South Carolina’s comeback was stopped in its tracks by Missouri’s Torrence Watson.
The Gamecocks had sliced a double-digit deficit to four with less than six minutes remaining when Watson went to work.
He buried three-pointers on successive possessions and led the Tigers to a 78-63 home victory on Saturday afternoon.
A slam by Keyshawn Bryant had pulled South Carolina to 58-54 with 5:51 remaining. South Carolina had the momentum, scoring quickly and efficiently to chip into Missouri’s lead, which had stretched to 13 earlier in the half.
But Watson calmly knocked in a triple. Bryant quickly answered again, and on the Tigers’ next possession, Watson missed a deep three.