Defense leads the way in South Carolina's exhibition win

The Lamont Paris era at South Carolina got off to the expected start Wednesday night.

South Carolina beat Mars Hill 80-41 in the Gamecocks’ exhibition game, riding Meechie Johnson’s first-half points and a strong defensive performance for, while unofficial, the first win under Paris.

“I thought we did a good job overall establishing who we’re going to be. It’s a first step. It’s not done after today,” Paris said. “I don’t think after today people are going to say, ‘Oh, these are guys who are going to score 80 and give up 41.’ But I do think we laid a good preliminary foundation as to what it’s going to look like for us.” 

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The Gamecocks jumped out to a lead and used a strong defensive effort to keep Mars Hill at bay for most of the night and ultimately win by double digits.

The Lions shot just 35.7 in the first half as South Carolina watched its lead balloon to to 15 in the first half thanks to 12 points from Johnson.

Mars Hill ultimately shot 28 percent from the field and a paltry 1-for-16 from three as South Carolina was able to out-rebound the Lions 47-32.

“I don’t want to attribute it completely to the fact we were bigger. Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk had a great–we call it weakside wedge–on the backside for an offensive rebound. It was textbook. In fact, we’ll have to put that in the archives. He was really good. It was a combination of things. One was size, two was technique and making moves to box out. And third was making an effort to the offensive glass. They don’t fall into your lap. You have to pursue them.” 

South Carolina was able to pull away in the second half thanks to a four-minute scoreless drought by Mars Hill and brought on by the Gamecocks’ defense.

It was an up-and-down offensive night early for the Gamecocks, who ultimately shot 48 percent from the field and hit 10 of their 26 three-pointers. South Carolina assisted on 17 of its 31 makes. They did turn the ball over 14 times.

“We shared the ball. I think that’s going to be a calling card for us. We tried to get out in transition at times. I think that will be a thing: opportunistic, fast-break basketball. That’s what I like to do,” Paris said. “Hopefully the turnover situation isn’t characteristic of what we’re going to be as players. We had a lot in the first half, especially.” 

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South Carolina’s trio of freshmen, who were talked about prominently this preseason and headlined by five-star freshman GG Jackson, played heavy minutes in the win.

Jackson scored 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting and hauled in seven rebounds while Zach Davis ended with 10 points (5-for-13) and a pair of threes. Daniel Hankins-Sanford, who started Wednesday, had seven points and a rebound.

“It was just fun to get out there,” Jackson said. “First when the team was in the huddle but when I was out there and saw the crowd and get a feel it was pretty straight. It was a blessing to get out there finally.” 

Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk had five points and a team-high 12 boards while also starting.

Player of the game

Ohio State transfer Meechie Johnson looked as-advertised at the point guard spot. He finished with 16 points, 12 of those in the first half, to lead all scorers. He hit a few threes and was a little inconsistent from deep, but found a few guys en route to a team-high four assists.

The Gamecocks are going to need him to shoulder a lot of time at the point this season, and Johnson passed the first test.

“It felt great, man. It felt great just to be out there. It’s a new team with a lot of young guys. Just go out there and be a leader, man. There are going to be some ups and downs,” he said. “I’ve been asking for this my whole life. You just take it one game at a time and go out there and have fun.” 

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Key moment

After Mars Hill chipped away and used a nearly three-minute South Carolina scoreless drought to pull within five, the Gamecocks responded with a 12-2 run headlined by multiple threes and some stout defensive possessions.

The Gamecocks got a pair of threes from Johnson and a big block from Josh Gray and used that to build a lead and coast to the exhibition win.

Up next

South Carolina begins its season in earnest in less than a week, hosting South Carolina State Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. on the SEC Network. KenPom gives South Carolina a 99 percent chance to win.

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