South Carolina basketball got back on track over the weekend with a win over the Ole Miss Rebels on the road, and on Wednesday, the Gamecocks started a road winning streak by knocking off the Texas A&M Aggies.
The first half was not the prettiest half of basketball either team had played this season. The Gamecocks gave the ball away 8 times, lost the rebounding battle, and fouled too much. Despite a huge advantage in shooting efficiency (52%/40% to 30%/0%), the Gamecocks only led by 3 points because of the extra possessions and free throws that they kept gifting to Texas A&M.
After halftime, the Gamecocks had a hot start that put them up by 13. However, A&M answered with a massive 17-1 run in which the Gamecocks went over 6 minutes without a made shot from the floor. Trailing 50-47, Lamont Paris had to take a timeout to settle his team.
After the timeout, the Gamecocks quickly retook the lead, and outside of one very short stint, A&M never was able to take it back. South Carolina basketball held on for the 70-68 win in College Station after a frenetic end-of-game that saw A&M take the lead with under 12 seconds left, Carolina answer with a bucket, and the Aggies get another chance before the final buzzer.
For the game, the Gamecocks assisted on 22 of their 28 buckets, outshot A&M from the floor and from 3-point land, and had just 1 2nd half turnover. They overcame questionable officiating that resulted in a 25-13 free throw attempt disadvantage to move their record to 23-5 on the season.
South Carolina Basketball vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Thumbs Up 1: Meechie Johnson, Zach Davis, and Ta'Lon Cooper
The Gamecocks' starting 1-3 were great on Wednesday.
Meechie Johnson finished the game with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Ta'Lon Cooper's final line read 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists. Zach Davis set a new career-high (beating the career-high he set on Saturday) by scoring 16 points and added 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
For the game, those 3 players combined to score 49 points, grab 16 rebounds, and dish out 14 assists. They also had just 4 turnovers and 7 fouls in a foul-fest of a basketball game.
Meechie Johnson looked "back," Ta'Lon Cooper was as steady as ever, and Zach Davis continued to build off of the offensive strides he's taken in recent games.
South Carolina Basketball vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Thumbs Up 2: Post-Halftime Run
In non-typical South Carolina basketball fashion, Lamont Paris' came out of halftime with pace. The Gamecocks scored 6 points in the opening 80 seconds to put USC up by 9 points. The scoring spurt didn't stop there, though, as Meechie Johnson hit a 3-pointer to go up 10, and the Gamecocks needed those points as A&M went on a run later in the half.
South Carolina Basketball vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Thumbs Up 3: Defending Wade Taylor
Against Texas A&M, most teams struggle to contain Wade Taylor and Tyrece Radford. Radford had a pretty good day against the Gamecocks, but Lamont Paris' crew did a great job defending Taylor.
For the game, the preseason SEC Player of the Year went just 4-14 from the field, including 0-7 from behind the 3-point arc. A lot of scoring (7 of his 15 points) came at the free throw line after imaginary fouls sent him to the charity stripe. Taylor also only managed 4 assists despite how often he was handling the ball.
South Carolina Basketball vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Thumbs Down 1: Free Throw Shooting
On Wednesday, the Gamecocks were awful from the free throw line. They shot just 13 times from the stripe (not enough), and they made an abysmal 46% of those shots. That contrasts with Texas A&M as the Aggies shot 25 times from the foul line (too many) and made 22 of them. The 6-22 disparity in points from the free throw line almost cost Carolina a game they dominated otherwise.
South Carolina Basketball vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Thumbs Down 2: Fouls and Early Turnovers
South Carolina is a physical team, and sometimes fouls can pile up for the Gamecocks. The 1st half of the A&M game was a prime example of this as the Gamecocks had 10 fouls, including 2 infractions each from Collin Murray-Boyles, BJ Mack, Ta'Lon Cooper, and Zach Davis. Those fouls allowed the Aggies to shoot 14 free throws in the opening 20 minutes, keeping the home team in the game despite Carolina's huge advantage in shooting efficiency.
Carolina finished the game with 21 fouls, allowing Texas A&M to shoot 25 foul shots. Collin Murray-Boyles fouled out, and most of the starters were in foul trouble at some point in the game. The officials weren't good on Wednesday, but the Gamecocks also didn't keep their hands to themselves, either.
The Gamecocks had 8 1st half turnovers, including 3 shot clock violations. Thankfully for Coach Paris' team, they had just 1 giveaway in the 2nd half.
South Carolina Basketball vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Thumbs Down 3: No Show from BJ Mack and Josh Gray
As good as Carolina's 1-3 were, the Gamecocks did not get much from two of their top-3 bigs. Josh Gray and BJ Mack combined to play 40 minutes, and they scored 6 points and brought down just 2 rebounds. They also committed 6 fouls.
That isn't good enough for two players who are capable of so much more. Gray did manage to block 2 shots, and Mack drew a few fouls on the Aggies, but they did not play well against Texas A&M. If the Gamecocks hope to win again before this regular season ends (Florida, Tennessee, @ Mississippi State), they will have to get more from Mack and Gray.