Looking to build upon an impressive road win against Georgia, the South Carolina men’s basketball team hosted Texas A&M, another NCAA tournament bubble team.
But unlike its strong performance on the road in Athens, the South Carolina offense struggled, and the Gamecocks (13-13, 4-10 SEC) couldn’t contain Texas A&M’s three-point shooting in Saturday’s 62-52 loss to the Aggies (19-7, 10-4 SEC).
“When you shoot 27 percent, it’s hard to win,” South Carolina head coach Frank Martin said, “especially when you’re playing one of the top two or three teams in your league.”
South Carolina had plenty of chances, even after starting off ice cold on offense.
The Gamecocks faced a 13-point deficit at halftime and cut the Aggies’ lead down to five points on numerous occasions in the second half but couldn’t quite get over the hump, thanks to Texas A&M junior guard Danuel House’s clutch performance.
House, a Fresno, Texas native, hit a pair of big-time, momentum-changing three-pointers in the final 10 minutes, adding to his game-high total of 25 points.
House’s last shot from the field was arguably his biggest. After a three-pointer by South Carolina sophomore guard Sindarius Thornwell, South Carolina trailed 47-42, but a corner three by House with 4:28 remaining damaged the Gamecocks’ comeback attempt.
House, a transfer from the University of Houston, considered South Carolina before picking Texas A&M and said after Saturday’s game he was “kind of close” to joining Martin’s program.
Martin said he thinks House was the key difference in an otherwise fairly evenly matched game.
“They’ve got Danuel House, who’s the difference maker, and he’s real good,” Martin said.
Because Thornwell picked up two early fouls just over two minutes into the game, Martin had to bench his best defender for the remainder of the first half. As a result, Martin decided to switch to a zone defense, which House carved up.
As a team, Texas A&M made 48 percent of its three-pointers (10-21).
Martin criticized his team’s effort out of the gate in the first half but said he was proud of their fight during the final 20 minutes.
Still, the Gamecocks’ poor start on offense set them back from the get-go. Before South Carolina made its first shot from the field, the Aggies already held a 6-0 lead, and Texas A&M led by ten points just over six minutes into the game.
In an otherwise inefficient shooting performance for the Gamecocks, South Carolina junior forward Michael Carrera injected some life into a somewhat stagnant offense. Scoring a team-best 17 points while grabbing nine rebounds, Carrera set a tone of physicality and activeness in the post.
Carrera said he believes South Carolina played much better in the second half, but his and his teammates’ slow start hindered their ability to come back.
“I think that was the difference in the game, the first half,” Carrera said. “In the second half we started getting our game up and started guarding, but it was probably too late.”
Outside of Carrera, an undermanned Gamecock team struggled to put the ball in the basket, especially with Thornwell in foul trouble.
South Carolina was once again without freshman point guard Marcus Stroman, who is still recovering from a throat infection.Stroman’s absence, along with the loss of sophomore forward Demetrius Henry and freshman guard/forward Shamiek Sheppard due to the pair’s suspensions, forced South Carolina into playing with only seven scholarship players for the second straight game.
“We’re undermanned or short-manned or whatever the word is, so we have to play real well,” Martin said. “You can’t have guys get into foul trouble, and my biggest fear was Sindarius picking up fouls, and we all know what happened there to start the game.”
With only four regular season games remaining, South Carolina now goes on the road to face Alabama on Tuesday, a team the Gamecocks defeated 68-66 on Jan. 13.