National Basketball Association
South Carolina 61, Mississippi Valley State 57
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Where: The Colonial Center Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
Officials:
# Tim Haddix, # Matt Potter, # Alan Spainhour
Attendance:
6723
By SportsDirect Inc.
Malik Cooke scored South Carolina's last seven points as the Gamecocks reeled off a 14-0 run to rally for 61-57 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday in the Las Vegas Invitational.
The Gamecocks (2-2) were stunned at Elon and at home against Tennessee State last week, and they appeared on their way to rock bottom on Tuesday.
South Carolina trailed by as many as 11 and was down 53-44 with 3:45 left before Eric Smith sparked the comeback with a 3-pointer and a quick steal and feed to Damien Leonard.
Leonard scored 12 of his 18 points in the first half. Cooke also scored 18.
Terrance Joyner scored a game-high 22 points for the Delta Devils (0-4), who are in the midst of a two-month stretch of road games and will not play at home until Jan. 14.
Mississippi Valley State stayed in it by shooting 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from 3-point range. The Delta Devils shot only 28.1 percent from behind the arc in their first three games.
South Carolina played without sophomore guard Brenton Williams (knee) and is still waiting for point guard Bruce Ellington to complete his season with the Gamecocks' football team.
Top Game Performances
Mississippi Valley State |
|
South Carolina |
Terrence Joyner 22 |
Scoring |
Malik Cooke 18 |
Falando Jones 6 |
Assists |
Malik Cooke 3 |
Cor-J Cox 8 |
Rebounds |
Anthony Gill 8 |
Falando Jones 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Malik Cooke 10 |
Falando Jones 3 |
Steals |
Malik Cooke 3 |
Paul Crosby 2 |
Blocks |
Carlton Geathers 3 |
Team Stats Summary