South Carolina Stuns Texas with Dominant Performance, Snaps Losing Streak
The South Carolina Gamecocks delivered a statement victory on Saturday night, dismantling the Texas Longhorns 84-69 to snap their 13-game SEC losing streak. The upset sent shockwaves through the conference, as South Carolina (11-16, 1-13 SEC) controlled the game from start to finish against a Texas team fresh off a win over No. 15 Kentucky.
Murray-Boyles Leads the Charge
Collin Murray-Boyles was the heart of South Carolina’s dominant display, racking up 22 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out late in the game. The sophomore forward wasted no time making an impact, scoring eight of the Gamecocks’ first 10 points and setting the tone early.
South Carolina built a double-digit lead in the opening minutes and never looked back. Jacobi Wright drilled a three-pointer with 8:23 left in the first half to push the lead to 20-10, and the Gamecocks extended their advantage to 40-22 at halftime—their largest halftime lead of the season.
The momentum carried into the second half, with Nick Pringle throwing down a dunk to stretch the lead to 20 before Zachary Davis followed up with a slam of his own, making it a 22-point game.
Texas Struggles to Respond
The Longhorns (16-11, 5-9 SEC) never found an answer for South Carolina’s aggressive defense. Even after Murray-Boyles fouled out with 4:23 remaining, Texas failed to close the gap. Tramon Mark briefly gave the Longhorns hope, draining a corner three to cut the deficit to 12, but that was as close as they would get. South Carolina responded with 10 straight free throws to seal the win.
Gamecocks Shine at the Free-Throw Line
Jamarii Thomas was clutch from the charity stripe, hitting 12 of 13 free throws on his way to 15 points. Davis added 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while Morris Ugusuk knocked down all three of his three-point attempts to finish with 10 points.
On the other side, Tre Johnson was Texas’ lone bright spot, scoring a game-high 29 points on 11-of-21 shooting. However, he received little support, as no other Longhorn reached double figures.
Key Stats & Notables
- South Carolina’s 34 made free throws set a new high under head coach Lamont Paris and marked the program’s best performance at the line since a four-overtime thriller against Alabama in 2017.
- The Gamecocks committed just eight turnovers, tying their season low (previously against USC Upstate and No. 19 Ole Miss).
- Murray-Boyles recorded his second-straight double-double and now has eight 20-point games and eight double-doubles this season, both career highs.
- South Carolina improves to 9-3 when holding opponents under 70 points and remains undefeated (5-0 this season) when scoring 80 or more.
- This was Lamont Paris’ first career win against Texas and South Carolina’s first Quad 2 victory of the season.
What’s Next?
South Carolina now heads on the road for a tough matchup against No. 15/16 Missouri (20-7, 9-5 SEC) on Tuesday night. The Gamecocks will look to build on their momentum as Kevin Fitzgerald and Jon Sundvold call the action on ESPNU.
