Gamecocks pick up second-straight win
After sinking his fourth 3-pointer of the night against Wofford, freshman Damien Leonard stuck his tongue out in glee.
Leonard had all the reason to celebrate. After having shooting struggles for much of the start of the season, Leonard was benched for the Clemson game and never reclaimed his starting role. Against the Terriers, Leonard broke out of his slump to help push his squad to a 57-45 win.
For Leonard, who USC coach Darrin Horn put into the game “cold," it was a matter of taking the advice of his coach and his teammates.
“They told me to come into the game and be ready to shoot,” Leonard said. “I found ways to get open and my teammates got me the ball and I made a few big shots.”
With senior and leading scorer Malik Cooke having only three points, Leonard couldn’t have picked a better time to break out of his slump, finishing with 12 points. He and sophomore point guard Bruce Ellington, who finished with 17 points, stepped up for the Gamecocks, as both of them combined to score 31 of USC’s 57 points.
“I think that’s something that’s a positive for us,” Horn said. “I think a month ago, if Malik Cooke had a 1-9 night, regardless if Bruce (Ellington) was playing or not, it would’ve been borderline impossible for us to win.”
Leonard, who was recruited for his prolific shooting in high school, struggled collegiately, only finishing with double-digit points in the loss to UNC. Through his slump, he worked on fine-tuning his skills, saying he feels more comfortable now than he did at the start of the season.
“At times I rush my shot and my feet aren’t set, and I’m not catching the ball and being ready to shoot,” Leonard said. “Now I’ve been in practice and working on being ready to shoot, so it came out in the game.”
Another adjustment for Leonard has been his new role in coming off the bench, which wasn’t something he ever had to do in high school, but Leonard has seen the move as an opportunity to help the squad.
“I had to adjust to it,” Leonard said of coming off the bench. “I feel pretty good about it—coming off the bench and raising our energy whenever I come in.”
Leonard and Ellington both brought energy to a squad that had been focusing on playing inside out rather than taking a lot of attempts from beyond-the-arc. The Terriers averaged 31.4 percent in 3-pointers made entering the contest, but USC was able to beat them at their own game. The Gamecocks were 11-20 from three, while Wofford was 5-19. Ellington and Leonard accounted for nine of the 11 made 3-pointers.
“I think they were good shots,” Horn said. “We had 20 field goals and 14 of them were assisted. I don’t know how many of those were the threes, but I would say probably most of those were assisted. I thought we took good shots. I thought Bruce (Ellington) got going by taking a good inside out three where he’s down and he’s ready and really stroked it good.”
With 3:26 left in the game and USC leading by six, Leonard’s final 3-pointer iced the game for USC, as the Terriers wouldn’t get within 10 points in the waning minutes of the game. Leonard stuck his tongue out, just like he used to do when he was in high school.