South Carolina Gamecocks Vs Morgan State Bears: Basketball Preview

November 11, 2012; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Frank Martin speaks withguard LaShay Page (0) and forward Lakeem Jackson (30) against the Milwaukee Panthers in the second half at Colonial-Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-US PRESSWIRE

After between a 20 win team from 2011/12 in overtime to start the season, Frank Martin and his South Carolina Gamecocks will probably try to keep their second game against the Morgan State Bears out of their opponent’s reach by the time the final horn sounds.

Michael Carerra led the Gamecocks to that victory of Milwaukee in game one, scoring 17 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. He posted a monster 36.1 player efficiency rating and a defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 88.7.

Lashay Page and Brenton Williams also played big rolls in that win. Page scored a team high 19 points, and Williams scored the team’s final 10 points in overtime, mostly from the free-throw line.

As a team, the Gamecocks held Milwaukee to just 39 percent shooting, despite a 14-33 Panthers performance from behind the arc.

Carolina shot 0-11 from three point range in that game. They did dominate the rebounding battle 40-26, and record more combined blocks and steals.

USC will still be without freshman center Laimonas Chatkevicius, who won’t be able to play until the St. Johns game (five more games from now).

Morgan State has already played three games and recorded a 1-2 record.

In their most recent game against Holy Cross, the bears lost 74-73, despite shooting 47 percent from the field and 46 percent from behind the arc and winning the turnover battle. Rebounding ultimately is what cost them the game. They lost that battle 34-28.

That’s a good sign for the Gamecocks, because even though R.J. Slawson at 6’8″ is their tallest player, they still had a strong showing on the boards against Milwaukee.