Gamecocks drop another close one to Mississippi State, fall 72-68 in overtime

After winning back-to-back games and hitting the road with some confidence, the South Carolina Gamecocks saw their hot streak snapped by the Mississippi State Bulldogs, falling 72-68 in overtime on Saturday in Starkville, Miss.

The Gamecocks faced the Bulldogs for the second time this season, previously losing 81-76 in Columbia after a late rally fell short.

South Carolina jumped out to an early lead in this one to post a 32-25 halftime advantage, but the Gamecocks turned it over 21 times and lost for the first time this season after holding a first half lead. Hassani Gravett put up a season-best best performance, leading South Carolina (15-14, 6-10 SEC) with 19 points and hitting a game-tying 3-pointer at the end of the second half to force the extra period.

The Gamecocks enjoyed one of their best shooting nights of the year, shooting 44% from the field, and also outrebounded Mississippi State 40-30, but it wasn’t enough to avoid losing their fourth straight game on the road. Lamar Peters scored 19 points for the Bulldogs and came up big with five points in overtime to help Mississippi State (21-8, 9-7) keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. With the defeat, the Gamecocks slipped to 12th in the SEC.

Chris Silva, Maik Kotsar, and Felipe Haase joined Gravett in double figures with 11 points each, while the usually reliable Frank Booker was held scoreless.

Up next: The Gamecocks have their home finale against LSU on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.