Led by Devontae Shuler's 31 points, seven rebounds and four assists, the Ole Miss Rebels continued their recent surge with an 81-74 road victory over South Carolina on Saturday night.

Shuler ignited the Rebels (12-8, 7-6 Southeastern Conference), as Ole Miss won its fourth consecutive game and continued to strengthen its case for an NCAA tournament bid.

The Gamecocks (5-9, 3-7), who suffered their third consecutive loss and have gone 2-7 over their past nine games, cut Ole Miss' lead to 79-74 on a 3-pointer by T.J. Moss with 17 seconds left in the game and regained possession after a Rebels turnover on the ensuing inbound pass.

But AJ Lawson air-balled a 3-point attempt, ending any chance at a last-minute comeback.

Lawson led the Gamecocks with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Wildens Leveque totaled 13 points and three blocks. Justin Minaya collected a game-high nine rebounds.

But South Carolina suffered a potentially serious setback when 6-4 redshirt sophomore guard Jermaine Couisnard went down with a lower left leg injury with 10:10 left in the first half. Couisnard, who entered the game averaging 10.5 points, 3.8 assists and 3.0 rebounds, had to be helped off the court by trainers when he couldn't put weight on his leg.

South Carolina coach Frank Martin was forced to go six players deep on his bench, which outscored the Rebels backups 30-17. KJ Buffen led all Ole Miss reserves with 12 points.

Romello White established a presence inside for the Rebels with 14 points and five rebounds.

Leading 23-21, the Rebels used a 13-2 run to take the lead for good and at one point were up by 14 in the second half.

Both teams lived up to their billing as two of the better squads in the nation at forcing their opponents' turnovers.

Ole Miss, which is averaging 8.5 steals per game, finished with 11, but committed 20 turnovers thanks largely to South Carolina's 14 steals. The Gamecocks, who have struggled with turnovers all season (15.5 per game), had 19 giveaways.

--Field Level Media