Gamecocks men's basketball advanced to 3-0 on Wednesday night with a 81-61 win over Presbyterian at Colonial Life Arena.
Starting slow, South Carolina missed their first six attempts of the night, despite grabbing five offensive rebounds in the first two possessions. Graduate guard Myles Stute knocked down the first shot of the night for the Gamecocks over two minutes into the game.
Stute would score the team’s next 2 points on a dunk that gave the Gamecocks a 5-4 lead, despite the team shooting 1/9 from the field a little under five minutes into the game.
The momentum of Stute’s second bucket was followed up by a 3-pointer by freshman guard Grant Polk, the team’s first of the night. A tough layup by fellow freshman guard Eli Ellis followed, as did a dish by Ellis to freshman forward Hayden Assemian that boosted South Carolina’s lead to eight.
Polk’s second 3-pointer of the game gave the Gamecocks their first double-digit lead of the night at 16-6. Polk’s two threes remained the team’s only made shots from beyond the arc until redshirt senior guard Meechie Johnson’s first of the game at the 7:10 mark in the first half that propelled the team’s score to 26 and the lead to 14.
South Carolina capitalized on a sizable amount of free-throw opportunities in the first half, hitting 15 of the team’s 18 attempts. Presbyterian only saw four free-throw attempts in the game’s first 20 minutes of play.
The Gamecocks out-rebounded Presbyterian 24-18 in the first half as well. The team’s nine second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds proved impactful.
Over half of the team’s first-half points came off the bench, with 21 total from non-starters. Polk led the way with 9 points thanks to three triples. He led the team in scoring at the half. Six points from junior forward Jordan Butler helped as the Gamecocks led 41-22 at half.
An overall consistent defensive effort held the Blue Hose to just 28% from the field in the first, also without allowing a made shot from beyond the arc. South Carolina made just four threes in the first period on 12 attempts.
The team started quickly in the second period, outscoring Presbyterian 20-11 in the first seven minutes of the half. Ellis had 6 points and an assist to Sharavjamts for a three that jumped the team’s total to 64 on their seventh consecutive make.
Polk’s hot streak continued when he knocked down his fourth triple of the night with 11:09 left in the game off an assist by Stute. On the very next possession, Stute would hit a three of his own that increased the Gamecocks' lead to 32.
The team was perfect on another streak of seven consecutive field goal attempts following the Stute three, before falling cold and missing three straight.
A layup by Johnson at the 9:54 mark would be the Gamecocks' sole field goal for over seven minutes. The team’s next basket came off a dunk by Butler with 2:28 to play, ending a cold streak that spanned nine straight shots for the team.
Presbyterian ended the game on an 18-6 run where the Gamecocks shot 1/12 from the field.
Sharavjamts finished as the team’s leading scorer with 13 points that were accompanied by four rebounds. Ellis and Polk combined for 21 off the bench. Stute added 11 as well.
Despite an off night from deep, the Gamecocks still knocked down eight threes, accounting for 30% of their points. A notable 36 points from non-starters accounted for 44% of the team’s scoring.
South Carolina moved to 15-0 under head coach Lamont Paris when scoring over 80 points in the win.
What's next?
The Gamecocks will host Radford on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena. South Carolina will look to advance to 5-0 all-time against the Highlanders and to 4-0 on the season.