South Carolina basketball: Lawson erupts as Gamecocks win SEC opener
By Jacob Elsey
AJ Lawson scores 30 pts in South Carolina basketball’s SEC opener.
South Carolina was finally able to begin conference play on Wednesday, after missing nearly a month of the season, and having to postpone the originally scheduled opener versus Kentucky. The Gamecocks took on a Texas A&M team that was fresh off a win over Auburn, and despite its long absence, Frank Martin’s squad didn’t look the least bit rusty.
South Carolina was paced by guard AJ Lawson for a second straight game, as the junior guard scored a career high 30 points on 10-of-22 shooting. Teammate Jermaine Couisnard added 15, connecting on 5-of-11 three point attempts, and the Gamecocks rolled to a dominating 78-54 victory. Big man Wildens Leveque also notched double figures.
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As a team, the Gamecocks shot 42% from the field and forced the Aggies into 19 turnovers. South Carolina outrebounded Texas A&M 45-to-31, getting a huge boost from Jalyn McCreary, who was returning from COVID lockdown. McCreary led the team with nine rebounds, and scored six points on 75% shooting.
It was good to finally see the Gamecocks control a game from start to finish, and was certainly the start that was needed as the team enters conference play.
For the Aggies, forward Emanuel Miller recorded a team high 28 points, but the performance was not enough, as he got little help from his teammates. His scoring output was more than the rest of the team combined. The Aggies shot just 34% from the field, and hit just 5-of-25 three point attempts, as they matched a season low with 54 points.
The game was tight early on, but the Gamecocks used a second half explosion to take over. South Carolina outscored the Aggies 45-27 in the second period, using a 17-5 run to extend a four-point lead to 16. The Aggies wouldn’t pull within 15 from that point on, as the Gamecocks put it in cruise control for the final 10 minutes of regulation.
Frank Martin will hope to keep the momentum rolling this weekend when his team travels to Oxford to take on Ole Miss. Tip is set for 6 PM on Saturday evening with the game being televised on SEC Network.