Behind 17 points from freshman Justin Minaya, the South Carolina men's basketball team outlasted UMass in a 76-70 victory at Colonial Life Arena on Saturday.
With Chris Silva and Maik Kotsar in foul trouble for the majority of the second half, Minaya filled in and scored 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the floor.
"It's sad when our best player is a kid that's been on campus for four months ... but, it is what it is," head coach Frank Martin said. "And he wasn't very good today ... If you go from a consistency, understanding, competitive, his mindset, he checks every box ... I'm proud of Justin. If there's one glimmer of hope for me, is that I think he's going to become a real good player."
In addition to Minaya's 17 points, Silva scored 14 points on just 18 minutes on the floor. Hassani Gravett added 14 points, along with six key free throws to put the game away. Felipe Haase posted 11 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double as a Gamecock.
As a team, the Gamecocks shot 50.9 percent from the floor and were 3-for-15 from behind the arc. The Gamecocks outscored UMass 36-24 in the paint despite not having Kotsar or Silva in the game for very long.
While Gravett said it was great to be back in front of a home crowd after a long road trip, Martin had a different response on returning home to Colonial Life Arena.
"There must have been some kind of a golf tournament ... in town because obviously our fans decided that showing up here today wasn't that important, but I can't worry about fans," Martin said.
Despite the lack of fan attendance, the South Carolina offense came out hot from the get-go. Kotsar sparked the dynamic play, scoring six of the first eight points for the Gamecocks.
However, after the opening possessions, it became a back-and-forth ballgame. Each time the Gamecocks would open the lead to eight or 10 points, UMass would make a 3-pointer or draw a foul to cut the lead. With Silva and Kotsar in foul trouble early, UMass managed to hang around.
"It's really annoying, you know, coming from a three year guy like me, I should know better," Silva said. "Not being consistent is something I gotta adjust."
Martin echoed Silva's remarks, "I'm tired of Chris being in foul trouble. The song and dance is old. It's three years old. None of his fouls are blocking shots. They're all just petty, silly fouls."
In addition to the foul trouble, the Gamecocks shot just 12.5 percent from behind the arc in the first half. The Minutemen were able to lead at halftime 35-34 after a 10-to-2 run to finish out the half.
Martin noted that his team had "regressed" over the past eight days or so, and said the players need to get back to playing Gamecock basketball.
"We're a soft basketball team right now," Martin said. "For 35 years my teams have never been soft ... I told you, I haven't coached good. I've got to help my staff do better, I've go to help our players do better, but we're a soft team right now. And that don't fit with me."