Self-inflicted mistakes bite South Carolina in fourth-straight loss

So close yet again. But the same result as before.

In a game where South Carolina outperformed against Vanderbilt from a shooting and rebounding standpoint, it still wasn’t enough. The Gamecocks, who committed a season-high 25 turnovers, dropped their fourth straight SEC game, falling 66-63 to the Commodores on Wednesday in Nashville.

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How it happened

After both teams failed to do much for most of the first half, mostly trading missed shots and turnovers, Vanderbilt was the first to get something going. With the game tied at 22, the Commodores went on a 9-0 run while holding South Carolina without a basket for more than three minutes.

During this stretch, the Gamecocks couldn’t find any offensive rhythm and instead turned the ball over five times before getting their next points to end the run.

It ended up being a first half to forget with 16 total turnovers in the first half, a new game high for the team. Five players turned the ball over at least twice in the opening 20 minutes, with Zachary Davis having four.

Because of those mistakes, Vanderbilt took full advantage and had 14 points off turnovers in the half.

South Carolina also found itself in some early foul trouble after Nick Pringle picked up three quick fouls in the first 12 minutes of the game. His third foul ended up being a technical following a review.

Despite all that, the Gamecocks still managed to hang around and keep the game relatively close. Fresh off his solid performance against Auburn, Collin Murray-Boyles led the way with eight points at the break. But with all that hadn’t gone right for the team, it allowed Vanderbilt to go on a 14-4 run in the final four minutes to take a seven-point lead into halftime.

[Win tickets: South Carolina-LSU WBB]

The turnovers never quite got put to rest as the second half began. But even with those errors continuing to pile up, South Carolina was still in a tight-knit battle and got within striking distance early on.

A big part of this game remaining close was due to the Gamecocks dominating on the boards. They won the rebound battle 37-25. They were also good at the free throw line, making 18 of their 23 attempts.

Within the first seven minutes, they cut the deficit down to two, thanks in large part to Morris Ugusuk who came out of the break on fire. The sophomore guard scored 11 points at the midway point of the second half and finished with 20 for the game.

For as close as things got, turnovers and fouls got in the way of them trying to tie or take the lead. But with just over six minutes to go, things were starting to go their way, as they went on a crucial 7-0 run to tie the game at 56. During this run, South Carolina held Vanderbilt scoreless for more than three minutes.

As soon as the Gamecocks fought back to tie it up, they went into a brief cold spell over the next few minutes and went without a point as the Commodores reclaimed a two-point lead. But for as much as South Carolina struggled at times, Vanderbilt didn’t fare much better.

With under two minutes to play, Ugusuk got a nice bounce on a three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game once again. Back to being down by two in the final minute, South Carolina forced a steal on AJ Hoggard. After Murray-Boyles made the play, Hoggard grabbed at his ankles, resulting in a flagrant one foul. This sent the Murray-Boyles to the line to tie it up, as the sophomore forward sank both of his free throws.

Because of Hoggard’s technical foul, South Carolina now had a chance to reclaim the lead, potentially for good, by retaining possession after the free throws. However, Nick Pringle saw his shot get blocked as he drove to the basket on the ensuing play.

After the missed opportunity by the Gamecocks, Vanderbilt’s Devin McGlockton made a put back layup off a missed shot by Hoggard to give the Commodores the lead with 0.6 seconds remaining.

Two observations

Turnovers are badly hurting South Carolina—Considering how often the Gamecocks turned the ball over, it’s crazy to think how close this game got at times. Even when the mistakes kept on coming, the team remained within striking distance for most of the night. If it weren’t for the 25 turnovers, it’s easy to assume the outcome could’ve looked a lot different.

Solid night for Morris Ugusuk—With South Carolina down two starters, Ugusuk has moved into a starting role in these past two games. He looked sharp on Wednesday, finishing with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting while helping keep the Gamecocks in the game in the second half.

Key stat

25 turnovers—It’s hard to win when one team is turning the ball over at a very high rate. Even despite shooting more efficiently and winning the rebound battle, the self-inflicted mistakes were what killed South Carolina’s chances of winning more than anything.

[Win tickets: South Carolina-Florida MBB]

Turning point

After Hoggard missed a jumper, McGlockton grabbed a rebound right in front of the basket and went back up for a go-ahead layup with 0.6 seconds to go in the second half.

Up next

South Carolina’s road trip will continue when it heads to Norman to face new SEC foe Oklahoma on Saturday. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. on ESPNU.

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