South Carolina falls in close contest to Texas A&M at home

South Carolina was up for the challenge on Saturday night. Unfortunately, the challenge prevailed for the ninth straight contest as the Gamecocks fell to Texas A&M.

The Gamecocks (10-12, 0-9 SEC) remain winless in SEC games after a 76-72 defeat to Texas A&M in Columbia on Saturday night. They’re still searching for that elusive victory that has eluded them since December.

How it happened

Texas A&M started with the hot hand. Wade Taylor IV hit two shots from deep early, and Manny Obaseki connected from the wing to put the Aggies up by seven. But Zachary Davis and Jamarii Thomas managed to answer with a few threes of their own. After seven minutes, the game margin was separated by just one point.

Into the first half, the deep shots kept falling for both teams. Leads were swapped in quick succession, with Taylor IV notching 12 points before the halfway point in the first half. The Gamecocks started 5-12 from three, while the Aggies were even more efficient with a 5-9 mark after the second media timeout.

South Carolina went cold for a moment, allowing the Aggies to build a lead. After the Gamecocks went up 19-17, they missed three shots in a row and committed two straight turnovers. The Aggies didn’t have that issue, running out to a 29-19 lead with help from a 12-0 run.

Despite Jamarii Thomas’s best offensive efforts, the Aggies kept up a double-digit lead into the waning minutes of the first half. Collin Murray-Boyles didn’t score until 4:18 was left in the first period, but he still ended up with ten points by halftime after a flurry of offensive efficiency towards the end of the first half.

Turnovers, however, weren’t an issue in the first twenty minutes. At least, not to the degree that the offense had experienced in their past several games. When the buzzer sounded at the end of the first half, the Gamecocks had only lost the ball five times.

After facing a 44-36 deficit after one half, South Carolina went down by thirteen points early in the second half. But a bucket and an assist from Collin Murray-Boyles took the deficit back down to single digits after the first media timeout.

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The Gamecocks continued the extended run, courtesy of a Finnish guard finishing on two unguarded triples. The latter three-ball came off a slap of an assist from a triple-teamed Murray-Boyles in the lane. Colonial Life Arena erupted, and the Aggies were forced to call a timeout after the Gamecocks cut the lead to two points.

A few quick points later, the margin was six points in favor of the Aggies going into the second media timeout of the second half. Morris Ugusuk, again, hit a clutch three to pull within one possession, but the Aggies seemed to answer every Gamecocks bucket.

With just over seven minutes to go, the Aggies led by four points, courtesy of Coleman III and Payne. Again, a Murray-Boyles dunk cut the lead to just one possession, but the Aggies answered once more. With five minutes to go, Texas A&M led 65-59.

Andersson Garcia was sent to the line, but missed both. That resulted in free nuggets for the crowd, but no buckets for the Gamecocks on the court. That’s when Wade Taylor lined up yet another three, pushing the deficit to nine points with under four minutes to go.

Needing a bucket, Zachary Davis delivered. His three with just over three minutes to go cut the deficit back to two possessions. But after Murray-Boyles had a shot sent back, Wade Taylor managed to draw a foul and hit two free throws. The lead was eight points when Davis was sent to the line with 1:47 to go.

He made the first free throw, but couldn’t connect on the second. After a Gamecocks turnover with just over a minute to go, the lead was up to seven points. That proved insurmountable. The double bonus worked towards the favor of the Aggies, who the Gamecocks had to send to the line late.

An Ugusuk three cut the lead to five with 21 seconds to go in the game. After two missed free throws from the Aggies, Murray-Boyles hit another shot. Obaseki was sent to the line, where he missed the first and hit the second to put the Aggies up four. From there, another Murray-Boyles bucket cut the lead to two. Coleman was quickly fouled with one second left, but he made the first and second to put the Aggies up by four. A non-consequential miss from the buzzer from Murray-Boyles kept the final margin at four points.

Two observations

Jamarii Thomas isn’t perfect…but his presence is much-needed —After coming off the bench twice following a knee injury, Thomas got the start against the Aggies. He was one of two stars on offense in the first half, and he made sure the game never got away. The Gamecocks didn’t struggle with turnovers nearly as much as the previous five games. Part of that success was the steadying offensive presence of Thomas.

The Gamecocks still have plenty of fight—Plenty of sub-.500 teams, given a double-digit deficit to a ranked opponent, would give up. The Gamecocks didn’t, fighting back to close the gap to one possession multiple times. The crowd at Colonial Life Arena was vocal, and Lamont Paris’s group never gave up. While another close loss is sure to sting, the Gamecocks provided something to build on.

Key stat

47.8 percent—South Carolina gave up 47.8% on Texas A&M threes. The Aggies came into the contest with an SEC-worst 30.7 3PT%. But Wade Taylor IV was hot from deep, and the team consistently used the three to hold off South Carolina’s attempted runs. Taylor finished 7-10 from three, and in all, four Aggies managed at least one make from beyond the arc. South Carolina finished the night 12-31 from three, 38.7%. Ten of those came from Ugusuk, Davis, and Thomas.

Turning point

With 11:41 remaining in the first half, South Carolina took a lead on a Jordan Butler three. The 19-17 lead was their first of the night. But the Gamecocks went ice cold from behind the arc for several minutes. The Aggies very much did not, leading to an extended 15-0 run for Texas A&M. By the time Nick Pringle’s putback dunk hit the ground, the score was 32-21 in favor of the Aggies.

Despite Collin Murray-Boyles and Jamarii Thomas combining for 21 points in the first half, the Gamecocks never managed to tie it back up after that run, and it proved to be the difference-maker in an otherwise even forty minutes of basketball.

Up next

South Carolina travels on the road to face off against No. 12 Kentucky next Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is at noon on a network to be determined.

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