South Carolina picked up another win over in-state rival Clemson, this time on the basketball court as the Gamecocks men’s basketball team defeated the No. 25 ranked Tigers 91-88 in overtime. 

The Gamecocks have yet to lose to Clemson in any of its sports this season, including women’s basketball and football. South Carolina has won three of the last five men’s basketball matches against the Tigers, dating back to 2019.

“ That was fun, interesting, exciting, all the above,” head coach Lamont Paris said after the game. “Really excited for the guys to have that kind of experience. It's a great atmosphere. And then, just fighting through all the adversity that we had, some of it was due to Clemson, some of it was on our own behalf, but we showed some real character in some of those moments and in regrouping and gathering.”

South Carolina led by as many as seven points in the last two minutes of regulation, but the Tigers made a quick comeback. The Gamecocks had the chance to put the game away just before with four free-throw opportunities between Jacobi Wright and Jamari Thomas. Wright missed both of his shots, and Thomas made just one to keep the game at one possession. 

After the Thomas miss, Clemson’s Chase Hunter ran down the court and banked in a one-legged three from the right wing to send the game to overtime. Hunter finished with 27 points and scored all of them in the second half or overtime.

In the extra period, the Gamecocks again built a significant lead and watched Clemson chip away at it. With less than two minutes left, South Carolina led 89-82. Hunter scored the next five points and made it a two-point game with less than a minute to go.

Clemson’s Christian Reeves had a chance to tie on Clemson’s next possession after being fouled by Nick Pringle. Reeves missed the first free throw and then made the second, giving Carolina a one-point edge.  

Thomas made up for his miss at the end of regulation and nailed two free throws in the final three seconds to put the Gamecocks up three. Hunter’s final heave was no good and the Gamecocks held on for the win. 

“ This is what college basketball is about,” Paris said. “ I could hear the locker room while we were in the coach's locker room, and they deserve that. That's what you need for growth. You need some good wins like that.” 

Collin Murray-Boyles, Myles Stute and Pringle combined for 59 of the Gamecocks’ 91 points. 

Murray-Boyles led the way with 22 points and added nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Pringle finished with 18 points on 7-8 shooting. Both Murray-Boyles and Pringle played through foul trouble but reached the limit in the final minute of overtime. 

Stute had his best game of the year, finishing with a season-high 19 points on 7-9 shooting, including 5-7 from behind the three-point line. Entering this game, Stute scored double-digits just one other time this season and was scoreless in the last two Gamecock contests. 

“ He's a professional in terms of how he approaches the work that goes into being a good shooter,” Paris said. “There's no lack of belief. There's been a lack of performance to some degree to his standard, but there's no lack of belief on his end, nor on mine. He still shoots. I still believe when he lets it go, it should go in.” 

South Carolina picked up its first win against a ranked opponent this season. The team was 0-2 entering the matchup after previously losing to then No. 16 Indiana and then No. 22 Xavier. 

The win also put the Gamecocks 3-0 against ACC opponents after previously beating Virginia Tech and Boston College. 

“ It builds real confidence, true confidence,” Paris said. “ [The team] sees who [Clemson is], how they compete, how they play, who they've beaten. They know it's a good team. It's such a solid team. It's also the type of team that you don't accidentally beat. So on the other side of that breeds real, true confidence in what your capabilities are.” 

South Carolina has two games left until SEC play. The team will host Radford on Dec. 22 and Presbyterian on Dec. 30. The Gamecocks begin conference play on Jan. 4 with a road game against Mississippi State. 

The SEC has been the best conference record-wise so far this season. The Gamecocks currently have the most losses with an 8-3 record. Overall the conference is 158-20.