Michael Carrera posts 4th double-double of season
In four of their first nine SEC games of the season, the Gamecocks had a chance to win in the final minutes but let the victory slip away.
On Sunday, that trend continued in a 66-61 loss to Tennessee, USC’s fourth consecutive loss.
“Different day, same book,” men’s basketball coach Frank Martin said.
With just less than four minutes to play against the Volunteers, the Gamecocks appeared to be in good shape. USC held a 57-55 lead, and UT had made just one 3-point shot for the game. That was when Volunteer junior guard Jordan McRae drained a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Volunteers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Just more than one minute later, the Gamecocks had a chance to get the ball back for an opportunity to retake the lead. However, UT sophomore forward Jarnell Stokes muscled an offensive rebound from three Gamecock players. A few seconds later, senior guard Skylar McBee drained his second 3-pointer in just more than three minutes to give the Vols a four-point lead.
“That’s why they won,” Martin said. “Stokes went against three guys, and I didn’t see him fall down. Guys make plays when it is time to make plays. He made a play, and our guys didn’t.”
Stokes finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while McBee added six clutch points in the final five-and-a-half minutes of the game.
While the Gamecock defense played what Martin called “halfway decent” against UT, the offense was a different story for USC.
“I had junior varsity teams that ran a better offense than we did today,” Martin said. “Everyone stands around and the ball sticks. I don’t know what to tell you about our offense — it’s embarrassing.”
While USC struggled as a team, freshman forward Michael Carrera had his fourth double-double of the season. The Venezuelan native scored six of the Gamecocks’ first eight points and finished with a team-high 18 points and 11 rebounds.
However, USC got little help from the rest of the team, with the exception of junior guard Brian Richardson, who scored 17 points. Richardson said the team must stick to doing what works.
“Coach got on us at halftime because we were being a half-court team, but in the second half we started pushing the ball and getting the momentum and climbed back into the lead,” Richardson said. “That’s what we need to start doing more often is do what we do best: push the ball.”
Martin knows his team has struggled mightily in certain games this season but also knows USC has been in a position to win more times than not.
“Florida embarrassed us, Kentucky treated us like a red-headed stepchild, but the other games have been the same scenario,” Martin said. “One possession game going into the last two minutes of the game, and we have to find the courage to make the plays at the end of the game. Right now, we don’t have that.”
Despite the 2-8 start to SEC play for the Gamecocks, Martin says he won’t accept defeat from his team and expects his players to keep their heads up.
With six conference games remaining, USC needs to win just one of them to pass last season’s league win total.
“The night is always darkest before the sun comes up,” Martin said. “And if any (players) show up with their heads between their legs, they need to turn their stuff in and leave. We didn’t show up here to run a 50-yard dash.
“You can’t sprint while you are in a crib, and right now, we are in a crib. We are acting like little kids. To become a man, you have to go through these kinds of things.”