Gamecocks wrap KC tournament with victory over Tulsa
South Carolina men’s basketball coach Frank Martin expected some nerves and rustiness for his team’s season opener.
But the Gamecocks had no such excuses on Sunday against Tulsa.
A day after a sluggish start buried USC against Liberty, a looser Gamecocks squad defeated Tulsa, 69-58, in the team’s final game of the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City. With the win, South Carolina moved to 1-1 on the young season.
“Like I expected, I thought we would play a lot better today than we did yesterday,” Martin said Sunday. “And we definitely did that.”
South Carolina displayed resolve at a pivotal moment in the game. With 10:47 left in the second half, Tulsa had a 51-49 lead, but the Gamecocks tightened up defensively and went on a 15-0 run to seize control of the game.
The Gamecocks will need to carry that late-game success into next week, as they’ll take on their toughest opponent yet on Saturday — No. 17 Houston on the road.
3 observations from USC-Tulsa
1. Less rusty
For a moment it appeared as though the first half would be a struggle again for USC, as Tulsa jumped out to an early 9-0 lead. But the Gamecocks found some offensive rhythm and outscored Tulsa 34-24 through the rest of the half.
After struggling to move the ball against Liberty’s pack-line defense on Saturday, the Gamecocks played noticeably smoother on offense Sunday, shooting 48% from the field in the first half and making 5-of-13 3-pointers.
South Carolina entered halftime up 34-33, putting the Gamecocks in much better position than Saturday’s 17-point halftime deficit.
2. Couisnard leads strong backcourt performance
Slow starts from top scorers A.J. Lawson and Jermaine Couisnard hampered the Gamecocks on Saturday, with the guards combining for 3-for-13 shooting in the game’s first 20 minutes.
Both players were in top form Sunday, combining to score 21 of the team’s 34 first-half points. Couisnard paced the team in scoring with 20 points. Lawson finished just behind him with 17.
“I felt good, to be honest,” said Couisnard, who made seven of 15 field-goal attempts and four of his eight 3-point attempts. “And I just kept on trying to build our confidence because (Saturday) it felt like our confidence was low. We were playing kind of shaky. We weren’t able to play like how we usually play.”
Much like he did Saturday, Martin continued to tinker with his backcourt, mixing in senior transfer Seventh Woods and sophomores T.J. Moss and Trae Hannibal, at times using three guards on the court at once. Each player brought a different element to the contest.
An experienced distributor, Woods posted three assists off the bench, although his playing time was limited in the second half by a minor “tweaked knee,” Martin said, adding that Woods could have played through it.
Hannibal scored four points on two physical, athletic layups.
3. Controlling the perimeter
A day after the Gamecocks allowed Liberty to make 11-of-26 3-pointers (42%) and made just three of 17 themselves, USC was much more effective in both limiting and scoring 3-pointers.
USC shot 9 of 23 from beyond the arc, while holding Tulsa to just four 3-pointers on 17 attempts.
Martin said throughout the offseason he wasn’t sure if his offense was good or if his defense was struggling. He said Saturday’s game didn’t provide any more clarity.
At least against Tulsa, the Gamecocks looked far stingier on the defensive end of the court. Late in the second half, the Gamecocks held Tulsa scoreless for nearly 10 minutes as USC went on its 15-0 run.
”Our spirit (Saturday), we allowed offensive mistakes to impact us defensively,” Martin said. We didn’t let that happen today.”
Next game
Who: South Carolina (1-1) at No. 17 Houston (2-0)
Where: Fertitta Center in Houston
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Watch: Streaming via ESPN-Plus
South Carolina vs Tulsa stats, box score
TULSA (0-2): Ugboh 1-4 1-1 3, Embery-Simpson 4-10 1-6 11, Haywood 0-4 0-0 0, Joiner 3-6 5-6 11, Rachal 4-10 4-5 14, Jackson 2-3 1-2 5, Idowu 4-6 0-0 8, Williams 3-7 0-0 6, Richie 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 12-20 58.
SOUTH CAROLINA (1-1): Bryant 1-7 0-0 2, Frink 2-4 0-2 4, Minaya 5-10 0-0 11, Couisnard 7-15 2-3 20, Lawson 5-8 3-4 17, Moss 3-4 2-2 8, Hannibal 2-3 0-0 4, McCreary 0-1 0-0 0, Woods 0-1 0-0 0, Leveque 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 26-54 8-13 69.
Halftime—South Carolina 34-33. 3-Point Goals—Tulsa 4-17 (Rachal 2-5, Embery-Simpson 2-6, Joiner 0-1, Richie 0-2, Haywood 0-3), South Carolina 9-23 (Lawson 4-7, Couisnard 4-8, Minaya 1-5, Bryant 0-1, Frink 0-1, Woods 0-1). Rebounds—Tulsa 26 (Joiner 7), South Carolina 31 (Frink, Minaya 9). Assists—Tulsa 10 (Jackson 4), South Carolina 13 (Couisnard 4). Total Fouls—Tulsa 12, South Carolina 17.
This story was originally published November 29, 2020 at 3:02 PM.
