South Carolina Basketball: Gamecocks knock off tough in-state foe to move to 10-1

South Carolina Basketball vs. Winthrop:
Statistics, Scoring, and Observations

After a tough game in which they beat a bad Charleston Southern team by just 4 points, the South Carolina basketball squad came out against Winthrop and won another close game against a Big South opponent as the Gamecocks topped the Eagles 72-62 to move to 10-1.

Here are the stats from the game:

STATS

Winthrop

Points

Leader: Kelton Talford with 20

Rebounds

Leader: Chase Claxton with 7

Assists

Leader: Kasen Harrison with 4

Steals

Leader: Kelton Talford and Kasen Harrison each with 2

Blocks

Leader: KJ Doucet with 2

Other

The Eagles made 23-29 free throws, while the Gamecocks shot just 12 attempts from the line

South Carolina

Points

Leader: Meechie Johnson with 20

Rebounds

Leader: BJ Mack with 7

Assists

Leader: Meechie Johnson with 5

Steals

Leader: Zach Davis and Jacobi Wright each with 2

Blocks

Leader: BJ Mack with 2

Other

The Gamecocks struggled again from outside as they shot 6-26 from 3; USC also shot under 40% from the field; Carolina shot (and made) 12 free throws, while Winthrop shot 29

BOX SCORE

OBSERVATIONS

• Starters: Ta’Lon Cooper-Meechie Johnson-Myles Stute-BJ Mack-Stephen Clark
• Clark left the game after 5 minutes and did not return the rest of the 1st half.
• Morris Ugusuk was limping around some in the 1st half. He had an injured knee and ankle earlier this season. He remained in the game and seemed to be okay.
• BJ Mack was not aggressive in the 1st half, though, he did have 4 rebounds. His 4 points on 5 shots and 2 turnovers were a problem early. Collin Murray-Boyles and Zach Davis also looked out of sorts.
• The Gamecocks could not get to the free throw line. Meechie Johnson (2-2) was the only USC player to attempt shots from the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes.
• Ta'Lon Cooper had a much better 2nd half, scoring and rebounding when most other Gamecocks were struggling to do so.
• None of the Gamecocks' post players were particularly good for the game, but Stephen Clark and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk both had some nice moments of hard-working basketball.
• Free throws were a major topic of conversation during the game as Winthrop shot 29 of them compared to South Carolina basketball's 12. However, Carolina made all 12 of their attempts.
• In the final 5 minutes, the Gamecocks made all four of their field goal attempts (3 layups from Meechie Johnson, BJ Mack, and Jacobi Wright and a 3-pointer from Ta'Lon Cooper) and 6 free throws (4 for Johnson, 2 for Mack).