seven in a row heading into the game with the Bulldogs, and presented an opportunity for MSU to win three in a row for the first time in SEC play this season. The hosts put a stop to those hopes with a prolific shooting performance, tallying their highest point total of the season with a collective effort of 55% shooting from the floor and 50% from beyond the arc.
Mike Sharavjamts and Meech Johnson scored a joint game-high 21 points, hitting 9-10 and 8-10 respectively from the free throw line, and Elijah Strong added another 16 with three treys.
MSU struggled to find a spark over the course of the first half, getting the makings of a strong performance from Jayden Epps before he left the game with a scary knee injury before halftime. He had 13 points before his injury, and only one Bulldog would finish with more points at the end of the game.
Quincy Ballard had his best performance of the season, scoring 15 points to lead the team, but it wasn’t enough to fuel a comeback.
The Bulldogs got the deficit to within 10 points late in the game, but failed to get any more stops to close the gap. The loss takes the team back under .500 with a 13-14 overall record.
MSU’s next game is against Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday.
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