Jair Bolden had 19 points, Justin Minaya scored 18 and Jermaine Couisnard added 17 as visiting South Carolina tied a school record with 16 made 3-pointers to beat Texas A&M 81-67 in SEC play on Saturday in College Station, Texas.
AJ Lawson scored 13 with four 3-pointers as the Gamecocks (10-7, 2-2 in SEC) sank 16 of 30 shots from beyond the arc to improve to 4-1 on the road this season. The Gamecocks have also won three straight and five of six against Texas A&M (8-8, 2-3 in SEC).
Josh Nebo scored 18 and helped the Aggies overcome a nine-point deficit early in the second half. His dunk with 11:50 left in the game capped an 8-0 run and gave Texas A&M a 49-48 lead.
However, Bolden (5 of 7 from deep) followed with a 3-pointer to put the Gamecocks back ahead. Another Nebo hoop tied it at 51-51, but Bolden and Couisnard hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give South Carolina a 57-51 advantage.
The Aggies got within 57-55, but Bolden and Couisnard again hit consecutive 3s with just over seven minutes to play to give the Gamecocks a 63-55 lead they would ultimately pad.
South Carolina, which knocked off No. 10 Kentucky earlier this week, prevailed despite dealing with foul trouble. Lawson and Alanzo Frink each fouled out, and Texas A&M went 28 of 41 from the free-throw line in losing its second straight contest.
Minaya, who entered averaging 6.8 points, went 4 of 8 from distance and Couisnard was 3 of 8.
South Carolina led 39-33 at the end of the first half, which it highlighted with a 9-1 run. The Gamecocks shot 48.1 percent and made of half of their 12 3-point attempts over the first 20 minutes.
However, Texas A&M hung tough in the first half, despite shooting 34.6 percent and committing nine turnovers. The Aggies' 13-of-17 effort from the free-throw line prevented South Carolina from pulling away and got them within 30-29 before the visitors closed the half on a 9-4 spurt.
South Carolina forward Keyshawn Bryant, who entered averaging 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds, left with an undisclosed injury early in the first half.
--Field Level Media
South Carolina | Texas A&M | |
Jair Bolden 19 | Scoring | Josh Nebo 18 |
Maik Kotsar 7 | Assists | Savion Flagg 4 |
Maik Kotsar 10 | Rebounds | Emanuel Miller 9 |
Jalyn McCreary 4 | Free Throws Made | Quenton Jackson 7 |
Maik Kotsar 3 | Steals | Wendell Mitchell 2 |
Justin Minaya 2 | Blocks | Josh Nebo 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
South Carolina | 81 | 48.3 | 16-30 | 7-8 | 22 | 34 | 3 | 8 | 16 |
Texas A&M | 67 | 40.9 | 3-14 | 28-41 | 9 | 22 | 3 | 6 | 13 |