March 11, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Nigel Pack (9) dribbles the ball past South Carolina Gamecocks forward Nordin Kapik (24) during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images Nigel Pack scored 24 points and hit five 3-pointers to help Oklahoma win 86-74 over South Carolina in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament Wednesday in Nashville.
Derrion Reid added 20 points for 11th-seeded Oklahoma (18-14) to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Tae Davis scored 18 points for the Sooners, who have won their fifth straight game and face sixth-seeded Texas A&M on Thursday night. Xzayvier Brown scored 14 points in the win.
Kobe Knox led 14th-seeded South Carolina (13-19) with 20 points, followed by Mike Sharabzamtz with 19 points and eight rebounds. Meechie Johnson scored 14 points for the Gamecocks, who held a 13-point lead at halftime.
Oklahoma, which battled back to tie the score at halftime, opened the second half on a 9-2 run thanks to a pair of Pack 3-pointers. Reid’s 3-point play and subsequent dunk gave the Sooners a 56-47 lead with 15:20 left.
South Carolina got within five on Johnson’s 3-pointer at 10:52, and Brown’s 3-pointer gave Oklahoma a 70-60 advantage with 7:53 left. Then, on a layup by Davis, the margin grew to 16.
Brown’s triple cemented the rally, putting the Sooners ahead 81-64 with four minutes remaining.
South Carolina went ahead 21-13 after Knox’s 3-pointer with 9 minutes and 52 seconds left in the first half increased the lead to 10 points. After baskets by Pack and Davis, Sharavjamts’ 3-pointer capped a 7-0 run to give the Gamecocks a 36-23 lead.
Knox hit South Carolina’s eighth 3-pointer of the half with 5:24 left, and Jadon Jones’ dunk made it 6-0 to pull the Sooners within three.
The first half ended with Reed’s 3-point play and Jones’ layup, tying the game at 42 points each. Davis led all scorers with 15 first-half points.
–Field level media
