Gamecocks notch first SEC win of season against LSU
South Carolina was down by four points with just under three minutes to play in the game.
In their previous two SEC games, the Gamecocks had a late lead before an eventual loss. Wednesday against LSU, USC turned the tables and erased the late-game deficit to force overtime. They pulled away for an 82-73 victory over the Tigers in Baton Rouge, La.
It was USC’s first road SEC victory in nearly two years, and the team needs just one more conference victory to match the two league wins from a year ago.
The Gamecocks (11-5, 1-2 SEC) will look to get that second win Saturday afternoon against Vanderbilt.
Freshman forward Michael Carrera had the best game of his young career against LSU, notching a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds in the win.
“Michael Carrera is our shortest post player, yet he’s our best post defender because he doesn’t play behind (the opponent),” Martin told reporters at his weekly press conference. “Post defense is not just a guy guarding the post ... you have to have a level of toughness to guard in there and then you need your teammates on the perimeter to help you out.”
Fellow forward Lakeem Jackson also had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
USC made 28 of 37 free throws, and both Carrera and junior guard Brenton Williams made nine of 10 from the line.
The Gamecocks showed some improvement on defense at the end of the game. USC held the Tigers (9-5, 0-3 SEC) to 22 percent field-goal shooting in the overtime period while forcing LSU to turn the ball over 22 times.
“If I know I want to pass the ball on offense, well defensively, I don’t want you to pass the ball,” Martin said. “I want you to play one-on-one. That is what we get guys to try and understand.”
That philosophy allowed USC to slow down the LSU offense while also cutting down on their own turnovers. After turning the ball over a combined 41 times in losses to Mississippi State and Auburn, USC had only 15 against the Tigers.
LSU guard Anthony Hickey, who came into the game averaging nearly four steals a game, only had two steals while committing five turnovers himself.
USC will hope to carry over the good performance to Saturday, where they will face a Vanderbilt team that has struggled this season. The Commodores are 6-9 and 0-3 in the SEC this season, one year after winning the SEC tournament championship.
The Commodores do have a talented guard in sophomore Kedren Johnson, who is averaging a shade less than 16 points per game for the season. In addition, Vandy takes care of the ball, averaging 14 turnovers per game.
The Gamecocks lost both meetings against the Commodores last season while failing to score more than 57 points in either game.