Right place, right time: Ta'Lon Cooper's big rebound gives Gamecocks edge in gritty win
The situation wasn’t too big for Ta’Lon Cooper. By now, he expects nothing less from himself than to make big plays.
For the second game in a row, he did just that.
After Charleston Southern cut the Gamecocks’ lead to four points with under a minute to go, South Carolina needed something good to happen to shift the tide. With 23 seconds to go, BJ Mack took a mid-range jump shot but missed.
The ball soared high in the air up for the taking. There to bring the rebound down would be none other than Cooper. Charleston Southern had no choice but to immediately foul him. A few free throws later, and South Carolina legged out a 73-69 win over the Bucs on Saturday.
“I was very relieved to know that Ta’Lon’s always got my back in those situations, and also my team,” Mack said. “When I know that it is a crunch time situation for a shot to go up, I know that my guys are gonna be right there behind me.”
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If Cooper didn’t snag the late-game rebound, Charleston Southern’s hot stretch might have kept going. The Bucs were tough to slow down, shooting 48.3 percent from the field.
“Momentum is very powerful in anything you do in any sport for sure. And if we had not rebounded that missed by BJ, the chances of momentum starting to shift at that point in the game is much more likely,” head coach Lamont Paris said.
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But after sinking some big free throws against East Carolina one week earlier, Cooper was up to the task again and did his job.
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“It was a big time rebound and a big play for us just to settle down again,” Paris said. “I think we had a couple of those where it was just like, ‘All right, we needed that rebound, if not to get points, but just to reset, regather and get something good. Make them work and get ourselves in a much better position.”
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Cooper, a two-time transfer in his first year as a Gamecock, has fit in seamlessly. He finished with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting along with five rebounds and three assists in the win.
At the moment, Cooper ranks top five in college basketball in assist to turnover ratio. He’s been a big part of South Carolina’s early season success, and he showed it on Saturday.
“He’s got a nose for the ball, a knack for it,” Paris said. “Maybe a flair for when the situation dictates that we’re going to need him to fly in and grab one.”
