South Carolina MBB wins wild one over Southern Miss. Three things we learned
Meechie Johnson, in his second game back with South Carolina, was the hero the Gamecocks needed Sunday.
Johnson scored a career-high 33 points to lift the USC men’s basketball team past Southern Mississippi in an overtime rally, an 83-79 win for the Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena.
“We’ve just got to be better. It’s all there for us. We’ve just still got to put it all together,” Johnson said. “I’m just happy that we’re 2-0.”
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Meechie Johnson leads the way, saves the day
Three Gamecocks finished in double figures Sunday night, but redshirt senior guard Meechie Johnson was the reason USC (2-0) even had a chance.
He finished with a career-high 33 points and hit three-straight deep 3-pointers late to bring the Gamecocks from down 67-59 with 2:10 on the clock to tied with just over 30 seconds left.
Then, down 70-68, he converted two free-throw attempts and poked the ball free on the other end to ensure there would be an overtime period.
“I told him to make them,” USC coach Lamont Paris said. “He knows I have an extremely high amount of belief in him. ... I just think he was comfortable, and he knew we probably needed to step on the gas in those moments, and so he had his foot on the gas pedal.”
Johnson continued to make an impact in the extra minutes, getting a steal and an assist on a basket from Mike Sharavjamnts that gave USC the lead. He eventually grabbed a clutch rebound with 27 seconds left and was fouled, hitting both shots at the line to secure the win.
Johnson, who played two seasons at South Carolina before transferring to Ohio State, came back to the Gamecocks for a final season in one of Paris’ biggest offseason roster moves.
Trouble with the zone
After a hot start with four consecutive baskets and six 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes, Southern Miss threw the Gamecocks a new look defensively and found success.
The Golden Eagles implemented a 1-3-1 zone that forced the Gamecocks to play around the perimeter and take longer to find the right shot. While USC is far from opposed to taking 3-pointers, trouble arose when those shots stopped falling so easily.
“You don’t want to have droughts,” Paris said. “We did try to drive it, we didn’t have a lot of success ... I felt good about the quality of shot that we generally generated from three. One or two [bad shots] here or there, but I think from a percentage standpoint, they probably were pretty good looks. It’s an extreme based on the way that they play.”
USC went 2 for 13 and missed seven straight field goals heading into halftime. The Gamecocks also coughed up three turnovers in the final four minutes as they struggled to swing the ball around the perimeter.
The cold streak lingered in the second half as USC started 0 for 3 before Sharavjamnts knocked down a 3-pointer to take the lid off. It didn’t stay off for long, as the Gamecocks finished 10 for 25 from the floor and 6 for 15 from 3-point range in the second half.
USC’s 43 3-point attempts marked a school record, blowing past the previous mark of 36 against Mississippi State in 2008.
Freshman guard Eli Ellis scored 20 points, had a team-high seven rebounds and hit two free throws at the end of overtime to seal the game. Ellis’ 35 minutes were the second-most behind Sharavjamnts’ 37.
Giving up easy points
South Carolina has struggled to defend in the paint and prevent scoring off turnovers in two games to start the year. After giving up 14 points off 13 turnovers and 34 points in the paint against North Carolina A&T, the Golden Eagles took advantage in the first half with 12 points off 11 turnovers and 16 points in the paint.
The trend of easy Southern Miss points and a long streak of USC misses led to the Gamecocks going from a 16-point lead midway through the first to up 38-34 at halftime and eventually trailing by as much as 11 points in the second half.
The Golden Eagles finished with 32 interior points and 25 points off turnovers in the game.
“They were certainly tougher than us today. They may just be tougher than us, period,” Paris said. “I don’t say that to say anything other than they’ve got some tough guys. ... I hope that someone’s given them credit that is due them.”
A USC loss would’ve cost the Gamecocks in more ways than one. The Golden Eagles entered the game ranked 278th in the KenPom NET rankings, meaning a negative result would’ve been a Quadrant Four loss on South Carolina’s NCAA resume .
USC will also pay Southern Miss $100,000 as part of their nonconference agreement for the Eagles to come to Columbia.
South Carolina men’s basketball upcoming games
- Wednesday: vs. Presbyterian, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Nov. 18: vs. Radford, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Nov. 21: vs. Butler (at Greenbrier Tip-Off in WVa.), 2 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
- Nov. 23: vs. Northwestern (at Greenbrier Tip-Off in WVa.), 5 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
This story was originally published November 9, 2025 at 9:02 PM.
