South Carolina holds off DePaul comeback in late night matchup in Arizona

Long flight? No problem. South Carolina came to Glendale, Arizona, with a plan and executed it enough to get a hard-fought win.

The Gamecocks defeated DePaul 73-68 in their first action of the Arizona Tip-Off Tournament. It’s the first time since the 2016-17 season that they have gotten off to a 4-0 start.

How it happened

Right from the jump, South Carolina was firing on all cylinders. And it started with Meechie Johnson, who was up to 14 points within the first 10 minutes of the game.

Johnson, who had gotten off to a quiet start through three games, put up 18 points in the first half on 7-of-10 shooting. It was apparent he looked like his old self again.

Related South Carolina-DePaul box score

Behind Johnson’s strong start, the Gamecocks were able to jump out to a 14-point lead early in the first half. Everything went right for them. Shots were going through the net and DePaul struggled to find its footing.

The Blue Demons finished 10-for-26 from the field in the first 20 minutes. If it weren’t for former Gamecock Chico Carter Jr., they might not have kept the game somewhat close. Outside of Carter, who shot 4-for-5, DePaul hit 28 percent of its shots in the early going.

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As a result, the Blue Demons couldn’t truly cut into the lead after falling behind. The Gamecocks were leading by nine points at the break. It was an impressive effort from South Carolina, who went 15-for-26 (57.7 percent) shooting in the first half. However, the offense turned the ball over 10 times, making for some sloppy plays.

The Gamecocks dealt with some foul trouble heading into the second half. Both BJ Mack and Stephen Clark were up to three fouls. Between both teams, 26 fouls were called by the referees in the first half.

After DePaul opened the second half with a quick bucket, South Carolina answered right back and didn’t let up.

Even when the Blue Demons started to shoot the ball better, the Gamecocks forced some key turnovers and took advantage to get the lead back out to double digits.

Midway through the second half, both teams fell into a shooting funk as shots were falling short of the net. South Carolina had its chances to pull away but a handful of missed free throws kept DePaul in it.

The Blue Demons were able to get to within two possessions as the Gamecocks struggled from the field. But South Carolina hit some shots to keep its lead intact the rest of the way.

Two observations

Make your free throws—South Carolina wins this game no problem if it could just hit free throws more consistently. Instead, those misses allowed DePaul to stay in it and make it a game. But a win is a win. Just have to be better at the line. 20-for-34 is not good enough.

Need to limit turnovers—This was something of an issue for South Carolina last year. It hasn’t been a big problem so far but 17 turnovers is not good. Granted, the Gamecocks won the game. But if it weren’t for a strong start, DePaul might’ve been able to take advantage of those mistakes.

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Key stat

8-for-16—If it weren’t for Johnson’s strong start, this might’ve been a different game. He finished with 24 points on 8-for-16 shooting. He went 7-for-11 at the free throw line. However, he did go 1-for-7 from three-point range.

Turning point

After struggling at the free throw line all night, Jacobi Wright sank a pair of free throws to put South Carolina up by six with under 10 seconds to go.

Up next

South Carolina (4-0) will now face Grand Canyon in the championship game of the tournament on Sunday. Tip-off has yet to be determined but will be on CBS Sports Network.

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