James Reese V scored 13 points to lead a balanced effort by South Carolina in a 72-70 victory against Vanderbilt in Southeastern Conference action Saturday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn.
Scotty Pippen Jr., who finished with 17 points and six assists for the Commodores (9-5, 1-1 SEC), had a chance to tie or win the game in the closing seconds.
Pippen drove to the rim, drew a pair of South Carolina defenders and kicked the ball back out to the perimeter. However, none of his teammates were near the spot and time expired as the ball bounced out of bounds.
Reese and Wildens Leveque, who scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds, each scored in double figures to lead the Gamecocks (10-4, 1-1), who had 11 players score overall.
Myles Stute led Vanderbilt with 19 points and Jordan Wright added 15 points as the Commodores had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Pippen’s jumper with 1:34 remaining cut South Carolina’s lead to 69-67. Vanderbilt regained possession when Devin Carter was called for charging with 1:15 to go. But Carter capitalized moments later with a dunk to cap a fast break started by an Erik Stevenson steal.
Pippen hit two free throws to get within 71-69 with 40.3 seconds left. After Carter missed a 3-pointer at the other end, Stute drew a foul underneath but missed one of two free throws with 12 seconds left.
Reese was fouled with 6.3 seconds left and hit one of two free throws, leaving Vanderbilt its final opportunity.
South Carolina, which led by 11 points with 7:18 left in the game, prevailed despite making only 3 of 17 shots from 3-point range and committing 22 turnovers. The Gamecocks shot 54.9 percent overall.
Vanderbilt shot 39.1 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers.
–Field Level Media
