Keyshawn Bryant, Gamecocks slam Georgia to end losing skid
Everything seemed to be going wrong for the South Carolina men’s basketball team.
The Gamecocks entered Wednesday night’s matchup with Georgia on a three-game losing streak, having just been “embarrassed” by Auburn in a home loss that had head coach Frank Martin questioning his team’s effort.
To make matters worse, on Tuesday, the team announced that veteran forward Alanzo Frink would miss the rest of the season due to “medical reasons.”
Midway through the first half, it appeared as though the Gamecocks were on their way to a fourth-straight loss, struggling to get anything going offensively.
Then, suddenly, the team found its groove.
The Gamecocks surged ahead of the Bulldogs late in the first half and carried that momentum into the second half, defeating Georgia, 83-59.
“It just builds confidence off this win,” sophomore guard Jermaine Couisnard said. “We just got to keep on stacking positives on top of each other and just keep on pushing every game and every day. Just keep working. Take it a day at a time and just build.”
3 Observations from USC-Georgia
1. Gamecocks catch fire late in first half
At the media timeout at the 7:38 minute mark, the Gamecocks trailed Georgia, 17-13, and seemed on the cusp of another demoralizing home loss. At that point, the Gamecocks had made just 5 of 23 field goals, missed all four 3-point looks and had also missed consecutive dunks in the same offensive possession.
When the Gamecocks returned to the court after the timeout, they played like a different team entirely.
Over a four-minute stretch, USC went on a 19-2 run — at one point scoring 14 unanswered points. And they ended the half up, 36-26.
2. Bryant takes over
When Keyshawn Bryant missed his dunk midway through the first half — followed immediately by a Wildens Leveque missed dunk — the Gamecocks were reeling. The moment seemed to encapsulate the struggles of the team over its last three games.
But Bryant didn’t take long to redeem himself. He was able to laugh off the missed dunk after the game.
“My main thing was don’t make eye contact with Frank,” Bryant said, smiling. “That was my main focus. But you know, it all paid off good. I just kept my head up and my team kept me going.”
The junior forward was a key driver of the Gamecocks’ late first-half surge, dunking twice in emphatic fashion to raise the energy level in Colonial Life Arena.
His strong game continued into the second half, where he added a third — and possibly his most athletic — dunk of the night.
Beyond his dunks, the 6-foot-6 forward also displayed his growth as a complete basketball player. Bryant added three steals and 10 rebounds to go along with his 19 points. And he continued to show the improved mid-range shooting touch he’s displayed throughout his junior season.
“Dunking will come. That’s a gift and ability,” Bryant said. “But I’ve been trying to focus a lot on the other things, dribbling with the ball, making shots with the ball, making the mid-range shots. So that’s coming along pretty good, and it’s kind of helping me on the offensive end.”
3. Defense improves
Entering the night, South Carolina ranked last in the SEC with 76.6 points allowed per game. And the Gamecocks were coming off a 109-86 home loss to Auburn — the highest opposing point total allowed in the Martin era.
The Gamecocks played like a more connected defensive unit on Wednesday night and were especially stingy on the perimeter, limiting Georgia to just three 3-pointers on 25 attempts.
The Bulldogs shot 32% from the field, compared to 44% for the Gamecocks.
“It was fun to watch not just because of the score but just the unity and the connectedness that we played with defensively,” Martin said. “And I thought as the game progressed that gave us the same kind of trust offensively.”
Next USC basketball game
Who: South Carolina (4-5, 2-3 SEC) at Vanderbilt (4-8, 0-6)
Where: Nashville, Tenn.
When: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
Watch: SEC Network
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 9:02 PM.
