Jackson, Phillips help USC in final home game
Junior guard Brenton Williams said in the past week he has been spending more time than usual shooting after practice, at the urging of junior guard Bruce Ellington.
Williams’ increased preparation more than paid off in Wednesday’s 79-72 win over Mississippi State, as he scored a whopping 38 points off the bench. Williams made six 3-pointers and 10 of his 17 shots to shatter his previous career high of 22 points.
“Without my teammates I think that tonight probably wouldn’t have happened,” Williams said. “They created the open looks for me, and I was fortunate enough to make most of my shots tonight.”
The outburst from Williams truly was a team effort, as 18 of USC’s 21 field goals made came off an assist.
The 38 points marked the first time a Gamecock scored more than 35 in a game since Devan Downey dropped 36 at Florida in 2010.
The extra effort from Williams before gameday did not go unnoticed by coach Frank Martin, who said the junior stayed long after the mandated 100 shots after practice. Martin said because of the renewed enthusiasm from Williams, he was not surprised by Wednesday’s performance.
“When you invest into whatever you’re trying to do, all of a sudden you’re more willing to work,” Martin said. “Because you’re fully invested in finding success and (Williams) for the last eight, 10 days something’s reclicked there.”
Martin said every aspect of Williams’ game, from his aggression to his attention to detail, has improved over the last week and a half and has led to positive plays being made for the Gamecocks.
Wednesday was senior night at Colonial Life Arena. USC has two seniors on the roster this season in consummate starter Lakeem Jackson and fifth-year-senior walk-on Shane Phillips, who has been on the team for the past two years.
Making the first start of his career, Phillips scored the second basket of his career in the early stages of the game. Phillips made his first career shot last week against Texas A&M.
Jackson closed out his Gamecock career just shy of a double-double, registering nine points and pulling down eight rebounds. Jackson entered Wednesday’s game with 749 career points and 557 rebounds in the garnet and black.
“I’m real happy for [Jackson] and [Phillips],” Martin said. “They can always look back on their senior year and know that the last time they took the court their team was able to get a win.”
Also earning a start in Wednesday’s game was true freshman Brian Steele, who was in the starting lineup for his second game in a row. Martin cited Steele’s enthusiasm and work ethic in practice throughout the year as the reason for the change.
“That kid never shuts up,” Martin said. “That kid stands on the sideline and is just clapping and encouraging every minute of practice. Those are the guys that I’ve based my career on for 28 years.”
Steele scored six points on the night off two 3-pointers along with grabbing two rebounds and handing out two assists.
While he doesn’t like to talk about the postseason, Martin sees Wednesday’s win as a positive sign for things to come as South Carolina enters the SEC tournament after a final regular season game at Vanderbilt.
“I’m real happy for our guys,” Martin said. “They’ve battled all year to try and do what we ask them to do. Sometimes it hasn’t been great, but for the most part they’ve continued to come and battle and I’m real happy for them to close out the home season with a win.”