Collin Murray-Boyles’ 31-point day powers No. 15 Gamecocks past Vanderbilt at home
Cocky made a half-court shot during the halftime break, seconds before the South Carolina Gamecocks ran out of the tunnel for the second half of Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt. At that point, the school’s mascot had the same number of made 3-pointers as the USC men’s basketball team: just one.
That changed quickly in the final 20 minutes, and the Gamecocks finished with nine 3-pointers.
Led by Collin Murray-Boyles’ historic afternoon, No. 15 South Carolina (21-3, 9-2 SEC) came out flying after taking a four-point deficit into the locker room at halftime. The Gamecocks marched their way to their seventh straight SEC win, taking down Vanderbilt 75-60 in Colonial Life Arena for the final game of their two-game homestand.
“This is the team, and I’m along for the ride,” head coach Lamont Paris said. “So my main job is to push some buttons.”
MURRAY-BOYLES, JUST A FRESHMAN
Murray-Boyles doesn’t play like a freshman. His physicality, aggression and poise in the paint are well beyond that of an 18-year-old. Yet here he is, single-handedly injecting life into a mature South Carolina team.
Murray-Boyles blew past his previous career-high 18 points, finishing Saturday’s game with 31 points and seven rebounds. It was the most points scored by a single USC player in an SEC game this season, after Meechie Johnson scored 24 against Mississippi State on Jan. 6.
“He’s putting the world on notice,” teammate BJ Mack said. “So I’m just glad you can see all the work he’s done coming through.”
The 6-foot-7 forward doubled down on his game-winning block against Ole Miss just days ago, blocking an uncontested shot Saturday on a breakaway. Both blocks, as clean as can be, brought Colonial Life Arena to its feet. Even the South Carolina bench was ecstatic to see Murray-Boyles deny the Commodores.
“We’ve got to jump for everything,” Murray-Boyles said. “So whenever somebody is getting close to that rim, I just have the mentality now just to go block and make a play.”
Murray-Boyles led all scorers, with Mack adding 18 points. The duo alone covered 49 of USC’s 75 points Saturday afternoon.
Murray-Boyles was subbed out to catch his breath with eight minutes left, and the crowd gave him a standing ovation, chanting, “He’s a freshman.” It was rightfully deserved for the budding hometown star.
SLOW-PACED FIRST HALF
South Carolina can effortlessly force a high-scoring offense to slow down. It’s done it over and over against ranked programs this year.
Vanderbilt isn’t a high-scoring offense. In fact, the Commodores are last in the SEC in points per game; South Carolina is 13th. Yet the Gamecocks couldn’t shoot more than one triple in the first half Saturday and were getting out-rebounded 17-13.
“Luckily, there’s a reason why it’s a 40-minute game,” Paris said. “They give you two halves to show what you can do, and you’re not judged until the clock hits zero.”
Those first 20 minutes crawled by. The Commodores secured a four-point halftime lead. Murray-Boyles had 11 points as USC’s brightest spot of the half.
While it wasn’t USC’s worst half of basketball, it wasn’t the best, either. The Gamecocks had too many small things slip away, and the lone triple was a staggering number that frustrated the garnet and black’s offense.
“We just weren’t playing our game in the first half,” Mack said. “So second half, you see a lot of us moving the ball and getting a lot of stops on defense.”
FIRST IN THE CONFERENCE
The Gamecocks head back on the road for a ranked SEC matchup against Auburn on Wednesday night. It’s a game with long-term implications for the conference tournament in a month, and for March Madness.
South Carolina has proven what it can do in nearly every scenario this season except one: playing a ranked team while ranked. It gets its first crack at that challenge Wednesday. South Carolina, Alabama and Auburn deadlocked for first place in the SEC going into the weekend and only seven games left in the regular season, there’s a lot to play for.
Auburn fell to Florida on Saturday evening, 81-65, and now sit second in the SEC. The Gamecocks are tied with the Crimson Tide, with Alabama holding the head-to-head tiebreaker. Wednesday’s game inside the Tigers’ den means USC will either keep it in first or drop to second, ahead of Tennessee.
It will be an important game, but the Gamecocks aren’t afraid of the challenge.
“We’re keeping this energy going,” Mack said. “Never can be too high or too low, so we’ve just got to stay even-keeled going into Auburn.”
The confidence USC has is nearly unmatched by any other SEC program it’s faced this year. Having Murray-Boyles deliver back-to-back top performances adds yet another layer to the offense the Gamecocks have created for themselves.
Next four games
- Feb. 14 at Auburn, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 17 vs. LSU, 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 24 at Ole Miss, 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 28 at Texas A&M, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published February 10, 2024 at 2:47 PM.
