National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Mississippi 76, South Carolina 59
When: 9:30 PM ET, Thursday, March 11, 2021
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Officials: # Steve Anderson, # Owen Shortt, # Terry Oglesby
Attendance: 1809

Jarkel Joiner scored 18 points as Ole Miss strengthened its case for a potential NCAA at-large bid with a 76-59 victory over South Carolina in the second round of the SEC tournament Thursday night in Nashville, Tenn.

Romello White added 17 points and Devontae Shuler, who was named first-team All-SEC earlier in the week, had 15 as the sixth-seeded Rebels (16-10) won their third consecutive game and eighth of 10. They defeated the Gamecocks 81-74 on Feb. 13 in Columbia, S.C.

The Rebels will face third-seeded LSU in the quarterfinals Friday night.

Jaylin McCreary scored 15 points, Wildens Leveque added 14 and AJ Lawson had 12 to lead the 11th-seeded Gamecocks, who finished 6-15 after losing for the ninth time in 10 games.

South Carolina shot just 35.6 percent (21 of 59) on field goals, including 18.2 percent (2 of 11) on 3-pointers, as well as 68.2 percent (15 of 22) on free throws.

Ole Miss held a 15-point halftime lead, but South Carolina started the second half with an 8-2 run to get within 43-34 after three minutes.

Joiner made a basket and added a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 52-36.

The Gamecocks cut the deficit to 12 points twice, but Matthew Murrell made back-to-back layups for the Rebels.

Shuler made a field goal and assisted on another by White as Ole Miss increased its lead to 68-50 with 3:49 remaining.

The lead changed hands four times and the score was tied three times in the early going, the last deadlock coming at 15-all.

Murrell's 3-pointer broke the tie and gave the Rebels the lead for good, though the Gamecocks twice got within two points before going cold.

Ole Miss closed the half with a 14-2 run as South Carolina made just one field goal in the last 7 1/2 minutes. That left the Rebels with a 41-26 halftime lead.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
South Carolina   Mississippi
Jalyn McCreary 15 Scoring Jarkel Joiner 18
T.J. Moss 6 Assists Devontae Shuler 5
Wildens Leveque 6 Rebounds KJ Buffen 9
Jalyn McCreary 7 Free Throws Made Jarkel Joiner 6
A.J. Lawson 2 Steals Luis Rodriguez 2
Jalyn McCreary 3 Blocks Romello White 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
South Carolina 59 35.6 2-11 15-22 10 28 3 4 9
Mississippi 76 48.3 5-15 15-19 14 39 7 5 11