Jamarii Thomas, Zachary Davis lead South Carolina to 84-72 victory over Mercer
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Jamarii Thomas had 19 points and Zachary Davis scored 18 to lead South Carolina to an 84-72 victory over Mercer on Thursday night.
Thomas made 5 of 10 shots from the floor, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and 5 of 8 free throws for the Gamecocks (3-2). He also had three steals. Davis sank 7 of 12 shots with a pair of 3-pointers, adding five rebounds.
Collin Murray-Boyles scored 16 and finished a rebound shy of a double-double for South Carolina. Jacobi Wright scored 11.
Tyler Johnson hit four 3-pointers and led the Bears (2-3) with 15 points. Alex Holt and Angel Montas Jr. added 14 points apiece and Ahmad Robinson pitched in with 13 points and eight assists before fouling out. TJ Grant grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench.
Thomas and Davis scored seven points apiece in the first half to help South Carolina take a 36-32 lead into intermission. Cam Bryant scored all nine of his points and Johnson scored seven to keep Mercer (2-3) close. The difference in the first half was the Gamecocks made 5 of 9 free throws while the Bears did not attempt one.
South Carolina maintained a lead until Robinson buried a 3-pointer to put the Bears on top 60-59 with 10:47 left to play.
The Gamecocks moved back in front and a Myles Stute 3-pointer gave them their biggest lead to that point at 70-62 with 7:45 remaining. A Murray-Boyles dunk pushed the lead to double digits with 3:39 to go and South Carolina was not threatened from there.
It was the first time the two schools squared off since Dec. 30, 2001 - Dave Odom's first season as South Carolina's coach.
South Carolina will play Xavier in the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Monday.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:00 |  | Â | Alex Holt vs. Nick Pringle (Myles Stute gains possession) | Â |
| 19:52 |  | Â | Brady Shoulders personal foul (Nick Pringle draws the foul) | Â |
| 19:37 | | +2 | Nick Pringle makes two point layup (Jacobi Wright assists) | 0-2 |
| 19:23 | | Â | Tyler Johnson turnover (double dribble) | Â |
| 19:03 | | Â | Jamarii Thomas misses two point layup | Â |
| 19:01 | | Â | Tyler Johnson defensive rebound | Â |
| 18:42 | | Â | Alex Holt misses two point layup | Â |
| 18:40 | | Â | Nick Pringle defensive rebound | Â |
| 18:34 | | Â | Jacobi Wright misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 18:32 | | Â | Cam Bryant defensive rebound | Â |
| 18:26 | | +3 | Cam Bryant makes three point jump shot | 3-2 |
| 18:14 | | +3 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes three point jump shot (Jacobi Wright assists) | 3-5 |
| 17:58 | | +3 | Cam Bryant makes three point jump shot (Alex Holt assists) | 6-5 |
| 17:45 | | +2 | Jacobi Wright makes two point layup | 6-7 |
| 17:30 | | +2 | Ahmad Robinson makes two point jump shot | 8-7 |
| 17:09 | | Â | Brady Shoulders personal foul (Nick Pringle draws the foul) | Â |
| 17:07 | | Â | Tyler Johnson personal foul (Nick Pringle draws the foul) | Â |
| 17:01 | | Â | Nick Pringle misses two point layup | Â |
| 16:59 | | Â | TJ Grant defensive rebound | Â |
| 16:48 | | Â | Ahmad Robinson misses two point jump shot | Â |
| 16:46 | | Â | TJ Grant offensive rebound | Â |
| 16:41 | | +3 | Tyler Johnson makes three point jump shot (TJ Grant assists) | 11-7 |
| 16:27 | | Â | Jacobi Wright misses two point jump shot | Â |
| 16:25 | | Â | Jacobi Wright offensive rebound | Â |
| 16:21 | | +2 | Jacobi Wright makes two point layup | 11-9 |
| 16:00 | | Â | Ahmad Robinson misses two point layup | Â |
| 15:58 | | Â | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | Â |
| 15:49 | | Â | Jamarii Thomas turnover (lost ball) (Tyler Johnson steals) | Â |
| 15:32 | | Â | TJ Grant misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 15:30 | | Â | Cam Bryant offensive rebound | Â |
| 15:26 | | Â | Tyler Johnson misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 15:24 | | Â | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | Â |
| 15:18 | | Â | Alex Holt personal foul (Collin Murray-Boyles draws the foul) | Â |
| 15:18 | | Â | TV timeout | Â |
| 15:16 | | Â | TJ Grant blocks Jamarii Thomas's two point layup | Â |
| 15:14 | | Â | TJ Grant defensive rebound | Â |
| 15:01 | | Â | Alex Holt misses two point layup | Â |
| 14:59 | | Â | TJ Grant offensive rebound | Â |
| 14:53 | | Â | TJ Grant misses two point layup | Â |
| 14:51 | | Â | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | Â |
| 14:44 | | Â | Jacobi Wright turnover (lost ball) (Ahmad Robinson steals) | Â |
| 14:37 | | +2 | Tyler Johnson makes two point layup (Ahmad Robinson assists) | 13-9 |
| 14:22 | | Â | Cam Bryant shooting foul (Jamarii Thomas draws the foul) | Â |
| 14:20 | | Â | Jamarii Thomas misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | Â |
| 14:20 | | +1 | Jamarii Thomas makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 13-10 |
| 14:11 | | Â | Ahmad Robinson turnover (lost ball) (Jamarii Thomas steals) | Â |
| 14:09 | | Â | Ahmad Robinson personal foul (Jamarii Thomas draws the foul) | Â |
| 13:50 | | Â | Zachary Davis misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 13:48 | | Â | Ahmad Robinson defensive rebound | Â |
| 13:42 | | Â | Jamarii Thomas personal foul (Ahmad Robinson draws the foul) | Â |
| 13:38 | | Â | Tyler Johnson misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 13:36 | | Â | Gamecocks defensive rebound | Â |
| 13:18 | | Â | Zachary Davis misses two point jump shot | Â |
| 13:16 | | Â | Angel Montas Jr. defensive rebound | Â |
| 13:08 | | Â | Tyler Johnson turnover (bad pass) | Â |
| 12:55 | | +2 | Morris Ugusuk makes two point layup | 13-12 |
| 12:36 | | Â | Angel Montas Jr. misses two point layup | Â |
| 12:34 | | Â | Angel Montas Jr. offensive rebound | Â |
| 12:28 | | +2 | Angel Montas Jr. makes two point layup | 15-12 |
| 12:10 | | +2 | Zachary Davis makes two point jump shot | 15-14 |
| 11:47 | | +2 | Angel Montas Jr. makes two point jump shot | 17-14 |
| 11:19 | | +2 | Cam Scott makes two point layup | 17-16 |
| 10:57 | | Â | Marcus Overstreet turnover (lost ball) | Â |
| 10:57 | | Â | TV timeout | Â |
| 10:36 | | +2 | Zachary Davis makes two point jump shot | 17-18 |
| 10:23 | | Â | Marcus Overstreet offensive foul (Myles Stute draws the foul) | Â |
| 10:23 | | Â | Marcus Overstreet turnover (offensive foul) | Â |
| 9:54 | | Â | Morris Ugusuk turnover (bad pass) | Â |
| 9:39 | | +2 | Alex Holt makes two point hook shot (Ahmad Robinson assists) | 19-18 |
| 9:16 | | Â | Morris Ugusuk misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 9:14 | | Â | Angel Montas Jr. defensive rebound | Â |
| 9:02 | | Â | Angel Montas Jr. misses two point jump shot | Â |
| 9:00 | | Â | Cam Scott defensive rebound | Â |
| 8:54 | | Â | Cam Scott misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 8:52 | | Â | Ahmad Robinson defensive rebound | Â |
| 8:29 | | +3 | Jah Quinones makes three point jump shot (Ahmad Robinson assists) | 22-18 |
| 8:11 | | +3 | Jamarii Thomas makes three point jump shot | 22-21 |
| 8:01 | | Â | Nick Pringle blocks Alex Holt's two point layup | Â |
| 7:59 | | Â | Nick Pringle defensive rebound | Â |
| 7:56 | | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point layup (Zachary Davis assists) | 22-23 |
| 7:56 | | Â | Ahmad Robinson shooting foul (Nick Pringle draws the foul) | Â |
| 7:56 | | Â | TV timeout | Â |
| 7:56 | | +1 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 22-24 |
| 7:45 | | +3 | Tyler Johnson makes three point jump shot (Alex Holt assists) | 25-24 |
| 7:13 | | Â | Jamarii Thomas misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 7:11 | | Â | Nick Pringle offensive rebound | Â |
| 7:11 | | Â | TJ Grant shooting foul (Nick Pringle draws the foul) | Â |
| 7:11 | | +1 | Nick Pringle makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 25-25 |
| 7:11 | | Â | Nick Pringle misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | Â |
| 7:11 | | Â | TJ Grant defensive rebound | Â |
| 6:56 | | Â | Cam Bryant misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 6:54 | | Â | Nick Pringle defensive rebound | Â |
| 6:47 | | Â | Jacobi Wright turnover (bad pass) (Tyler Johnson steals) | Â |
| 6:28 | | Â | Nick Pringle personal foul (Jah Quinones draws the foul) | Â |
| 6:20 | | Â | Tyler Johnson misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 6:18 | | Â | Zachary Davis defensive rebound | Â |
| 6:08 | | +3 | Jamarii Thomas makes three point jump shot (Jacobi Wright assists) | 25-28 |
| 5:42 | | +3 | Cam Bryant makes three point jump shot (Alex Holt assists) | 28-28 |
| 5:29 | | +3 | Zachary Davis makes three point jump shot | 28-31 |
| 5:10 | | +2 | Alex Holt makes two point jump shot | 30-31 |
| 4:40 | | Â | Jacobi Wright turnover (lost ball) (Tyler Johnson steals) | Â |
| 4:16 | | Â | Cam Bryant misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 4:14 | | Â | Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk defensive rebound | Â |
| 3:58 | | Â | Cam Bryant shooting foul (Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk draws the foul) | Â |
| 3:58 | | Â | TV timeout | Â |
| 3:58 | | +1 | Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 30-32 |
| 3:58 | | Â | Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | Â |
| 3:58 | | Â | Alex Holt defensive rebound | Â |
| 3:45 | | Â | Ahmad Robinson turnover (bad pass) (Jamarii Thomas steals) | Â |
| 3:39 | | Â | Zachary Davis misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 3:37 | | Â | Cam Bryant defensive rebound | Â |
| 3:17 | | Â | Alex Holt turnover (bad pass) (Zachary Davis steals) | Â |
| 3:10 | | Â | Cam Scott misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 3:08 | | Â | Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk offensive rebound | Â |
| 2:47 | | Â | Cam Scott misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 2:42 | | Â | Gamecocks offensive rebound | Â |
| 2:40 | | Â | Cam Bryant personal foul (Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk draws the foul) | Â |
| 2:40 | | Â | Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | Â |
| 2:40 | | +1 | Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 30-33 |
| 2:09 | | Â | Angel Montas Jr. misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 2:07 | | Â | Gamecocks defensive rebound | Â |
| 1:46 | | +3 | Cam Scott makes three point jump shot | 30-36 |
| 1:20 | | Â | Angel Montas Jr. misses two point layup | Â |
| 1:18 | | Â | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | Â |
| 1:12 | | Â | Jamarii Thomas misses two point layup | Â |
| 1:10 | | Â | Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk offensive rebound | Â |
| 1:09 | | Â | Collin Murray-Boyles turnover (traveling) | Â |
| 0:55 | | +2 | Alex Holt makes two point layup | 32-36 |
| 0:55 | | Â | Bears 30 second timeout | Â |
| 0:44 | | Â | Myles Stute misses two point layup | Â |
| 0:42 | | Â | Tyler Johnson defensive rebound | Â |
| 0:36 | | Â | Angel Montas Jr. misses two point layup | Â |
| 0:34 | | Â | Alex Holt offensive rebound | Â |
| 0:31 | | Â | Alex Holt misses two point layup | Â |
| 0:29 | | Â | Jamarii Thomas defensive rebound | Â |
| 0:06 | | Â | Morris Ugusuk misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 0:04 | | Â | TJ Grant defensive rebound | Â |
| 0:00 | | Â | End of period | Â |