The South Carolina men's basketball team threw it back to 1985 by surrendering the most points in one game in 36 years during Saturday's 109-86 game against the Auburn Tigers.
While the first five minutes were competitive, the Gamecocks then went nearly eight minutes without a field goal. They weren't be able to recover after. Auburn asserted their will, only allowing the Gamecocks to shoot 41% on the day.
South Carolina shot only 35.1% by halftime as Auburn shot 52.8%, scoring 57 first-half points.
“They just attacked us, and we never ... punched back,” head coach Frank Martin said.
Auburn would finish the day at 51.9% as five players registered double digits. Allen Flanigan led the way with 24 points.
The Tigers were able to be so successful from the field because they owned the rebounding advantage. Auburn won that battle 46-34, picking up 10 more rebounds on defense and scoring 12 more second-chance points than the Gamecocks.
“They just toyed with us. They beat us on the glass, they beat us everywhere,” Martin said.
This was also due in large part to a lack of assists. The Gamecocks were just not sharing the ball. South Carolina finished the day with 14, which factored into only half of their field goals.
Auburn’s star player Sharife Cooper had 11 assists in the first half alone, picking up a double-double early. The potential first-round NBA draft pick finished the day with 16 points and 12 assists.
Frank Martin believes the Gamecocks are lacking leadership.
“I’m searching right now. Our leadership’s not very good,” Martin said. “Right now we've got no leadership, we’re just there.”
Even though Martin was unhappy with the performance, he didn't use the team's lack of practices due to COVID-19 outbreaks as an excuse.
“We all have to man up and do our jobs, better than we have ever done them, individually, while we try to rebuild our team,” Martin said.
On the bright side, Keyshawn Bryant scored 24 points off the bench and A.J. Lawson added 23. Lawson had six of nine Gamecock three-pointers, while Bryant scored 24 of the 33 bench points.
The Gamecocks shot 8-24 from inside the arc in the first half but improved in the second, shooting 11-20.
Auburn still made it tough to score down low, picking up six blocks on the day.
South Carolina will get back in action on Wednesday night at Colonial Life Arena against Georgia. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.