FAYETTEVILLE — A.J. Lawson scored 19 points for South Carolina and the Gamecocks never trailed but needed an Arkansas missed 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 79-77 victory on Wednesday night.
The Gamecocks (12-8, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) shot 51% from the field, using their size and strength advantage to the effect of 36 points in the paint. Maik Kotsar, Trae Hannibal and Jair Bolden joined Lawson in double figures, scoring 10, 11 and 12, respectively.
Mason Jones finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds to lead Arkansas (15-5, 3-4). Isaiah Joe, who missed Arkansas’ win on Saturday against TCU with knee inflammation, came off the bench to add 16 points.
The Razorbacks tied the game only once when Jones’ driving lay-up and subsequent free throw knotted it at 40-all with about 19 minutes left. South Carolina made five of its next six from the floor and rebuilt its lead to nine.
Arkansas pulled to 78-77 on a pair of Jones free throws with 28 seconds to play and had the final possession with 26 seconds left, but Joe missed a 3-point shot from the corner.
South Carolina’s edge in the inside was more pronounced. Arkansas, which played just one player taller than 6-foot-6, was challenged at the rim and shot just 32% in the first half and 41 % for the game.
UP NEXT
South Carolina hosts Missouri on Saturday.
Arkansas plays at Alabama on Saturday.
EARLIER
South Carolina 79, Arkansas 77 - Final
Despite 34 points and 12 rebounds from Mason Jones, the Razorbacks dropped their second home game in SEC play to the Gamecocks, which shot 50.9 percent for the game.
AJ Lawson led South Carolina with 19 points, and three others added 10-plus points.
Out of the final timeout, Desi Sills found Isaiah Joe in the left corner, and he missed a contested 3. He finished with 16 points on 5 of 14 from 3-point range.
We'll have more from tonight's game a little bit later on WholeHogSports.com.
South Carolina 79, Arkansas 77 - 7.5 seconds left
Mason Jones dribbled from the top of the key to the short corner nearest the Razorbacks' bench and had nowhere to go. His baseline pass to Reggie Chaney is knocked out of bounds. Arkansas calls time. Big moment here for this group.
South Carolina 79, Arkansas 77 - 26.9 seconds left
After Mason Jones buried two free throws, Arkansas fouled Gamecocks guard Jermaine Couisnard, a 60 percent foul shooter this season. He split the free throws.
Arkansas ball with a chance to tie or take the lead.
South Carolina 78, Arkansas 77 - 28.5 seconds left
Mason Jones was fouled on a drive to the rim. His shot, which he tried to kiss off the glass, was just a bit too strong. He makes both.
South Carolina 78, Arkansas 75 - 42.1 seconds left
Isaiah Joe just hit a 3-pointer to pull the Razorbacks back within three after South Carolina took a six-point lead on a 3 from Jair Bolden triple.
Arkansas has possession following a carless Gamecocks turnover against a bit of soft pressure. Let's see what Eric Musselman comes up with.
South Carolina 74, Arkansas 71 - 3:50 left
That was about the longest four-minute stretch of basketball of the season. Officiating has not been great on either end. There have been 50 fouls called in this game - 29 on SC and 21 on Arkansas.
Desi Sills just got a tough layup through contact to go, but missed the free throw to keep it a three-point game. Arkansas is 23 of 36 at the line tonight. If it loses, that's something you'll be able to point to, for sure.
Mason Jones is up to 31 points and 12 rebounds. That is a career high in rebounds. He had 10 last season against FIU.
AJ Lawson leads the Gamecocks with 19 points, and Trae Hannibal 11.
South Carolina 65, Arkansas 58 - 7:34 left
The Razorbacks pulled to within three points after a pair of Jimmy Whitt free throws and a big 3 from Mason Jones, but Jones turned the ball over on Arkansas' next possession, leading to a runout for AJ Lawson.
The Gamecocks then got a bucket on the interior from Maik Kotsar. Whitt missed a midrange, turnaround jumper on the Arkansas possession prior to Kotsar's score.
Jones will be at the line when play resumes. He has scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. Arkansas might need him to go go 24-25 points this half to pull this one out. He also has 10 rebounds to lead all players.
Critical next few minutes upcoming for the Razorbacks.
South Carolina 61, Arkansas 55 - 10:10 left
Mason Jones and Jimmy Whitt just went 2 for 2 at the line, pulling Arkansas within six. The free throws were Whitt's first points on the second half. He's got just seven points on 2 of 6 shooting - 3 of 6 at the line.
Jones leads all scorers with 21 points, 13 in the second half. Isaiah Joe has 13, three since halftime on 1 of 4 shooting.
Trae Hannibal has nine second-half points for South Carolina.
South Carolina 58, Arkansas 51 - 11:55 left
Mason Jones has really come alive for the Razorbacks since the break, but Arkansas can't string enough stops together defensively to pull within a bucket. He has 19 points, 10 since halftime, to go with two assists.
Arkansas went on a mini 5-0 run behind free throws and a layup from Jones and a split at the line from Jimmy Whitt, but the Gamecocks responded with a free throw and dunk to extend their lead back to seven.
Fouls are getting up there for Arkansas. After missing a reverse layup, Reggie Chaney hit the floor, and officials whistled a foul on Chaney as the South Carolina player came down with a rebound. Chaney was lying flat on his back.
Desi Sills and Adrio Bailey have four fouls each, Jalen Harris has three and Chaney two.
South Carolina 53, Arkansas 44 - 15:32 left
The good news for the Razorbacks is that Desi Sills is available and in the lineup for the second half. His injury was an ankle sprain, so nothing too serious to keep him out.
The bad news is Sills and Adrio Bailey each have four fouls, and the fouls are piling up on Arkansas. Jalen Harris also has three fouls.
South Carolina, after Arkansas tied the game 40-40 is on a bit of run. The Gamecocks have scored the game's last six points since back-to-back buckets from Adrio Bailey.
Eric Musselman really needs big minutes from Reggie Chaney. He'll have the tough matchup with Maik Kotsar defensively, too. Kotsar has eight points and five boards tonight.
South Carolina 38, Arkansas 32 - Half
Razorbacks turned in one of their worst halves of the season, but find themselves trailing by just six at the break.
Isaiah Joe scored a team-high 10 points off the bench. It's his first career game in which he's played that he did not start.
Mason Jones has eight points, two assists and a steal as well. Jalen Harris, Jimmy Whitt and Desi Sills have four apiece.
Potentially bad news for Arkansas late in the half: Sills went down with an injury and was favoring his right leg after a non-contact play in transition. He panicked a little bit as he hit the floor.
Losing Sills could be a big blow for the Razorbacks.
AJ Lawson leads the Gamecocks with 10 points on 4 of 6 from the floor and 2 of 3 from distance. Maik Kotsar added eight points, and Keyshawn Bryant pitched in four points and five rebounds.
South Carolina is just 2 of 9 from 3, but is living in the lane. It is 14 of 19 inside the arc.
Bottom line, if Arkansas hopes to win this game, free throw shooting must improve. The Razorbacks are 8 of 15 at the stripe. Only two teams in the nation send their opponents to the line more often than South Carolina. Arkansas has to cash in there.
South Carolina 38, Arkansas 28 - 1:55 left first half
Not a great sequence of events the last two minutes for the Razorbacks. South Carolina has reeled off nine of the game's last 11 points, then Desi Sills went down favoring his right leg on a non-contact play in transition.
Sills was taken off the floor by team personnel.
South Carolina 29, Arkansas 25 - 3:54 left first half
The Razorbacks finally giving this solid midweek crowd something to cheer about.
Jalen Harris knocked down his fourth 3 in as many games, Isaiah Joe added his second triple of the game, Reggie Chaney tipped in a missed 3 by Mason Jones, then Jones grabbed Desi Sills' errant 3 from the left corner and stuck it in.
Jones leads Arkansas with eight points and two assists, and Joe has six off the bench.
AJ Lawson has a team-high eight for the Gamecocks. South Carolina guard Keyshawn Bryant shushed the Arkansas crowd twice after making free throws a little earlier. He went to the line after a phantom whistle.
South Carolina 22, Arkansas 12 - 7:04 left first half
The Razorbacks saw a lot of Gamecocks forward Maik Kotsar in that five-plus minute stretch. He scored twice at the rim for South Carolina then sealed off Arkansas defenders as Jermaine Couisnard got to the rim for a layup.
Arkansas is now 4 of 17 from the floor, 1 of 7 from deep and 3 of 6 at the line. The Razorbacks have turned the ball over six times, too, led by Mason Jones' two.
South Carolina is shooting 52.6 percent to this point and has only four turnovers.
Desi Sills will be at the line when play resumes. He's drawn three fouls at the rim tonight.
South Carolina 14, Arkansas 7 - 11:32 left first half
Eric Musselman's head may explode if the Razorbacks continue to play this flat.
Mason Jones broke the long scoring drought with a steal and layup, then Desi Sills hit a pair of free throws at the line after a strong drive to the rim. The Gamecocks took a 14-5 lead after back-to-back buckets from Wildens Leveque, but Jimmy Whitt answered with a jumper off a bad miss from 3 by Jeantal Cylla.
Sills has three points, all at the line. Arkansas is 2 of 11 from the floor and 0 of 4 from deep. Razorbacks also 3 of 6 at the line. South Carolina fouls a lot - and I mean a lot - so they need to knock down free throws tonight.
South Carolina 6, Arkansas 0 - 15:35 left first half
The Razorbacks can't buy a bucket, and look terrible offensively. Arkansas has not scored on its first nine possessions, turning the ball over three times and missing all six shots - three from deep.
Isaiah Joe checked into the game at the 18:12 mark and missed his first two 3-point attempts. The second 3-pointer was a wide open one on the left wing. Shot was long. His 3 from the top of the key was short.
Jimmy Whitt is also 0 of 2 from the floor and was subbed out after allowing a Gamecocks bucket at the rim.
South Carolina has gotten five early points from AJ Lawson, the team's go-to weapon offensively. He is 2 of 3 from the floor and has a pair of rebounds.
Arkansas 0, South Carolina 0 - 18:17 left first half
Slow starts on the offensive end for both teams. Adrio Bailey lost the ball on the baseline on the Razorbacks' first offensive possession, then Jimmy Whitt missed a midrange jumper from the elbow.
Mason Jones also picked up his dribble near the 28-foot marker and couldn't find a teammate to get the ball to. He had to burn a timeout. Eric Musselman checked Jones out of the game shortly after and let him have it as he slapped hands with teammates on the bench.
Pregame
Arkansas' starting lineup: Jimmy Whitt, Mason Jones, Jalen Harris, Reggie Chaney and Adrio Bailey.
Coming into tonight, Whitt is in the midst of the best scoring month of his college career. Through seven games, he is averaging 18.7 points on 53.6 percent from the floor all the while playing better than 38 minutes per night. He's been great. Couple that with his strong defense of late, he's shown the entire package to begin 2020.
Isaiah Joe was in uniform and working on his jumpshot well over an hour before gametime. According to CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, he was a game-time decision. He is wearing a sleeve over his right knee. He is averaging 16.8 points per game this season, good for second on the team.
Desi Sills is coming off the bench for two straight games for the first time since last February, and this is the first time Chaney has made consecutive starts.
South Carolina's starters: Justin Minaya (6-6), AJ Lawson (6-6), Keyshawn Bryant (6-5), Jermaine Couisnard (6-4) and Maik Kotsar (6-11).
The Gamecocks enter tonight's game 11-8 overall and 3-3 in SEC play, winners of three of their last four games. In that span, they have beaten Kentucky, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. South Carolina beat the Wildcats on a 3-pointer at the buzzer at home. Couisnard and Lawson are the Gamecocks' top offensive threats and have taken 26.9 and 25.8 percent of the team's shots when on the floor. Both are 33 percent 3-point shooters.
Minaya is not a player to sleep on, though. He holds a team-best offensive rating of 111.8 and has played 76.6 percent of the team's minutes. He will shoot the 3, too, but is most effective inside the arc. Jair Bolden, a 6-3 guard off the bench, leads the team from distance, knocking down 42.6 percent of his 68 attempts.
As a team, South Carolina is a poor free throw shooting group and puts opponents on the line more than almost any team in the country. Teams have shot better than one free throw for every two shots against them this season. In conference play, it is playing at the second-highest pace of any team in terms of time per possession (15.3 seconds). The Gamecocks are also shooting the 3 at a 36.2 percent clip and held teams to 26.3 percent.
Running updates by Scottie Bordelon of WholeHogSports.com