What we learned as Gamecocks hold off USC Upstate to snap 3-game losing skid
South Carolina needed this one.
Growing pains aren’t surprising for a team with a brand new coaching staff and a nearly brand new roster. But the Gamecocks were scuffling coming into Friday’s game at Colonial Life Arena against USC Upstate — coming off three straight losses at last weekend’s Charleston Classic.
The Gamecocks couldn’t afford to lose against the Spartans, who ranked 317th among 363 Division I teams on KenPom.com leading into the contest.
Though South Carolina struggled in the first half — especially defensively — the Gamecocks (3-3) came out on top over the Spartans 68-53, ending their three-game skid before next week’s multi-game road trip to Washington, D.C.
“I knew that (the Spartans) would be ready and we would have to play well to win, and I thought we did,” head coach Lamont Paris said. “I was really happy with a lot of things: the overall feel of how the game progressed, what we did defensively, offensively. We had eight turnovers. Just a better feel.
“We didn’t make some plays, didn’t make some shots, but just it had a better feel to me. Thhis might be what it looks like on a more consistent basis for us.”
Here’s what we learned.
Second-half run
For a moment, the injury-sapped Gamecocks appeared to be trending toward a fourth-straight loss. They trailed the Spartans 31-28 at halftime and allowed USC Upstate to shoot 52% from the field.
However, USC came out of the locker room in the second half with a more urgent energy. The Gamecocks went on a 10-0 run at the start of the second half to take a 38-33 point lead, forcing the Spartans to take a timeout.
Perhaps more importantly, the Gamecocks clamped down on the defensive end in the second half, holding the Spartans under 50% shooting and out-rebounding them on the glass 19-12.
Once again, freshman phenom GG Jackson paced the scoring for USC, putting up a team-high and career-high 22 points. Jackson came into the game as USC’s leading scorer, with 16.2 points per contest. Veteran Hayden Brown was also a key contributor, scoring 15 points and fall just short of a double-double with nine rebounds.
More injury woes
USC was down a pair of starters in Friday’s game.
Starting point guard Meechie Johnson has battled a right ankle injury since the first game of the season, tweaking it a couple of times during subsequent games. Paris said after the team’s weekend in Charleston that Johnson was “a shell” of himself due to the injury.
Veteran guard Chico Carter Jr., the team’s starting shooting guard, also sat out Friday’s game due to a left ankle injury he suffered in the team’s last game against Furman. Carter’s loss is a big one as he ranks second on the team with 13.8 points per game and first on the team with 14 3-pointers.
Both players were labeled as “day to day,” per a team spokesperson. Paris said after the game that he held out Johnson because he wants to get him closer 100%, and he didn’t like the way he was moving in practice. The coach said that Carter was able to participate in practice this week.
“Chico I think is probably a little closer (than Johnson),” Paris said. “He did some stuff at practice the other day, so we’ll see what tomorrow looks like, and then we have an off day and so hopefully he’ll be ready to go when we head out to D.C.”
Youthful backcourt
Due to the absences of Carter and Johnson, Paris started a youthful backcourt in the form sophomore Jacobi Wright at point guard and lengthy freshman Zachary Davis at shooting guard.
It was the third start of the season for Wright, who has emerged as one of the team’s top perimeter shooters during the early season slate of games. Wright continued to show his shooting touch, scoring 10 points.
Davis made his first career start. Despite his 6-foot-8 frame, Davis played point guard at Denmar-Olar High and has drawn compliments for his passing vision. Knowing Davis might try too hard in his first start, Paris left a note for the entire locker room before the game that said “keep it simple,” and he wrote down Davis’ name in all caps.
“I specifically put that note out there for all of us to keep it simple,” Paris said. “But Zach in particular, keep it simple, and it’ll serve you well. And I thought he did a much better job of what he was looking at. He wasn’t trying to do too much. He made a couple of good plays, big plays. Made some mistakes, as well. But it was good for him to be out there.”
Davis struggled early in the game, and Paris opted to play senior walk-on Ford Cooper Jr. at the position for much of the contest, giving him 15 minutes in the first half alone and 28 minutes for the game. At one point, both Cooper and fellow walk-on Eli Sparkman played in the backcourt at the same time. Paris praised Cooper after the game for his execution of the basics and his help on defense.
But Davis regrouped in the second half to deliver a key 3-pointer, punctuating a 10-0 run by USC.
Next four USC MBB games
- Wednesday: at George Washington, 9 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
- Dec. 3: at Georgetown, 12 p.m. (FS1)
- Dec. 11: vs. Presbyterian, 6 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Dec. 14: at UAB, 7 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Next four USC WBB games
Sunday: home vs. Hampton, noon (SEC Network Plus)
Tuesday: home vs. No. 20 UCLA, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Dec. 3: home vs. Memphis, 3 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Dec. 11: home vs. Liberty, 2 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published November 25, 2022 at 5:51 PM.
