South Carolina MBB handles business vs. Radford. What we learned
With a pair of top-65 NET matchups against Butler and Northwestern next on the schedule, the South Carolina men’s basketball team played one more tune-up game Tuesday night against Radford and remained undefeated to start the 2025-26 season.
The Gamecocks (4-0) defeated Radford 87-58 at Colonial Life Arena. USC’s next two games are part of a trip White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia for the Greenbrier Tip-Off.
“I thought it was a good team effort ... good team win,” Gamecocks head coach Lamont Paris said. “Kudos to our guys for taking a game plan, specific points of emphasis, and then being out there and really concentrating on trying to get those things done.”
Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s win.
Elijah Strong’s showing
Forward Elijah Strong had his best game of the season against the Highlanders (3-3). He finished with a season-high 15 points on 70% shooting, and went 5 for 5 from the floor in the first half. Prior to Tuesday’s game, Strong’s touch around the rim left much to be desired — he shot 14.3% against Presbyterian Nov. 12. The improvement to his shooting efficiency was a welcome sight for USC.
“My teammates, I feel like they need that sometimes,” he said. “So just lighting that fire up their tail and coming off the bench, being a spark plug, and just having fun, having fun with the game. I had a blast out there. I’m pretty sure y’all can tell.”
Strong is a junior transfer from Boston College. He was a preseason pick by coaches and teammates to be the most surprising contributor for USC this season.
“l’ll tell you the area, offensively, of real growth for him is some of his back to the basket stuff. Today he was really good,” Paris said. “All good signs of growth. We’re not there yet by any stretch of the imagination, but it was good to see that when guys have focused on one or two things that, collectively, they can get those things done.”
Three other Gamecocks finished in double figures. Eli Ellis scored 14 points. Kobe Knox had 10 points and a team-high 29 minutes. Mike Sharavjamts had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Inside-out shooting
South Carolina’s shooting approach this season has been all about the 3-pointer. Tuesday night was an exception. USC went 2 for 14 from beyond the arc in the first half and finished with a 28% 3-point percentage.
The Gamecocks entered the game shooting 38% from 3-point range this season, so one bad night isn’t the main takeaway. What really spoke volumes was the adjustment. USC shot 57.6% from the floor and finished with a 48-16 advantage in paint points, marking the second time USC has finished a game ahead in the category this season.
Paris has said he encourages his team to let the game dictate the play style, and the Gamecocks did just that against Radford.
“Man, some of those first 3s that we had, holy smokes. We had some nice, clean looks early. But, you know, sometimes it’s gonna be like that,” Paris said. “But it’s nice that you can still have that type of efficiency from 2-point land when you’re struggling, by your standard, from the 3-point line.”
Bench spark
While USC’s starters got off to a slow start in the first half, the Gamecocks’ reserves held things down. The bench unit scored 21 of the team’s 40 first-half points.
The Gamecocks’ starters picked things up in the second half, and the bench finished with 50 total points. It was the most recent example of USC’s depth, which Paris seems to have relied on so far. Ten players average 10 or more minutes this season, and nine average at least five points.
“It’s nice because no one’s guaranteed to just stay out there when they’re playing poorly or when they’re not on their best behavior as a teammate,” Paris said. “A lot of these guys have some firepower. It’s not like you throw a guy in off the bench, it’s like, ‘OK, I hope he kind of holds it down. If you get six, eight points, that’d be great.’ We got a lot of guys that could, under the right circumstances, score.”
South Carolina men’s basketball upcoming games
- Friday: vs. Butler (at Greenbrier Tip-Off in WVa.), 2 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
- Sunday: vs. Northwestern (at Greenbrier Tip-Off in WVa.), 5 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
- Nov. 28: vs. Charleston Southern, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Dec. 2: vs. Virginia Tech (ACC/SEC Challenge), 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published November 18, 2025 at 8:56 PM.
