Jovic scored a career-high 23 points, including 13 in the first half, to help the Tigers lead nearly wire-to-wire in outlasting the Gamecocks.
South Carolina trimmed Auburn’s lead to 51-48 on a Mike Sharavjamts layup with 8:57 to play. But a 9-1 Auburn run, capped by a Jovic slam with just inside five minutes to play, stretched Auburn’s lead to 60-49 and ultimately placed the game out of reach.
South Carolina pulled within 69-67 on a Meechie Johnson 3-pointer with four seconds to play, but could not get closer as Kevin Overton drained a pair of free throws to seal the win.
Auburn (11-7, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) shot just 41.1% overall (23-for-56), including 2-for-19 from 3-point range. The team’s previous season-low in made 3-pointers was five against Oregon in an 84-73 win on Nov. 24, and the last time Auburn made only two 3-pointers in a game was Nov. 29, 2023, in a 74-57 win over Virginia Tech.
The Tigers saw leading scorer Keyshawn Hall sidelined for most of the game due to foul trouble, with just eight points and four fouls in 14 minutes.
But Jovic connected on 9 of 12 shots from the field and 5-for-8 from the foul line for his game-high 23 points. The 6-foot-8 Bosnian freshman, who came into the game averaging just 6.1 points, also grabbed six rebounds in the victory.
KeShawn Murphy added 11 points for the Tigers, with Sebastian Williams-Adams chipping in 11 points and eight rebounds.
South Carolina (10-8, 1-4) shot just 39.7% (23-for-58) for the game. Johnson paced the Gamecocks with 17 points on 6-for-17 shooting while adding six assists and five rebounds.
Sharavjamts tallied 13 points and five boards. Kobe Knox just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Elijah Strong contributed 10 points on 3-for-10 shooting for the Gamecocks.
