Johnson scores 21, South Carolina snaps 7-game skid with 97-89 win over Mississippi State

Audio By Carbonatix

COLOMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Meechie Johnson scored 21 points and racked up a career-high nine assists, and Kobe Knox added 17 points for South Carolina in a 97-89 win over Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon, snapping a seven-game losing streak.

Elijah Strong put up 16 points for the Gamecocks (12-15, 3-11 Southeastern Conference) and Mike Sharavjamts added 15. Eli Ellis had 11 off the bench to help South Carolina score a season-high 97 points.

South Carolina jumped ahead with an 8-0 run in the first half that included two points from Johnson and three from Knox, and headed into halftime up 46-39. The Gamecocks took their biggest lead of the game — 89-76 — off a 6-0 run with 2:17 to play.

Mississippi State (13-14, 5-9) was led by Quincy Ballard with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jaden Epps scored 13 in the first half before leaving the game with an injury, and didn't return. SEC leading scorer Josh Hubbard finished with 13, after only putting up two in the first half. Ja'Borri McGhee had 12 and Sergei Macura 10.

The Gamecocks shot 85% from the free throw line (23 of 27).

Mississippi State: Visits No. 25 Alabama on Wednesday.

South Carolina: Hosts Kentucky on Tuesday.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball