South Carolina men's basketball (9-8, 4-1 SEC) picked up its first SEC loss of the season as LSU (14-3, 4-0 SEC) defeated the Gamecocks by a score of 89-67 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Saturday.
The Gamecocks and Tigers both came out and dominated on the offensive side of the ball as South Carolina and LSU combined for a total of 22 points by tying at 11 a piece within the first five minutes of the game.
These points were mostly accredited to each team’s commanding scoring inside the paint as both teams combined for 14 points.
The Tigers would then go on to a 17-6 run in the next five minutes due to the Gamecocks giving up five turnovers in that span.
The South Carolina defense stepped up as it held the LSU offense to a scoring drought that lasted nearly three and a half minutes. However, the Gamecock offense managed to score four points in that time.
LSU took another offensive run as it outscored the Gamecocks 13-5 in the next four minutes by taking advantage of fouls and shooting 9-11 from the free-throw line.
The Gamecocks ended the half on a two and a half minute scoring drought to make the score 48-28 in favor of the Tigers.
LSU continued to control the game as it began the second half with a 15-8 run by shooting 60 percent that expanded the Tigers’ lead to 54-31 in the first five minutes of the half.
The Tigers maintained their dominance on the court as they led by as much as 33 points. South Carolina did start to play well both on offense and defense as it went on a 18-4 run that lasted nearly six and a half minutes which would cut LSU’s lead to 19 points.
Despite this, LSU cruised to a 22-point win by shooting 32-35 from the free throw line as opposed to South Carolina’s 6-14. The Tigers also had more rebounds than the Gamecocks at 49-29.
Although the Gamecock's offense did not keep up with the Tiger's offense, South Carolina still outshot LSU 44 percent to 42 percent with freshman guard A.J. Lawson finishing the game with 18 points.
South Carolina will look to get back on the winning side of things as they take on the No. 14 Auburn Tigers (13-4, 2-2 SEC) Tuesday at Colonial Life Arena at 6:30 p.m on the SEC Network.