McKie again leads Gamecocks over Costa Rica national team

At San Jose, Costa Rica, South Carolina’s men’s basketball team posted an 83-64 win over the Costa Rica national team on Monday in the second meeting between the two squads this week. Prior to the matchup, the Gamecocks explored San Jose and hosted a clinic for Special Olympics.

Senior guard Justin McKie led the Gamecocks with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman forward Maik Kotsar added 14 points and senior guard Duane Notice posted 13. Senior guard Sindarius Thornwell also pulled down seven rebounds in the win. It was the second straight 17-point performance from McKie.

“I thought we played at a good tempo in the game,” associate head coach Matt Figger said. “We were able to run and score in transition. I think we did a good job of attacking the paint from passing it inside to driving and kicking for open shots. It was a very physical game and I felt like our guys did a good job of handling the officiating and adjusting to how they were calling the game.

“The national team came and played with a lot of passion and physicality because it was the second time playing us and they had a better feel for how we play. I thought our effort was the same as it has been since we started practicing for this tour -- really good. We got good minutes and leadership from our returning guys and our new guys played better than I expected.”

On Tuesday, USC was in Playa Conchal, a coastal city within the Province of Guanacaste, where the squad did team-building activities and explored the region. The Gamecocks return to San Jose Thursday and will hold a combined practice with the Costa Rica national team that evening, before returning to Columbia Friday.