Brooks sets tone to lead Mississippi St. past S. Carolina

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- — Iverson Molinar scored 20 points and Garrison Brooks scored a season-high 18 points and Mississippi State beat South Carolina 78-64 on Tuesday night to end a two-game losing streak.

South Carolina saw its three-game winning streak come to an end. During the streak the Gamecocks used second half runs of 24-0, 22-4, 22-5 to complete victories.

Mississippi State made sure that wasn't going to happen. The Bulldogs held South Carolina to 3-for-11 shooting from beyond 3-point range after halftime and 5 for 18 overall.

James Reese V's basket with 15:42 brought the Gamecocks within 10-9 and from there Mississippi State (14-7, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) took control.

Brooks followed with a layup, D.J. Jeffries made a pair of foul shots, Molinar followed with a layup and the Bulldogs were on their way to a 13-0 run in a four-and-a-half minute span.

Brooks' 3-pointer with 42 seconds before halftime gave Mississippi State its largest lead of the first half at 43-20 and it went to the break up 45-23.

Brooks finished with 17 points before intermission on 8-for-11 shooting and Mississippi State as a unit shot 60% (18 for 30) with all their points coming from inside the arc.

Mississippi State extended its lead to 75-48 with 5:25 remaining before South Carolina went on a 13-0 run to reduce its deficit.

Reese scored 15 on 7-for-9 shooting and Devin Carter 10 for South Carolina.

Mississippi State, which never trailed, has won seven of the last nine against the Gamecocks including four-straight at home.

The Gamecocks (13-8, 4-5) host No. 22-ranked Tennessee on Saturday while Mississippi State heads to Fayetteville, Arkansas to face the Razorbacks on Saturday.

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