Behind a career night from PJ Dozier and the support of his young big men Chris Silva and Maik Kotsar, South Carolina beat the Vermont Catamounts 68-50 Thursday night.
The game was close for much of the first half, yet the Gamecocks was able to pull away in the final five minutes of the first half and would never look back.
With an eleven-point lead coming out of the half, the Gamecocks were able to blow the game wide open at the start of the second half. They opened the half on a 15-3 run. Their lead would not fall below 18 points for the rest of the game.
Finishing the first half strong
With 5:03 remaining in the first half, Vermont was able to cut South Carolina’s lead to three points on a free throw from Trae Bell-Haynes. South Carolina had scored just six points in the previous five minutes, and the Catamounts were hanging around.
Yet for the last five minutes of the half, South Carolina was able to find their groove offensively. The Gamecocks hit 10 of their last 14 field goal attempts, and pushed the lead to eleven points.
This was done largely behind the lead of Silva and Dozier, who scored 15 of the teams final 19 points of the half. Both entered halftime with 12 points, accounting for over half of the team’s total points entering the half.
Said Dozier on his and Silva’s strong close to the first half and performances as a whole, “I think Chris and myself are starting to figure out things and starting to understand what coach wants.”
The development of Silva and Kotsar
Silva and Kotsar provided South Carolina with energy, great defense, and scoring for the entire night. The two combined to score an efficient 26 points on sixteen shots, with Silva missing just one shot on the night and Kotsar missing three.
This was Kotsar’s fourth straight game scoring in double digits. He put on display his ability to hit the midrange jump shot, making two shots from around the foul line area in the second half.
Silva also impressed with his offensive game. Nearing the end of the first half, he had three moves that showed development his offensive development. He had two impressive shots, one a runner that he kissed off the glass, another a mid range shot from just inside the foul line, but most impressive was a baby hook he made with his left hand while getting fouled.
If these two can continue to improve their offensive games, in turn taking some of the pressure off the backcourt, this South Carolina offense will only get better.
Career night for Dozier
Following up his first career double-double that he had against Syracuse last weekend, Dozier had another career night against Vermont. He scored 21 points, surpassing his previous career-high of 17 points in a single game.
Dozier was able to do this on just 15 shots, going 9 of 15 from the field and 3 of 5 from behind the arc. He also had 6 rebounds, one assist, and 3 steals to go along with his 21 points.
“At the end of the day, he’s a good player that has learned how to play hard,” said coach Frank Martin. “So now you’re starting to see some of his abilities and talent.”
This scoring output came on a night when Thornwell seemed much more willing to be a distributor rather than his normal scoring self. Thornwell scored just 11 points on the night, his lowest total of the season.
This game was Dozier’s third game of the season in which he scored in double figures. He is currently the teams second leading scorer behind Thornwell, averaging 11.7 points per game.
Next up
South Carolina will now look towards its next opponent, Florida International. The Gamecocks take on FIU this Sunday in pursuit of their eighth win and in hopes of maintaining their undefeated start to the season.