MBB: South Carolina's zone defense shuts down Georgia

The South Carolina Gamecocks men’s basketball team had another big run in the first half and then stymied Georgia late for an 80-68 win.

The Bulldogs started fast, building a quick eight-point lead. They led 21-14 midway through the first half when things changed.

In the first meeting between the teams three weeks ago, South Carolina used a 24-0 second-half run to turn a deficit into a rout. Saturday it was a 20-0 run that lasted less than five minutes that once again turned a deficit into a lead.

Keyshawn Bryant was everywhere during the run. He scored seven points, including an alley-oop dunk in transition, had two steals, and grabbed a rebound. Even when he messed up and missed a dunk, Jermaine Couisnard crashed the glass and scored a putback.

South Carolina led by thirteen when the run finally ended, and Georgia chipped away at the lead. A 7-0 run early in the second half put Georgia back in front by a point, but Bryant made a layup to retake the lead for good. He later hit a three to cap a 7-0 run and South Carolina led by double digits for most of the final five minutes.

Bryant finished with a season-high 22 points, and scored double figures in consecutive games for the first time this season. He shot 3-4 from three, hitting a career-high (he banked in the first one, but it still counts. 

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“I feel like I can shoot it pretty good, I just haven’t been able to show it because I haven’t been able to stay in the game because of foul trouble,” Bryant said. “I feel like now I’m starting to find my rhythm and it’s starting to show.”

South Carolina’s big run coincided with the switch to a zone defense. South Carolina occasionally employed a full-court zone press, but South Carolina used a 2-3 zone for most of the game. The zone has increasingly become part of South Carolina’s defense this season, but Saturday might have been the best example.

“It saved us. Our man-to-man has slipped,” Martin said. “The zone’s been good for us pretty much all year. I trust it.”

Georgia was shooting 64.3% when Martin made the switch. After that, Georgia shot just 34.9% for the rest of the game.

“We’re playing it a little high,” Bryant said. “We’re trying to pressure everybody and make everybody run their offense towards the half-court line. That’s the difference.”

Martin made a change in the starting lineup, replacing Devin Carter with Jermain Couisnard. It was an attempt to solidify the point guard play. It worked as Carter scored 21 points off the bench and Couisnard had eight points and tied his season-high with seven assists. As a team, South Carolina had 21 assists, its most of the season against a Division I opponent. Martin told Carter Friday night he was making the change, and Carter responded the way he wanted.

“It wasn’t a big deal to me,” Carter said. “I go out there and play hard every time he calls my name. I give him my all, so that’s how that went.”

Notes:

South Carolina has won 12 straight against Georgia. … South Carolina had 31 assists against Allen. … Turnovers were nearly even. South Carolina had 15. Georgia had 14. … South Carolina was plus-14 rebounding. … James Reese added 10 points and six assists. … Erik Stevenson had eight points, six rebounds, and four assists. … Kario Oquendo led Georgia with 18 points. … Announced attendance was 6,806. … South Carolina’s next game is Tuesday at Ole Miss.