For the South Carolina men’s basketball team, opportunity once again came knocking at the doors of Colonial Life Arena in the form of a meeting with a formidable Big 12 opponent.
Unlike the Gamecocks’ loss to Baylor earlier in the season, head coach Frank Martin’s South Carolina team (5-3) answered the call by upsetting a talented Oklahoma State squad 75-49, handing the Cowboys (7-1) their first loss of the year.
After losing two out of three games in the Charleston Classic, South Carolina has now won three consecutive games.
“I’m real proud of the resolve of our guys,” Martin said. “We talk a lot about the next step. ‘Let’s learn let’s move on. Let’s learn, let’s move on.’ Charleston made us grow a lot.”
Entering the contest, many thought South Carolina could compete with Oklahoma State, and if things went right, perhaps have a chance to steal a win from a program that's used to going to the NCAA Tournament on a yearly basis.
But the Gamecocks did way more than that.
Showing no mercy, South Carolina turned a single-digit halftime lead into a 20-point advantage within eight minutes of the second half and breezed through the rest of the game.
Oklahoma State’s shooting was poor throughout the game as guard Phil Forte and forward Le’Bryan Nash, the Cowboys’ two leading scorers entering Saturday’s matchup, shot a combined 5-of-29 from the field.
From the opening tip, South Carolina made it tough for Oklahoma State to run its offense. And that was key in preventing the Cowboys from finding a rhythm, according to South Carolina sophomore guard Sindarius Thornwell.
As a team, Oklahoma State shot just 25 percent.
“That was big for us all week,” Thornwell said. “Making sure they didn't run any of their sets, and just getting into their passing lanes, and making it hard for them.”
Meanwhile, sophomore guard Duane Notice led the Gamecocks in scoring for the second-straight game with 20 points while Thornwell broke out of a mini slump and scored 13.
Redshirt senior guard Tyrone Johnson also added 13 points, eight of which came in the second half.
Overall, Martin was very pleased with his backcourt.
“When you get Sindarius locked in like he was today, and you get Ty Johnson locked in like he was today, and you got Duane Notice locked in, it gives you three big, strong guards,” Martin said. “I’m not going to say they’re impossible to guard, but it makes it hard to guard that balance that we have of size, strength and scoring ability.”
Oklahoma State led for just 12 seconds of the game, and although the Cowboys cut South Carolina’s lead to five points with 17 minutes remaining in the second half, the Gamecocks went on a 17-2 run over a five-minute period to put the game out of reach.
The Gamecocks now have two weeks off before hosting rival Clemson on Dec. 19.