COLUMBIA, S.C. — In a commanding display, Collin Murray-Boyles dominated the court with a personal best of 35 points, shooting an impressive 12-for-16 as South Carolina triumphed over Arkansas 72-53 on Saturday. Nick Pringle also contributed significantly, scoring 18 points and connecting on 7 out of 11 attempts. Between Murray-Boyles and Pringle, they scored a considerable portion of South Carolina’s 25 completed field goals.
Despite the game’s overall outcome, Karter Knox managed to add 11 points to Arkansas’ score, while Jonas Aidoo offered a helping hand from the bench with 10 points. However, Arkansas struggled throughout the game, with their offense taking a while to really get going. Their scoring woes were evident as they failed to register 20 points until Billy Richmond III managed a layup, narrowing their disadvantage to 47-20, with 12:35 left in the game.
Arkansas faced difficulties early on, not reaching double-digit scores until Aidoo sunk one of two free throws with only 2:24 left before halftime, as they lagged behind at 27-10. Their shooting performance was lackluster, netting just 28.8% on field goals, hitting the target on 15 out of 52 attempts. By halftime, South Carolina had established a strong 32-14 lead, marking a rare occasion since the turn of the century where Arkansas managed fewer than 15 points in a half.
Recovering from a challenging start to the conference, having lost their first 13, South Carolina (12-17, 2-14 SEC) has shown resilience, securing wins in two of their last three contests. On the flip side, Arkansas (17-12, 6-10) suffered a setback in their quest for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid, following the end of their two-game winning streak.
Looking ahead, Arkansas will face Vanderbilt in an away game on Tuesday, while South Carolina is set to host Georgia on the same day.
