South Carolina MBB drops exhibition game to NC State. What we learned
South Carolina men’s basketball put on a dress rehearsal for the upcoming 2025-26 season Sunday.
Lamont Paris and the Gamecocks took on N.C. State and first-year coach Will Wade, and fell just short as the Wolfpack rallied across the finish line at First Horizon Coliseum with a game-winning 3-pointer.
USC fell 88-86 against what would’ve been a Quadrant 1 opponent in an official game. The Gamecocks led at halftime, 45-38, and for most of the second half, but the Wolfpack closed the game on a 20-7 run.
“I thought the exhibition game, like I said, did everything that it was supposed to do for us,” Paris said. “I thought we saw some really good things out of some guys. We also had some evidence on some guys that need to get better at things. ... I like our team. We’ve got competitive guys. Stay tuned.”
Here’s what we learned from Sunday’s game:
Volume shooters
Paris talked all preseason about how he expected his team to take — and hopefully make — more 3-point shots. The Gamecocks met, and potentially exceeded, both expectations Sunday.
USC finished with 29 attempted 3-pointers and shot/ 41.4% from beyond the arc.. Seven different Gamecocks attempted at least one 3-point shot. Perhaps Paris’ squad plans to live and die by the 3, but it wasn’t quite enough to live in Sunday’s contest.
“It’s a combination of guys that can make shots and guys that usually do make shots,” Paris said. “That was part of last year, I thought we didn’t shoot enough 3s. I don’t have a number, some guys do that. I just like 3s.”
Johnson, Ellis impress
Two USC players had the most hype going into Sunday’s contest: freshman Eli Ellis and returning Gamecock transfer Meechie Johnson. Both delivered, leading the way in scoring for USC.
Ellis, as expected, took his fair share of shots and made more than plenty. He finished with 23 points on 10 attempts (70%) . What really stood out was his effort. Listed at 6-foot tall, Ellis worked his way into some solid defensive possessions and grabbed five rebounds.
“I’ve always been a pretty confident person, but coming into this level of basketball, against a really, really good team, against a lot of people in the stands, it was good for me just to have that first good game,” Ellis said.
Johnson was right behind Ellis with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting. The ball was mostly in his hands down the stretch, but it wasn’t enough to get the win.
“It wasn’t even about the points, for real. It was just going out there and feeling like five again,” Johnson said. “So I feel like today was a great day.”
Turnover troubles
Amid a handful of positives for USC, ball security was far from one of them.
The Gamecocks turned the ball over 15 times, including 10 in the second half, and allowed 18 points off turnovers. N.C. State’s fast break off of turnovers opened the door for 19 points from free throw shooting alone, which ultimately led to USC’s demise.
“I think it’s identifying what the turnover was. Did the turnover happen because of your brain or because of your body?” Paris said. “It’s oftentimes a combination of both of them, but the ones that happen because of your brain, I think we can change where our mind is at those moments and the decision-making process.”
South Carolina men’s basketball upcoming schedule
- Nov. 4: vs. North Carolina A&T, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Nov. 9: vs. Southern Mississippi, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Nov. 12: vs. Presbyterian, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Nov. 18: vs. Radford, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published October 26, 2025 at 6:37 PM.
