No. 5 Vols fall to South Carolina on late 3-pointer

Jan 30, 2024, 09:31 PM ET KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– Ta’Lon Cooper hit an important 3-pointer with 40 seconds left and scored 18 points, and B.J. Mack added 16 points to lead South Carolina to a 63-59 success over No. 5 Tennessee on Tuesday night.Myles Stute scored 13 points for the Gamecocks (18-3, 6-2 Southeastern Conference), who have beaten the conference’s 2 highest-ranked groups. They knocked off No. 10 Kentucky on Jan. 23.” [The players]

have a great deal of respect,”Gamecocks coach Lamont Paris said.” They have a lot of believers. They’re a positive group. “The victory was South Carolina’s very first roadway win over a top-5 team because 1997. It was also only the 2nd time in 46 tries this season an unranked team has beaten a top-5 challenger on the road, according to ESPN Statistics & Info research. The only other group to do so was James Madison, which beat No. 4 Michigan State on opening night.”Our group just fought,” Paris stated.”We actually had success breaking down some action plans: Block out and rebound; look after the ball.”Editor’s Picks Dalton Knecht scored 12 points in the final three minutes and completed with 31 points, and Santiago Vescovi added 10 points for the Volunteers(15-5, 5-2), who had actually won four straight games and 11 of their previous 12 entering the game.Tennessee had its lowest point overall of the season.”[ South Carolina] scored 63,”Vols coach Rick Barnes stated.” Our objective is to keep our

challenger under 69. We were not an excellent offensive team. “Barnes lamented his team missing 10 layups and going 12 of 20 from the line. “You can’t miss out on 10 point-blank layups,”Barnes said,”and shoot like we did from the free toss

line and win.”South Carolina led by 3 points with 30 seconds left when Stute hit 2 complimentary tosses. Knecht hit a 3-pointer with five seconds remaining that cut the Tennessee deficit to two points. Stute hit two more free throws with four seconds delegated seal the win.” [Stute] appreciated the moment,”Paris stated.”He made the shots.”Tennessee shot 36% (21 for 58 )from the field and 24%( 5 for 21 )from 3-point range. South Carolina hit 10 of 29(35 %)3-pointers, which was better than their 34% (19 for 56)shooting from the field.South Carolina handled Tennessee’s aggressive defense in the very first half and led 30-26 at the break.Cooper had 10 points and Mack 9 for the Gamecocks in the very first half. Knecht had 13 indicate speed Tennessee, which shot 2 for 11( 18%)from long distance.The Gamecocks had a 21-19 rebounding edge and minimal Tennessee to 36%(12 for 33) shooting to develop its lead in the first half.Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.