USC struggles to score, falls to Houston to begin crucial stretch on rough note
Maik Kotsar’s free throw hit the front rim, bounced to the back rim and finally found its way to the bottom of the net. Fifteen feet away, the South Carolina big man tilted his head back and took a deep breath as a sign of relief.
Everything was tough on the home team Sunday in Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks struggled on offense, the visitors not as much and USC has lost its first game of a crucial three-game stretch before SEC play.
Houston 76, South Carolina 56
“We got a lot of growing up to do,” said Carolina coach Frank Martin.
The Gamecocks are now 6-4 and will spend their next two Sundays in ACC arenas — Clemson on Dec. 15, Virginia on Dec. 22. Columbia wasn’t kind to Carolina this Sunday. What’s life going to be like in the Upstate and Charlottesville? Potentially more challenging if the latest shooting performance travels.
Facing a Houston defense that limited transition opportunities, packed the paint and forced the Gamecocks to beat them from deep, South Carolina made 32.3% of its field goal attempts. It went six of 25 on 3-pointers.
The Cougars’ game plan was derived from South Carolina’s 84-80 win over UMass on Wednesday that saw the Gamecocks get a season-high 52 points in the paint.
They had 18 Sunday.
“That’s all we prepared for for two days,” said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson. “As you watch them play, they live in the paint.”
South Carolina was coming off three straight games of shooting 50% or better. It was clear early Sunday that streak was coming to a stop after it missed 11 of its first 13 shots and dug itself a hole. The Gamecocks never led in this game and were down double-digits for the final 23:52 against reigning Sweet 16 participant and preseason American Athletic Conference champion Houston.
“I don’t think the offense is a problem,” Martin said. “I think we got a couple young guys that are not as sharp as they need to be with execution. I don’t think our offense is a problem. You got to make shots, man, You’re not going to beat a team that won (33) games, Sweet 16 by shooing ... I think we missed as many shots as they almost shot. We missed like 42 shots or something like that. I think they shot 50.
“You’re not going to beat these kinds of teams doing that. It’s just not the way it works.”
The Gamecocks missed 42 shots. Houston attempted 52, making half of them. The Cougars (5-2) got 24 points from Quentin Grimes. They were plus-14 on 3s and free throws and had 12 more rebounds than Carolina.
“We need to do a better job on offense, running our play,” said Kotsar, who led USC with 12 points. “If we run our play properly and do everything the right way, then we can attack the paint. Because that’s what our offense is set to do, get to the rim or get open shots.
“If we stick to that, I think we should get to the rim.”
USC trailed by 12 at halftime and got within 11 three times and 10 twice in the final period. Down 59-48 with 6:09 to play, Jair Bolden had a late-shot clock drive blocked by Marcus Sasser. It felt like the last real chance for the Gamecocks to grab any momentum.
“Really happy with how we prepared and our enthusiasm for the game for today,” Martin said. “Very disappointed we got punched in the mouth and we didn’t answer. They had us on our heels the whole game. We didn’t have the resolve to put them on their heels.”
And one: Kotsar scored in double figures for a sixth time in seven games.
Personal foul: Keyshawn Bryant, the spark to USC’s win over UMass, wasn’t nearly as impactful in his second game back from injury. The sophomore finished with four points in 14 minutes.
“He needs to practice,” Martin said. “That’s all I’ll say. It’s hard to expect him to perform well with two practices against a team of this caliber. I didn’t get the vibe he had a lot of confidence early in the game.”
Tip-in: South Carolina wore throwback uniforms from from a previous era, but also continued a series from a previous era. This USC-Houston matchup was the first since 1990. When the two teams play each other next year in Texas, it’ll mark the first time the Gamecocks and Cougars meet in consecutive seasons since four straight matchups from 1970-75.
NEXT GAME
What: South Carolina at Clemson
Where: Littlejohn Coliseum
When: 5 p.m., Dec. 15
TV: ESPN2
Radio: 107.5 The Game in Columbia area
This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 1:54 PM.
