'This is just well overdue': South Carolina feeling relieved after earning first SEC win

Jamarii Thomas walked off the podium after doing his postgame interview and shouted out a word that perfectly expressed how everyone felt after Saturday night: “HALLELUJAH!”

For the first time in almost two months, South Carolina won a basketball game. The Gamecocks, who had endured a grueling 13-game losing streak, defeated Texas 84-69 at Colonial Life Arena. It’s their first win since Dec. 30, 2024. It’s also their first SEC win since March 9, 2024, when it defeated Mississippi State 93-89.

There were times over the last few weeks when the streak could’ve ended sooner. South Carolina had been beaten down at the start of conference play with a pair of blowout losses. But there were also six different games in which the team lost by five points or fewer. So to finally come through in the end, it meant a lot to them.

“This is just well overdue,” Collin Murray-Boyles said. “We put in a lot of work in practice. We’ve had some really close games this season. The feeling is just a sigh of relief that we could finally taste what it’s like to win in the SEC and hopefully keep it going for the rest of conference play.”

Stay on top of all things Gamecocks for just $1 per week—lock in this special offer today!

The way in which the Gamecocks lost games was also excruciating. Even in those losses that went down to the final seconds, there was always something holding them back from sealing the deal. Missed free throws, turnovers, inconsistent shooting, to name a few.

It would’ve been easy for the players to give up on the season when things got tough. No one likes to lose. But having a head coach like Lamont Paris has helped keep the locker room in good order.

“He just keeps believing in us day in, day out,” Thomas said. “Sometimes, as you know, when you lose, guys lose confidence and things of that nature. But he instills it right back into us, and he just believes in us. So we just play hard for him.”

About a month ago, after South Carolina had just lost in overtime to Mississippi State, Paris said the Gamecocks’ day was coming. He didn’t mean their day to win but more so the day when they’d recognize what keeps preventing them from winning, that’s when they’d be successful.

And when they won on Saturday, it was a byproduct of everything they did right. They turned the ball over eight times, kept Texas’ offense in check, played good defense, and didn’t succumb when the Longhorns cut the lead down in the second half. That’s what it took to win.

“Feels good to see the guys be able to rejoice when they’ve been yearning to do this so many times. They’ve been on the doorstep so many times,” Paris said. “… So for them to continually have the energy, the effort, the belief that they have in anticipation of playing well and winning a game has been really impressive. And that’s what I’m proudest, or most proud of them for.”

Win tickets to Senior Day, South Carolina-Kentucky women’s basketball game

One win won’t change everything, though. Not in a season where the Gamecocks are still dead last in the SEC standings with a 1-13 record. It’s still been a disappointing season after making it to the NCAA Tournament last year.

But with four games to go, this win does help change the perspective on everything. South Carolina can finally move on from the hardships of losing and now sees the formula to win.

The beauty of college basketball is that it takes one magical run to earn an automatic bid by winning the SEC Tournament next month. The Gamecocks will be there, most likely as the No. 16 seed, and would have to play five games in five days to try and win it all. For now, though, the focus is on this one game and getting that winning feeling back.

“The relief is that now they can take everything at face value,” Paris said. “The whole world opened up again. They can listen to things differently that I say. They can process things differently now that they’re not consumed by that one thing. And so I think that’s where relief comes in is that you’re able to move forward and the last thing you remember is playing pretty well.”

Discuss South Carolina basketball on The Insiders Forum!