No. 7 Gamecocks beat Texas A&M, take lead in SEC

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — A’ja Wilson had 21 points and 15 rebounds and No. 7 South Carolina beat Texas A&M 80-64 on Thursday night to remain in Southeastern Conference title contention.

The Gamecocks (23-4, 13-2) trailed the Aggies 30-29 with five minutes remaining in the second quarter before closing out the first half on a 12-5 run to make it 41-35. Bianca Cuevas-Moore had six of the Gamecocks 13 steals.

Scoring leader Danni Williams was held to 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting for the Aggies (19-9, 9-6).

South Carolina played without starting center Alaina Coates, who stayed at home with a right ankle sprain and is considered day-to-day. Coates leads the Gamecocks with 11.2 rebounds and is second in scoring at 13.4.

The Gamecocks were coming off a 62-60 loss at No. 24 Missouri on Sunday. They are trying to win or share the SEC regular-season title for a fourth consecutive season.

BIG PICTURE

South Carolina: The Gamecocks got some good news at halftime, and it had nothing to do with what was going on in Reed Arena. No. 3 Mississippi State lost at No. 22 Kentucky earlier Thursday night, meaning the Gamecocks tied the Bulldogs for the SEC lead at 13-2 following their victory over the Aggies.

Texas A&M: The Aggies are reeling with three consecutive losses following four straight wins, but part of their problem of late has been because of their competition. A&M lost to the No. 3 team (Mississippi State) on Sunday, and the No. 7 team on Thursday in USC.

UP NEXT

South Carolina: The Gamecocks will close out a highly successful regular season at home on Sunday against Kentucky.

Texas A&M: The Aggies will close out their regular season by trying to snap a three-game losing streak on Sunday at Mississippi.