NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tyrone Johnson’s three free throws with 0.7 seconds left gave South Carolina a wild 60-58 victory over Mississippi on Thursday night in the Southeastern Conference tournament.
Several seconds after Jarvis Summers’ four-point play put the Rebels up by one, Laimonas Chatkevicius inbounded the ball to Johnson, who drove past halfcourt and prepared to launch a desperation 3-pointer. The horn sounded but LaDarius White was called for the foul, putting Johnson on the line with a chance to win the game.
He calmly sank all three free throws and left Mississippi’s Stefan Moody with a desperation heave that was way short and too late for the No. 6 seed Rebels.
The 11th-seeded Gamecocks (17-15) advanced to face No. 3 seed Georgia in Friday’s quarterfinal.
Michael Carrera scored 16 points, Duane Notice added 15 and Sindarius Thornwell 10 for South Carolina, which won despite shooting just 30 percent.
