Keyshawn Bryant returns, Gamecocks top Rider for 4th straight win. What we learned
Playing for the first time this season with a complete roster, the South Carolina men’s basketball team struggled to get in sync Sunday afternoon against Rider.
The Gamecocks fell into an early hole against a Broncs team (3-5) that won just six games a year ago, but Frank Martin’s squad prevailed in the second half, overcoming Rider with a 65-58 win.
The win marked the fourth straight for the Gamecocks (5-1), who are off to their best start to a season since 2017-18.
“5-1 in the month of November,” Martin said. “Any time you’re 5-1 in a month in our sport, you’re in a good place.”
Here’s what we learned about the Gamecocks on Sunday.
Bryant makes season debut
After serving a five-game suspension due to a violation of athletic department policy, senior forward Keyshawn Bryant made his season debut for the Gamecocks against the Broncs. With forward A.J. Wilson making his own debut in the previous game after battling a back injury and the flu, the Gamecocks played with a complete roster for the first time.
Bryant’s return is a key one for the Gamecocks, as the senior is USC’s top returning scorer and rebounder from a year ago. Serving as a sixth man off the bench, much like last season, Bryant provided an immediate spark when he checked in at the 14-minute mark Sunday, drawing a loud applause from the Colonial Life Arena crowd.
“Knowing the fans still got your back through your ups and downs, that was the most special thing, knowing the fans are still behind me,” Bryant said.
He scored his first two points of the year on a baseline jumper and created a highlight-reel moment with an alley-oop pass to Wildens Leveque. He also helped fuel a 7-0 run at the end of the half with a step-back jumper and a transition bucket. Midway through the second half, Bryant banked a deep 3-pointer to tie the game at 36-36 and surged down the stretch to post a game-high 17 points.
Shooters cool down
In USC’s 85-74 win Tuesday over Wofford, the Gamecocks had seemingly solved the deep-shooting woes that plagued them in the first few games. USC made a season-high 12 3-pointers in 22 attempts, and 3-point specialist Erik Stevenson had his best performance of the season, making five of his seven 3-point looks and scoring 25 points.
On Sunday, that hot streak evaporated.
Stevenson missed his first five 3-point attempts before making two in the second half. He finished the game with 10 points. The Gamecocks made just six of 20 attempts from the perimeter, and those shooting struggles carried over to the free-throw line, where USC went 15 for 26.
Martin said the USC offense was stalled by Rider’s matchup-zone defense, and the Gamecocks responded with second-half adjustments to move the ball more offensively.
Inconsistency from the bigs
Martin has pointed to inconsistency from his big men as an area of weakness, and that remained the case for USC against Rider.
Though larger in stature than the Broncs, the Gamecocks couldn’t take advantage on the boards, with the teams finishing near even in rebounding. USC held a slim 38-37 lead on the boards.
Meanwhile, the big men quartet of Leveque, Wilson, Josh Gray and Ta’Quan Woodley combined for just 12 points. The 6-foot-10 Leveque did finish the game on a strong note, however, scoring seven points in the second half to help the Gamecocks pull away.
Next USC men’s basketball game
Who: South Carolina at Coastal Carolina
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: HTC Center in Conway
Watch: Streaming on ESPN Plus
Box score: South Carolina 65, Rider 58
RIDER (3-5): James 2-5 0-0 5, Ogemuno-Johnson 3-8 1-2 7, Vaughn 3-10 3-6 9, Murray 5-10 4-4 15, Powell 4-8 2-4 11, N.Benson 2-7 1-2 5, McKeithan 1-6 0-0 3, McGlone 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 21-57 11-18 58.
SOUTH CAROLINA (5-1): Wilson 1-1 0-2 2, Leveque 4-8 1-3 9, Couisnard 5-9 1-2 13, Reese 1-4 0-0 2, Stevenson 2-9 4-4 10, Wright 2-5 2-4 6, Bryant 6-10 4-5 17, D.Carter 1-8 2-3 5, Woodley 0-1 1-3 1, Gray 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 15-26 65.
Halftime—Rider 28-25. 3-Point Goals—Rider 5-13 (James 1-1, McGlone 1-2, Murray 1-2, McKeithan 1-3, Powell 1-3, N.Benson 0-1, Vaughn 0-1), South Carolina 6-20 (Couisnard 2-3, Stevenson 2-7, Bryant 1-2, D.Carter 1-3, Reese 0-2, Wright 0-3). Fouled Out—James, Ogemuno-Johnson. Rebounds—Rider 35 (Vaughn 10), South Carolina 34 (Leveque 6). Assists—Rider 11 (Murray 6), South Carolina 9 (Wright 4). Total Fouls—Rider 24, South Carolina 18. A—8,027 (18,000).
This story was originally published November 28, 2021 at 3:58 PM.
