Men’s basketball squanders double-digit lead in 2nd half
South Carolina was riding high heading into its rematch at Ole Miss Saturday. The Gamecocks were fresh off their first conference win and eager to challenge a Rebel team that they lost to by a single point earlier in the season.
But South Carolina (8-13, 1-7 SEC) couldn’t channel that energy into a win Saturday, falling 75-71 in another nail-biter against the Rebels (15-6, 6-2 SEC).
Much like the first meeting with Ole Miss, the Gamecocks held a double-digit lead in the contest only to watch their opponent chip away at it until it disappeared.
A contributing factor in South Carolina’s slowed momentum was missed shots in the second half. The Gamecocks shot 56 percent in the first period, a mark that fell to just 37.5 in the second half.
The Gamecocks were led by 23 points from senior guard Brenton Williams, who was followed closely by freshman guard Sindarius Thornwell’s 20 points.
With freshman Duane Notice’s nine points, the three guards turned in the three highest totals on the team, a stat that coach Frank Martin said is a testament to the growth of South Carolina’s backcourt.
“They’ve been pretty good,” Martin said. “Those three guys have been in tune with one another and continue to play better.”
Thornwell, Williams and Notice are the Gamecocks’ first, second and fourth leading scorers, respectively. And with the team’s No. 3 scorer, junior guard Tyrone Johnson, sidelined for the foreseeable future after ankle surgery, all three will look to increase their contributions.
“I’ve just got to give credit to my teammates for helping me pick my spots and get open,” Notice said. “I’ve been working diligently with the coaching staff where I can get my shots throughout the game.”
Ole Miss’s leading scorer from the last matchup, Anthony Perez, was held in check with just seven points in the game.
But star guard Marshall Henderson wasn’t as easy to control, leading the way for the Rebels with a team-high 21 points.
“Give (Henderson) credit now,” Martin said. “He’s a good player.”
Henderson is averaging the third-most points in the SEC with 19.2 per game.
South Carolina has had a measure of success in rematches this season, winning its second matchup with Akron and Texas A&M, but the trend was broken Saturday in Oxford, Miss.
“Frank was implicating that it’s always good to play a team a second time that beat you the first time,” Williams said. “So that kind of motivated us.”
In the Gamecocks’ next matchup, they will take on a team that they haven’t seen yet this season when Auburn comes to town Wednesday.
In the first six SEC contests, South Carolina left each game on the losing end of the scoreboard.
And after earning their first conference win over Texas A&M Wednesday, the arrow seemed to be pointing up for the Gamecocks. But according to Martin, whether the expectations were negative or positive heading into the clash with the Rebels, a loss is a loss.
“If we were 6-0, and we got beat, I’d have been miserable,” Martin said. “I can’t pay attention to the record.”