COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Ole Miss men’s basketball team saw its four-game winning streak come to an end Tuesday night, falling 79-65 on the road to South Carolina. The Gamecocks (14-12, 9-4 SEC) used fast break and bench points to earn the win on their home floor.

Ole Miss (18-8, 8-5 SEC) was led by Terence Davis who had 18 points and 5 rebounds on the night. Breein Tyree added 17 points of his own, 12 coming in the second half, and played all 40 minutes. The Rebels registered a season-high nine blocks on the defensive end.

South Carolina had four double-figure scorers, led by Chris Silva who had 18 points and 4 rebounds, including going 6 of 6 from the line. Hassani Gravett came off the bench and scored 15 points with a game-high four made three-pointers. As a team, the Gamecocks shot 47 percent from three (9 of 19).

Ole Miss made their first five shots, including a trio of treys. Blake Hinson, Terence Davis and Devontae Shuler all found the bottom of the net from long distance to help the Rebels jump out to an 13-2 lead. On the other end of the floor, Ole Miss forced South Carolina to start the game 1 of 12 from the field.

After the hot start, the Rebels went cold and missed their next 10 shots. Ole Miss went through a 7:51 scoring drought, leading to a 16-0 South Carolina to flip the game in favor of the Gamecocks.

South Carolina turned an 11-point deficit into an 11-point lead before Ole Miss made it a single-digit game at halftime. D.C. Davis grabbed an offensive rebound and found Terence Davis, who drew a foul while shooting a three just prior to the horn. He made two of three to send the Rebels into the locker room down 40-32.

Terence Davis scored 15 points in the opening half to lead the Rebels. Meanwhile, South Carolina controlled the boards 26-16. After starting the game 2 of 16, the Gamecocks made a blistering 13 of 17 to end the first half and claim the advantage.

Coming out to start the second half, Tyree found Bruce Stevens down low for a two-handed slam that cut the deficit to six. South Carolina pushed its lead back to 11, but the Rebels continued to fight. Tyree got a few tough buckets in the lane to fall. Another Hinson three sliced the margin in half. Tyree found an opening once again, and just like that, Ole Miss was within one, 57-56. Terence Davis split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 61-61 with 6:18 to go.

The Gamecocks broke the tie, going on a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to take control of the game. Holding the Rebels without a field goal for the final 6:44, South Carolina claimed the victory and snapped the Ole Miss winning streak.

Completing a stretch of playing three of four games on the road, Ole Miss returns to The Pavilion for back-to-back SEC battles. First, the Rebels look to complete the season sweep of Georgia as the Bulldogs come to Oxford for a Saturday afternoon matchup (Feb. 23). The two teams will meet for the second time in as many weeks after Ole Miss claimed an 80-64 victory in Athens (Feb. 9). Tipoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. on SEC Network. Then, a sold-out Pavilion will see the Rebels square off against No. 5 Tennessee (Feb. 27) at 6 p.m. on SEC Network.

Will Redmond

Ole Miss Athletics