Gamecocks again can’t find their shots, drop third of five

Dedric and K.J. Lawson are future NBA players. Fine, South Carolina said, we got you. The other guys will have to beat us.

The other guy accepted.

Memphis’ Markel Crawford took over in a 70-54 win over the Gamecocks on Friday, scoring 28. USC (10-3) was all over the Lawsons early and winning despite massive turnovers and fouls, but the Tigers (10-4) eventually found their shots.

That was Crawford running through backdoor cuts until Dedric Lawson could get to the free-throw line and break the jinx. The Tigers owned the offensive glass and once P.J. Dozier picked up his second foul of the first half, Memphis had its opening.

“What hurt us was to start the game, they set the personality of the game the way they attacked the rim,” coach Frank Martin said. “They just came at us, and even though we had an early lead, the personality of the game, I didn’t like the way it was going. And it never changed.”

Memphis shot 37 free throws to USC’s 15. It was the opposite of last year’s USC win in Columbia, when the Gamecocks went to the stripe 63 times and made 46.

“They were the physical team, they were the ones that attacked the rim,” Martin said. “We never did, and they got the win.”

The Tigers scored 11 straight points in the first half to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. With Duane Notice again locked in a no-scoring cell, the Gamecocks had no reliable source of offense. They lost their third game out of five and are 3-3 without the services of suspended star Sindarius Thornwell.

USC rebounded better to start the second and had Memphis suffering from inflamed turnovers, but couldn’t take advantage. Twice, they had third chances of possessions become turnovers and when Maik Kotsar rimmed out a wide-open four-footer, it turned into a transition alley-oop dunk by Crawford.

A two-point deficit became seven in a blink. The Gamecocks cut it to one with 11 minutes to go but no closer, departing with a nice non-conference record but not what they thought it could be after beginning 8-0.

The Lawsons had 20 combined, 12 from the line. Nobody else had more than 10.

But Crawford was enough to overcome USC’s lack of shooting. Dozier fouled out with 13 points and he was one of only three Gamecocks in double figures. Notice finished 0-for-8 for two points, and missed two of four free-throw attempts as well.

The reigning SEC Sixth Man of the Year, Notice has hit 11 of his past 49 shots. The number would be worse without a 5-for-10 performance against Division II Lander.

“Everybody goes through it,” Dozier said of Notice. “I have the utmost confidence in him.”

“I’m not going to say anything to him,” Martin said. “He’s got to man up, put on his big-boy pants and grow up and not pout and he’s got to make some shots.”

The sour record over the past six games (all without Thornwell) stings but the overall judgment was positive. USC came into the game with an RPI of 37 and like it always does, the season will come down to the SEC schedule. The Gamecocks begin at Georgia on Wednesday.

“We’re 10-3 with a pretty good strength-of-schedule, playing a bunch of games away from home,” Martin said. “We got some self-inflicted wounds. We got to keep working.”

NOTES: TeMarcus Blanton (groin) missed his seventh straight game. … Freshman Evan Hinson is clear to join the team now that football season is over but he was not with the Gamecocks on Friday.

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SOUTH CAROLINA (10-3)

Kotsar 2-7 1-2 5, Silva 2-3 2-2 6, Dozier 5-16 1-2 13, Notice 0-8 2-4 2, McKie 4-8 0-0 10, Holliman 0-0 0-0 0, Keita 0-3 0-0 0, Gueye 0-0 0-0 0, Schmitt 0-0 0-0 0, Gravett 2-4 2-2 8, Felder 3-8 1-3 10. Totals 18-57 9-15 54.

MEMPHIS (10-4)

Crawford 9-13 10-12 28, Martin 1-4 3-3 5, K.Lawson 0-6 1-4 1, D.Lawson 4-9 11-13 19, Rivers 4-7 2-2 10, Moffatt 0-0 0-0 0, Clergeot 2-3 0-1 5, Kessee 0-0 0-0 0, Randall 0-1 2-2 2, McDowell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-43 29-37 70.

Halftime: Memphis 33-28. 3-Point Goals: South Carolina 9-25 (Felder 3-7, Gravett 2-3, McKie 2-3, Dozier 2-5, Notice 0-7), Memphis 1-7 (Clergeot 1-2, D.Lawson 0-1, Randall 0-1, Martin 0-1, Crawford 0-2). Fouled Out: Dozier, Gravett, Silva. Rebounds: South Carolina 33 (Silva 8), Memphis 31 (D.Lawson 15). Assists: South Carolina 12 (Kotsar, Dozier, Gravett, McKie 2), Memphis 14 (D.Lawson 8). Total Fouls: South Carolina 30, Memphis 18.

This story was originally published December 30, 2016 at 11:16 PM with the headline "Gamecocks again can’t find their shots, drop third of five."