National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
South Carolina 79, Mississippi 73
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Where: The Colonial Center Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
Officials: # Tony Greene, # Rick Hartzell, # Ted Valentine
Attendance: 9765

South Carolina broke a five-game losing streak Tuesday, blowing a 14-point lead at home before putting away Mississippi 79-73.

Sam Muldrow scored 23 points with 10 rebounds, and his 3-pointer with 1:05 left gave the Gamecocks (14-12, 5-8 SEC) the lead for keeps. Mississippi’s Chris Warren hit a career-best eight 3-pointers en route to a career-high 33 points for the Rebels (17-11, 5-8 SEC).

The Gamecocks used a 16-2 surge, taking a 60-46 lead on Malik Cooke’s two free throws with 11:59 to go. Mississippi scored 12 unanswered points to get within 69-67 with 4:05 left.

Warren found Zach Graham for a layup with 1:19 left, tying the game at 73-73. Muldrow put the Gamecocks back ahead with his 3-pointer with 1:05 remaining. Cooke stole the ball from Warren on the next possession, and two Ramon Galloway free throws sealed the victory.

South Carolina came in last in the SEC and 302nd in the nation in free-throw percentage (63.8 percent). The Gamecocks finished 20 of 22 from the line (90.9 percent).

Mississippi led by eight points midway through the first half, but the Gamecocks rallied to take a 38-34 halftime lead.

Mississippi plays host to SEC-West leader Alabama on Saturday. South Carolina plays Saturday at Georgia.
Top Game Performances
 
Mississippi   South Carolina
Chris Warren 33 Scoring Sam Muldrow 23
Trevor Gaskins 4 Assists Eric Smith 7
Reginald Buckner 11 Rebounds Sam Muldrow 10
Chris Warren 7 Free Throws Made Malik Cooke 9
Reginald Buckner 1 Steals Malik Cooke 3
Reginald Buckner 2 Blocks Sam Muldrow 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Mississippi 73 36.9 9-27 16-21 9 35 4 5
South Carolina 79 40.0 7-22 20-22 12 37 5 8