Frank Martin’s Gamecocks rusty in season opener, fall to Liberty in KC tournament
The wait was longer than expected.
While the majority of men’s basketball teams tipped off on Wednesday, South Carolina had to wait three extra days after a season-opening exhibition against Coker was canceled due to a delay in COVID-19 testing delivery.
The Gamecocks instead opened their season against red-hot Liberty in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City on Saturday afternoon, taking on a Liberty team that had already played two games. The Gamecocks scuffled early and couldn’t claw back, falling to the Flames 78-62.
Liberty entered the game coming off an 84-73 win against Mississippi State and secured its second-straight win against a Southeastern Conference opponent. The Gamecocks, meanwhile, were trying to shake off cobwebs after not playing in eight months.
“Kind of what I expected today,” head coach Frank Martin said over Zoom. “Not the win and loss. But what I expected, especially early in the game. We were a little tight. We were a little nervous. Whenever you’re tight, nervous, you don’t think straight, you don’t move fluidly.
“So everything we talked about trying to do offensively going into this game we did backwards in the first half.”
The Gamecocks will have a quick turnaround — and a quick shot at redemption — when they play either Tulsa or TCU on Sunday afternoon.
3 Observations
1. Slow start
The Gamecocks looked out of sync early on against the Flames, struggling to move the ball offensively and allowing Liberty to connect on eight of 17 3-pointers in the first half.
The Gamecocks, meanwhile, shot just 2 for 11 beyond the arc in the first half and just 33.3% from the field and entered halftime trailing Liberty, 43-26. USC’s two leading scorers from a year ago — guards A.J. Lawson and Jermaine Couisnard — both struggled with shot selection and execution in the first half, with Lawson sinking just two of his seven shots and Couisnard making one of six.
Martin cited “lethargic” player movement and a lack of effort for loose balls as key issues for the Gamecocks on Saturday, adding that 60 percent of the team’s first-half shots came after fewer than two passes, playing into Liberty’s pack-line defense.
Martin made a clear effort to mix and match, with 11 different players seeing the court in USC’s first 20 minutes, but the USC offense wasn’t able to find any sort of consistency.
Known for his fiery court-side demeanor, Martin was more subdued Saturday, saying he didn’t think yelling at his players would help them get over their first-game nerves.
“I didn’t get on them or kind of chase them around or anything,” Martin said, “Because I felt they were tight. The last thing they needed was me being on their rear ends when they’re already tight. They needed to relax and play. And we started doing that a little too late.”
The Gamecocks looked sharper in the second half, outscoring Liberty 36-35 and shooting 44.8% from the field. But they couldn’t climb out of their first-half hole, and defensively they couldn’t contain Liberty’s 3-point shooters. The Flames made 11 of 26 3-pointers for the game.
2. Bryant picks up where he left off
Martin talked up junior forward Keyshawn Bryant and the progress he made during the offseason, calling him one of the most intelligent players on the roster. In USC’s last five games of the 2019-20 season, Bryant emerged as an offensive focal point, averaging 15.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest.
The 6-foot-6 wing led the Gamecocks in first-half scoring with seven points, showing off his explosive athleticism with two key dunks early in the game. He finished with a near double-double, scoring 10 points and posting seven rebounds.
“I think he should be real good,” Martin said. “Keyshawn, he had a great offseason, a great preseason. He’s grown tremendously as a player. His spirit is real good. He’s become a leader on our basketball team. And he’s not scared to go make a play.”
3. Backcourt jumble
Much has been made about the battle for playing time at guard, where the Gamecocks boast more depth than any other position. While Lawson and Couisnard drew the starts for USC, North Carolina senior transfer Seventh Woods figured heavily into the rotation, and sophomores Trae Hannibal and T.J. Moss both saw action, as well.
Both Lawson (12 points) and Couisnard (10 points) finished with double-digit point totals after shaking off some early rust. Though Woods played in a reserve role, he was efficient with his touches, scoring eight points on 4-of-7 shooting. Woods played 17 minutes, compared to 26 for Couisnard and 21 for Lawson.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Hannibal displayed some physicality with a strong finish on a first-half layup, drawing a foul and making the and-1. Moss had a quieter opening game with just one field goal — one of USC’s three 3-pointers — but he tied Lawson with 21 minutes of playing time.
“It sucks that we couldn’t play (Wednesday’s game), that it got canceled,” Lawson said. “But we came here, we were ready to play. Our first game; they had two games under their belt. We still gotta just learn from this and just keep playing.”
South Carolina-Liberty stats, box score
SOUTH CAROLINA (0-1): Bryant 3-7 4-6 10, Frink 1-3 2-2 4, Minaya 1-4 0-0 2, Couisnard 4-13 2-4 10, Lawson 5-11 0-1 12, Moss 1-3 0-1 3, Leveque 1-4 4-4 6, Woods 4-7 0-0 8, Hannibal 1-3 1-1 3, McCreary 2-3 0-0 4, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-59 13-19 62.
LIBERTY (2-1): Abii 1-3 2-2 4, Rode 4-8 8-9 18, McGhee 4-11 0-2 10, Parker 5-8 1-2 12, Cuffee 5-7 0-0 13, McDowell 5-6 0-0 13, Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Dobbs 1-2 0-0 2, Preston 2-4 2-3 6, Warfield 0-0 0-0 0, Price 0-0 0-0 0, Dean 0-0 0-0 0, McKay 0-0 0-0 0, Reed 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-49 13-18 78.
Halftime—Liberty 43-26. 3-Point Goals—South Carolina 3-17 (Lawson 2-6, Moss 1-2, Frink 0-1, Bryant 0-2, Couisnard 0-3, Minaya 0-3), Liberty 11-27 (McDowell 3-4, Cuffee 3-5, Rode 2-6, McGhee 2-8, Parker 1-2, Abii 0-1, Dobbs 0-1). Rebounds—South Carolina 26 (Bryant 7), Liberty 28 (Rode, McDowell 6). Assists—South Carolina 7 (Minaya, Hannibal 2), Liberty 16 (Parker 5). Total Fouls—South Carolina 16, Liberty 18.
This story was originally published November 28, 2020 at 5:55 PM.
