COLUMBIA, S.C. — B.J. Mack scored 16 points, Meechie Johnson added 15 and South Carolina pulled away late to beat Charleston Southern 73-69 on Saturday night.
Collin Murray-Boyles' dunk with 9:34 left gave South Carolina the lead for good at 55-53. Johnson scored seven points during a 9-2 surge that stretched the Gamecocks' lead to 70-62 with 1:39 to play. It was their largest lead of the game.
Mack and Johnson were a combined 11-of-30 from the field and each made a pair of 3-pointers. Ta’Lon Cooper added nine points, five rebounds and three assists for South Carolina (9-1), which shot 65% (17 of 26) in the first half but just 32% (12 of 37) in the second.
Taje’ Kelly scored 22 points on 11-of-17 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Charleston Southern (3-7). A’lahn Sumler added 15 points and DJ Patrick and RJ Johnson each had 13.
Mack scored 10 points and Johnson had six in the first half to help South Carolina take a 39-36 lead into the break. Kelly scored 16 first-half points on 8-of-11 shooting for the Buccaneers.
South Carolina hosts Winthrop on Tuesday. Charleston Southern plays at Loyola Chicago on Tuesday.
