South Carolina comeback falls short against East Carolina

In the end, the deficit in the first half was just too much to overcome for South Carolina. 

The Gamecocks, trailing by almost 20 at halftime against East Carolina, found a way in the second half to make it a single-digit game. 

But it was too much to handle and the Gamecocks ultimately lost 64-56 to slip below .500 with two non-conference games remaining.

“We got off to a rough start. Thankfully in the second half, we played with a little more energy and played a little better defensively, especially. We’re not a great team right now. I don’t think I’m making any sort of crazy assessment by saying that. We have to get better. Some of those ways are basketball ways,” Lamont Paris said.

“But some of those ways don’t have near as much with basketball. Guys have to compete better. It’s foreign to me. We have guys that just don’t compete the way I would expect you to compete in tiddlywinks but certainly as a Division I basketball player on a consistent basis.”

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How it happened

Much like the road tilt at UAB, the Gamecocks (5-6) came out insanely flat and found themselves trailing by double-digits nearly the entire game. 

ECU started the game on a 12-0 run while the Gamecocks missed their first four shots. South Carolina’s first points came at the 14:33 minute mark of the first half. 

The Gamecocks finished the first half shooting just 7-for-26 with just 18 points. They struggled mightily defensively with the Pirates shooting 53.8 percent in the first half, including going 7-for-13 from three. South Carolina, a typically good three-point shooting team, was just 2-for-13 in the first half. 

“We have to play better, that’s part of it,” Paris said. “We’ve also gotten off to some slow defensive starts and guys overreact to that and our shot selection in our game was not great early on.” 

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The second half was much better for South Carolina, with the Gamecocks’ whittling a 19-point deficit down to single digits. The Gamecocks did it in part thanks to an 8-0 run sparked by a pair of three-pointers and a Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk dunk. 

It turned into a 15-2 run for the Gamecocks to get South Carolina within seven. South Carolina could never string enough together after that and East Carolina would keep the Gamecocks at arm’s length the rest of the game. 

The Gamecocks shot 483. percent in the second half and outscored ECU by 11 but couldn’t find away to chip away late. 

Three Gamecocks finished in double figures with Hayden Brown (15), Meechie Johnson (13) and GG Jackson (13). Those three combined to shoot 15-for-36. No other player on the Gamecocks roster had more than six points and shot 6-for-19.

“We have one guy who has 15 points on 11 shots, okay? Thirteen points on 14 shots and 13 points on 11 shots. You’re talking about basically one point per field goal attempt. That’s not efficient. It may look good,” Paris said.

“I score 25 points but do it on 24 shots, it’s not a good day for me but you feel like it because you put the ball in the basket. That’s two games where we haven’t had hardly enough one where you look at it and it’s 18 points on nine shots, getting to the free throw line, three for four from three.

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Two observations

South Carolina’s guards have to attack–There was virtually no penetration in the first half for South Carolina, and it was reflected in the score. The Gamecocks found a way back through threes but it started with Meechie Johnson and Jacobi Wright attacking the basket and making smart decisions with the ball. When jump shots aren’t falling, the Gamecocks have to find ways to create good looks. 

Turnovers a killer early again–One of the reasons South Carolina dug itself a nearly insurmountable deficit was because of first-half turnovers. The Gamecocks turned it over seven times in the first half that lead to 11 ECU points. South Carolina was better in the second half but had just six points off 11 ECU turnovers for the game. 

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Key stat

30.8 to 45.5: The Gamecocks shot 30.8 percent on three-pointers and layups combined (12-for-39) while East Carolina was 15-for-33 (45.5 percent). Those are the two most efficient shots in basketball and South Carolina struggled there, especially early. 

“That’s something I’ve begged them to do and I’ve been saying that. I don’t understand not being aggressive in this sport,” Paris said. “I want those guys to be aggressive. I hope I get to the point with all these guys where I can start just talking about the decisions. That’s a basketball thing. We can work on that.” 

Turning point

South Carolina cut the deficit to seven with just under three minutes left. After an ECU timeout, the Pirates came out on a 5-0 run to push the lead back to 12 and stifle any chance of a last-minute comeback. 

Up next

After three games in seven days, the Gamecocks get a little bit of a break. They won’t be back in action until Dec. 22 when they host Western Kentucky. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on the SEC Network. KenPom has the Hilltoppers an early one-point favorite.

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