South Carolina went into SEC media days in October with the knowledge that they had been selected to finish 11th in the SEC this season, and they wanted to make it known that they had a chip on their shoulder. After being projected to finish last in the SEC last season, the Gamecocks were selected as a No. 6 seed heading into March Madness. South Carolina was tired of the disrespect.
Well, it is hard to try and prove the haters wrong when you start out the new season 0-1 against an unranked North Florida team who went 16-16 last season and lost in the first round of the ASUN Tournament last season.
The Gamecocks suffered a 74-71 loss to the Ospreys at home in Columbia in front of the home crowd. Moral has been great in Columbia in the last few days after the big win over No. 10 Texas A&M on the football field, but with this loss to North Florida, some of the excitement could be lost.
South Carolina was unable to stop North Florida beyond the three-point line as the Ospreys went 10-29 from beyond the arc. While both teams had similar three-point percentages, UNF had five more three-pointers than USC.
When UNF went up 69-66 in the second half with 42 seconds left, head coach Lamont Paris told his team to begin fouling in hopes of the Ospreys missing some free throws. Unfortunately for the Gamecocks, when it mattered most when they were 3-3 from the line and had a fast break layup in which they were fouled for an and-one shot.
Forward Collin Murray-Boyles led the Gamecocks with 17 points, going 7-for-16 from the floor and 3-for-6 from the free-throw line, and added seven rebounds to his stat line. Even though South Carolina had four players in double-figures, it wasn't enough to beat UNF, who had four players as well in double figures but shot better from the three-point line.
This definitely wasn't the way South Carolina wanted to start their season, especially after the first-round exit in the first round of March Madness at the end of last season. The Gamecocks will look to bounce back Friday, November 8, against South Carolina State at 7:00 p.m. EST at home in Columbia, South Carolina.