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South Carolina turning the page after another tough loss: 'We're not losers'

by:Mingo Martin•about 8 hours
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Jan 22, 2025; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Lamont Paris directs his team against the Florida Gators in the second half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

When the buzzer sounded at Colonial Life Arena on Wednesday night, South Carolina found itself in an all too familiar situation through its first six games in conference play.

For the third time in its last four, the Gamecocks saw their shot at their first win in SEC play fall short as South Carolina lost 70-69 to No. 5 Florida. After yesterday’s games, the Gamecocks are now the only team in SEC play yet to grab a victory. The 0-6 start is the worst to an SEC season for South Carolina since the 2013-14 season.

The Gamecocks saw its 52-38 lead with just under 13 minutes to go disappear as Florida outscored South Carolina 32-17 for the rest of the game. The Gators’ dominance in the later portion of the second half was fueled by the Gamecocks’ 11 turnovers in the final 12 minutes that directly led to 15 of Florida’s points.

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The Gamecocks held the lead for more than 38 minutes, only playing from behind in the final five seconds of the game. This marks the second time this season the Gamecocks have held the lead for most of the game against a top-five opponent and lost. They led for 22 minutes against then-No. 2 Auburn before falling to the Tigers, 66-63.

“There’s just some plays you can’t make down the stretch,” head coach Lamont Paris said. “What would seem to be garden variety plays made much more difficult by not only the people that are out there defending you but also the gravity of the situation.”

After picking up its fourth one-possession loss of the season, it’s important to not let the shortcomings compound mentally. His player’s confidence is something Paris, like any coach, worries about in moments like these.

“Kids’ confidence are a little more fragile in 2025 as I’ve discovered.” Paris said. “Particularly if you’ve got guys that have made a couple of bad plays … we’re gonna have some guys that have to look and say, ‘Wow if I could’ve just done these couple of things, we win against a top five team.'”

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Senior guard Zach Davis had a team-high 22 points against the Gators alongside five rebounds and four assists. However, Davis also accumulated a team-high six turnovers. This brings the senior guard’s total to 15 turnovers over the last three games.

“I’m not even worried about this game,” Davis said. “Just move onto the next game. Got practice tomorrow, move onto the game Saturday. We got stuff to clean up.”

Paris has no doubt his team will be able to respond well after facing more adversity. He believes they simply need to “turn the page.”

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“I’m a very lucky man, I’ve got no issues at all in the face of five losses, how our guys come out and expect to win the game, expect to play well enough to win the game,” Paris said.

The Gamecocks will face five AP Top 25 opponents over its next six games. That begins Saturday against No. 14 Mississippi State at Colonial Life Arena. The stretch also includes a trip to Gainesville to face Florida again on Feb. 15.

The team can’t hang their heads, sophomore forward Colin Murray-Boyles said. Before the team went into the locker room, Murray-Boyles grabbed his teammates together for words of encouragement.

“We’re not losers,” Murray-Boyles said. “I mean the record might reflect something different but in our hearts, I know we’re not losers. I practice with these guys every day. That’s just my mentality. It’s my mentality (from) last year, I haven’t changed since last year. I still wanna win, we (are) still gonna try to win every game.”

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