COLUMBIA, Mo.- South Carolina’s B.J Mack had said “Now is my welcome party to the SEC,” after his 18-point performance against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
He’s certainly given the Missouri Tigers a proper introduction this season. The Mack attack was the leading scorer in the Gamecocks nail biting 71-69 overtime victory in Columbia and once again, headlined the point total for the Gamecocks with 21 in their 70-64 victory against the Tigers in this matchup.
He proved to be a matchup problem for Missouri (8-12, 0-7 in SEC), as a valuable stretch forward at 6 ‘8 and 270 pounds. His ability to shoot the basketball along with his size, fit perfectly today in the Gamecocks smooth flowing drive-and-kick offense provided the perfect antidote to the Tiger’s zone defense.
The bulk of the effective kick and drive offense from South Carolina came from beyond the arch. Not just effective three point shooting at 45 percent, but timely three point shooting as well.
With 3:39 left on the game clock in the second half, South Carolina up by six, 6 ‘7 freshman guard Zachary Davis hit a backbreaking shot to extend the lead to 65-56 and once again fire up the Gamecocks crowd. As Dennis Gates called a timeout to regroup the team, the prospect of first SEC conference victory slipped away from the Tigers fade into the afternoon.
What South Carolina failed to provide a counter for was the Tiger’s duo of Sean East and Tamar Bates. With 7:07 remaining in the first half, 11 of the Tiger’s 14 points had come from the duo. The duo’s impact trend on the offense continued to be present today with East and Bates combining for 37 points and the rest of the team with a combined total of 26.
According to St. Louis Post Dispatch writer Eli Hoff, in the last five halves for Missouri (midway through the first half of this contest), East and Bates had combined for 92 points. The rest of the team? 61. Each of the two’s ability to create their own shot in a one on one style of play is a valuable asset, but hasn’t been enough for the Tigers to earn their first conference victory yet this season.
A Tiger’s team that has emphasized shooting the three this season were held to just eight total attempts in this game. Despite being outsized across the board, Missouri did well to edge the Gamecocks in the rebounding category by collecting 29 total rebounds to the Gamecocks 28 and winning the defensive rebounding battle 24-22.
“We rebounded the ball well and were able to take them away from the second chance points. “I thought [South Carolina] won the game in different areas with ten three pointers made was a crucial ten extra baskets on their stat sheet,” Gates said.
Player availability has been an issue for Missouri. Shooting guard Caleb Grill is still currently sidelined following his wrist injury against Wichita, guard John Tonje is set to miss the remainder of the year with a foot injury and today’s matchup was without two more Tigers in the contest.
The two freshmen Trent Pierce and Anthony Robinson II both were out of the game today. Pierce suffered an illness that kept him out and Robinson II was unable to play due to family reasons.
Missouri’s road trip is now over following this defeat. They’ll look to bounce back against Arkansas (10-9, 1-5 SEC) at home Jan. 31 at 7:30 PM.