South Carolina gets rolled by Wichita State, starts Cancun trip on rough note
South Carolina’s Thanksgiving week didn’t get off to a good start.
Frank Martin’s Gamecocks, playing the first of two quality opponents in the Cancun Challenge, were rolled by Wichita State 70-47 on Tuesday night in Mexico.
The loss is the second in three games for USC (4-2), but the first in true blowout fashion. The Shockers (6-0) never trailed and led by as many as 25.
This is USC’s worst non-conference loss since falling by 26 to Boise State on Nov. 23, 2013.
“They absolutely kicked our tails,” Martin told the Gamecock Sports Network. “We had no answer for them.”
South Carolina next faces Northern Iowa in a 6 p.m. Wednesday consolation game (CBS Sports Network). The Panthers are 6-1 with a narrow loss to West Virginia (5-0).
In other words, Carolina needs a much better effort to leave Mexico with a win.
In shades of last week’s offensively-challenged split week in Columbia, the Gamecocks lacked rhythm and couldn’t string together multiple stretches of good play. A 10-0 run late in the first half was immediately answered by a 12-0 sprint from the Shockers that put WSU up 19 at halftime.
South Carolina shot 32.1 % from the field, went three of 10 from 3-point range and eight of 17 from the free throw line. It was out-rebounded by nine.
“Give Wichita State credit,” Martin said. ‘They didn’t let us run offense and then we couldn’t play off the dribble. When you play a team that’s trying to deny, then you got to try to go off the dribble and create help and pass. And our guards wouldn’t do that. When we did, we turned it over.”
Wichita State led 15-5 after eight minutes and never looked back. The Shockers, coached by SC native Gregg Marshall, are a balanced team — see five players averaging double figures — that had enough firepower to put USC away early.
WSU shot 55.6% in the first half. Erik Stevenson led all scorers with 19 points. Trey Wade had 11 and Jamarius Burton added 10.
Maik Kotsar led the Gamecocks with 12 points, but the senior center also committed five turnovers.
And one: South Carolina had its moments defensively. The Gamecocks forced 16 turnovers, including 13 in the first half. That was the good thing. The bad thing is USC turned those takeaways into just eight points.
Personal foul: Coming off a three-game stretch where he averaged 22 points, A.J. Lawson was a non-factor against the Shockers. The sophomore was held to five points, his lowest as a starter since going scoreless in a loss to Wofford last November.
Tip-in: Jair Bolden picked up two early fouls and T.J. Moss didn’t give much as a backup, so freshman Trae Hannibal got a ton of run at point guard for the Gamecocks. The Hartsville product had a point, four rebounds, a steal and four fouls in 18 minutes.
WICHITA ST. (6-0) Wade 4-8 1-1 11, Udeze 0-0 0-0 0, Stevenson 6-13 5-5 19, Sherfield 1-3 2-2 4, Dennis 2-8 0-0 5, Gordon 0-0 3-4 3, Echenique 3-3 0-0 6, Poor Bear-Chandler 1-2 0-0 2, Midtgaard 1-2 0-0 2, Etienne 2-8 2-2 8, Busse 0-0 0-0 0, Fernandes 0-0 0-0 0, Herrs 0-1 0-0 0, Burton 3-8 4-9 10, Bush 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-56 17-23 70.
SOUTH CAROLINA (4-2) Kotsar 6-13 0-0 12, Minaya 2-4 1-2 5, Leveque 2-3 2-4 6, Bolden 2-10 0-0 5, Lawson 2-6 0-2 5, Anderson 0-3 2-2 2, McCreary 0-2 2-5 2, Nelson 0-0 0-0 0, Frink 0-1 0-0 0, Henry 0-1 0-0 0, Moss 1-5 0-0 2, Couisnard 3-7 0-0 7, Green 0-0 0-0 0, Hannibal 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 18-56 8-17 47.
Halftime—Wichita St. 41-22. 3-Point Goals—Wichita St. 7-27 (Wade 2-4, Etienne 2-7, Stevenson 2-7, Dennis 1-7, Poor Bear-Chandler 0-1, Herrs 0-1), South Carolina 3-10 (Lawson 1-2, Couisnard 1-2, Bolden 1-3, Anderson 0-1, Moss 0-1, Frink 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Wichita St. 39 (Stevenson 8), South Carolina 32 (Leveque 8). Assists—Wichita St. 17 (Burton 5), South Carolina 8 (Kotsar 3). Total Fouls—Wichita St. 20, South Carolina 24. Technicals—Wichita St. coach Gregg Marshall. A—1,311 (0).
This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 8:03 PM.
