South Carolina gets back on track with win over South Carolina State

Back in the swing of things. South Carolina has gotten themselves back in the win column for the first time since March. 

After a stunning home loss to North Florida in the first game of the season, South Carolina bounced back nicely with an 86-64 win over in-state foe South Carolina State. Here’s how it went down.

How it happened

South Carolina jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. They wouldn’t trail the rest of the game against their MEAC opponent. 

Despite quick starts from some Gamecocks on offense, Wilson Dubinsky was able to keep the Bulldogs in the game in the first half.

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Part of the extension of the Gamecocks lead later on in the first was two solid threes from the left wing by Morris Ugusuk. The Finnish sophomore played just seven minutes in the first half but scored six points. 

Seven different Gamecocks scored in the first half, and a 9-0 run towards the end of the first 20 minutes let the lead grow into a comfortable margin. By the time the buzzer rang, the Gamecocks led 41-25. Collin Murray-Boyles had 12 points and 8 rebounds at halftime. 

Once the second half got underway, it was more of the same. South Carolina State earned a couple early buckets, but the Gamecocks responded. Working inside and outside, South Carolina benefitted from a three by Jacobi Wright. Then, both Nick Pringle and CMB converted at the line after getting fouled, a welcome sight. 

For the rest of the game, the two teams mostly traded buckets. Jamarii Thomas and Collin Murray-Boyles were impressive in the second half, as was Jacobi Wright. The South Carolina native finished with a career-high 20 points, leading the team.

“I’ma give all the credit, it’s my mama’s birthday today, so I’ma give her credit. She gave me a few words before the game, motivated me a little bit for her birthday,” Wright said. “Stayed aggressive, and it went in for me tonight.”

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But the Bulldogs didn’t give up, cutting the lead multiple times and actually outscoring the Gamecocks in the second half before a late Gamecocks run drove the margin up. The cushion from the first half was enough to keep South Carolina ahead by double digits until the buzzer sounded. The victory marked the first win for the Gamecocks this season.

“It’s good for us to get our first win with this group,” Lamont Paris said. “And we’ll have some really good film to show of some things that we didn’t do well, some things that we did do well.”

Two observations

Collin Murray-Boyles is a first-round pick—It’s one thing to grab eight rebounds in 17 minutes. It’s another to be 6’8” and still bully every opponent in the paint like a pitbull. Murray-Boyles showed his dominance Friday night, finishing with his first double-double of the season. He led the Gamecocks with 19 points and 16 (a career-high) rebounds, and many mock drafts have him selected in the first round of the NBA draft. He played like it tonight. 

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The perimeter struggles are concerning—Hats off to both Jacobi Wright and Morris Ugusuk, who were a combined 6-10 from deep. However, the rest of the team shot just a 2-17 mark beyond the arc. It didn’t matter against South Carolina State, but when it comes to playing teams like Tennessee or Alabama, they’ll have to do better than that. 

Key stat

12 steals— This isn’t South Carolina’s stat. It’s South Carolina State’s. The Gamecocks let 12 steals go the opposite direction, and committed 13 turnovers in total. They’ll need to be better taking care of the ball as they start getting closer to their date in Bloomington against Indiana coming up.

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Turning point

A 9-0 run late in the first half gave the Gamecocks the cushion they needed. First, it was CMB with a shot inside for an and-1. Then, Jamarii Thomas followed up two free throws with two points on the fast break. Another lay-up from Murray-Boyles made the margin 41-23, and the Gamecocks would lead (somewhat) comfortably the rest of the way. 

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Up next

South Carolina will be back at home to face Towson on Tuesday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. on SEC Network Plus.

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