South Carolina torches Texas A&M to get back on winning track
Jermaine Couisnard kept running. Past the Texas A&M bench. Past South Carolina’s bench. He didn’t stop until he reached the tunnel. He was smiling the whole time.
The Gamecocks had fun en route to their 74-54 whipping of the Aggies on Saturday at Colonial Life Arena. A team that needed a boost after a tough week of losses — a game, a player — got it in the form of a dominating performance to improve 14-9 overall and 6-4 in the SEC.
“We came out and played with tremendous energy, tremendous aggression without fouling, with discipline,” said USC coach Frank Martin. “And then when our two guards score, we usually give ourselves a chance to win.”
Couisnard scored 19 points, including a buzzer-beating 3 at the end of the first half that summed up life for both sides. Texas A&M, which once led 9-0 in this game, couldn’t get stop Couisnard from a full-court sprint and launch from some 25 feet. The redshirt freshman celebrated by out-racing his teammates to the locker room.
The Gamecocks were up 18 as Couisnard flashed fans back to Jan. 15 when he ended the Kentucky game with a similar play.
“Jermaine, he’s very intelligent,” Martin said. “So he knows, five seconds, I got x-number of dribbles. We talk about that and that registers in his head. So he knows what he’s got. He doesn’t need to be looking at the clock. He knew it in the Kentucky game and obviously he knew it today.
“But Jermaine’s fearless of the moment. And guys that are fearless of the moment have the ability to make those kind of plays.”
The lead grew beyond 30 in the second half as Couisnard continued the entertainment. After a slick pass through traffic to Maik Kotsar for a jam, Couisnard threw up imaginary goggles to his face. After a corner 3-pointer, Couisnard pointed to a courtside-seated fan and flashed a grin.
“This is something I love to do,” said Couisnard, who added four rebounds and three assists. “I just came out and had fun.
“And then I think somebody was on the side talking to me before I made the 3. So then I told him when I made it, I was going to point to him.”
Without Justin Minaya — the redshirt sophomore had surgery to repair an injured thumb Friday — the Gamecocks, after an early scare, had their way with the Aggies for a second time this season.
A.J. Lawson added 18 points and Kotsar had 10 points, three rebounds and four assists.
“I wasn’t in a sour mode to start the game because I thought we were prepared to go to today,” Martin said, “and it showed.”
Coming off an 84-70 loss at Ole Miss on Wednesday, the Gamecocks began Saturday with six straight misses and in a nine-point hole. They recovered with a 41-14 run to end the half and put a rout in motion.
“That was arguably one of our better starts this season,” said TAMU coach Buzz Williams. “And then I’m sure at the first (media) timeout, (Martin) told them they weren’t playing hard, so they started playing real hard and they started bullying us.”
Texas A&M, which began the day in a four-way tie with Carolina for fifth place in the SEC, dropped to 5-5 in the league.
NEXT
What: South Carolina at Georgia
When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Athens, Georgia
TV: SEC Network
Radio: 107.5 The Game in Columbia area
BOX SCORE
South Carolina 74, Texas A&M 54
TEXAS A&M (11-11): Miller 0-5 1-2 1, Nebo 1-2 1-2 3, Gordon 1-5 1-1 3, Mitchell 4-14 1-2 12, Flagg 0-4 2-4 2, Chandler 1-4 6-6 9, Jackson 5-14 4-5 16, Aku 0-1 0-0 0, Gultekin 3-4 1-1 8, French 0-2 0-0 0, Walker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-55 17-23 54.
SOUTH CAROLINA (14-9): Bryant 3-6 0-0 6, Frink 1-2 1-1 3, Kotsar 3-6 4-4 10, Couisnard 5-12 7-9 19, Lawson 5-10 4-6 18, Hannibal 1-6 1-3 3, Bolden 2-7 2-3 8, McCreary 2-4 1-1 5, Leveque 1-1 0-0 2, Moss 0-1 0-0 0, Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Green 0-1 0-0 0, Nelson 0-2 0-0 0, Henry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-59 20-27 74.
Halftime—South Carolina 41-23. 3-Point Goals—Texas A&M 7-27 (Mitchell 3-9, Jackson 2-7, Gultekin 1-2, Chandler 1-3, Gordon 0-1, French 0-2, Flagg 0-3), South Carolina 8-24 (Lawson 4-8, Bolden 2-4, Couisnard 2-7, Anderson 0-1, Green 0-1, Hannibal 0-1, Moss 0-1, Nelson 0-1). Fouled Out—Chandler. Rebounds—Texas A&M 35 (Miller :sunglasses:, South Carolina 31 (McCreary 5). Assists—Texas A&M 5 (Gordon, Mitchell, Flagg, Jackson, Gultekin 1), South Carolina 13 (Kotsar 4). Total Fouls—Texas A&M 19, South Carolina 23.
This story was originally published February 8, 2020 at 3:00 PM.
