Transfer Myles Rice leads No. 16 Indiana past South Carolina

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) Myles Rice scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half and No. 16 Indiana defeated South Carolina 87-71 on Saturday.

Rice, a Washington State transfer, hit 7 of 10 shots including 3 of 4 from 3-point range and all six foul shots. The Hoosiers (3-0) were never seriously threatened in the second half, their smallest lead being eight points with 1:19 remaining.

Mackenzie Mgbako added 17 for Indiana.

Morris Ugusuk led the Gamecocks (2-2) with 18 points, including four 3-pointers.

South Carolina: The Gamecocks relied too much on 3-point shooting to try to make up for a subpar shooting effort. They finished 8 of 29. And the visitors didn't defend the 3 well as Indiana made 8 of 17. The Gamecocks weren't strong enough to overcome the lack of an inside scoring presence usually provided by leading scorer Collin Murray-Bowles, who had one basket in 19 minutes before fouling out.

Indiana: Rice's hot first half was instrumental in establishing a double-digit lead. The Hoosiers' backcourt of Rice and Kanaan Carlyle, which averaged a combined 11 points in the first two games, had a breakout game as Carlyle added 12 points. The Hoosiers rely heavily on other scorers, so a productive backcourt makes them significantly stronger.

Rice hit shots on back-to-back possessions, including a 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining in the first half, as Indiana opened up a 43-32 lead at the break.

Murray-Bowles, who entered with a team-high 20.3 average, scored just two points before sitting eight minutes into the first half with two fouls. He sat again when assessed his fourth foul with 15:34 remaining and fouled out with 8:16 remaining.

The Gamecocks return home to host Mercer on Thursday. The Hoosiers host UNC Greensboro on Thursday.

---

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball