South Carolina’s men’s basketball kicked off their season at Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday with a 91-72 victory over North Carolina A&T. Consistency from beyond the arc and selfless play helped allow the Gamecocks to outlast the Aggies and earn their first win of the year.
The Gamecocks' roster this season had just three players from last season’s team returning: junior forward Jordan Butler, graduate guard Myles Stute and sophomore guard Cam Scott. After the game, head coach Lamont Paris said Scott would be redshirting.
Five freshmen and seven transfers fill out this season's roster, and the 12 new faces were able to gel together Tuesday to play collaborative, complimentary basketball.
“It was a lot of sharing that was going on out there,” Paris said. “You can practice sharing the ball, and then when the game happens, I’m standing on the sidelines, and they’re out there deciding if they’re gonna share the ball or not share the ball, and they shared the ball."
Of 31 total field goal makes for the Gamecocks, 23 were off of assists. All 12 players to see the court had at least one assist, with five players notching two or more. Freshman guard Eli Ellis led the team with five assists off the bench.
“We’re a bunch of smart players moving the ball around,” senior forward Nordin Kapic said. “That’s going to make us win the games, sharing the ball and (being) unselfish.”
South Carolina’s ability to spread the ball opened up a plethora of uncontested shots, specifically from beyond the arc. The team scored 42 points off of threes alone, as triples accounted for 46% of their 91 points.
With just over seven minutes left in the game, the team was shooting 50% from three on 26 attempts. Once the game was well decided, the Gamecocks went on a cold streak from deep, dropping the final percentage on the night to 43.8%.
The Gamecocks shot 31.6% from three last season. The team’s best 3-point shooter, guard Morris Ugusuk, knocked down 40.7% of his attempts on the year. Against the Aggies, five players shot 50% or better from three.
“This is a team that can hit a lot of shots, want to get a lot of threes,” redshirt senior guard Meechie Johnson said. “We’re really just taking what the defense gives us. We’re not forcing anything.”
The Gamecocks' only non-guard in the starting lineup, Kapic, even hit three triples in the first half. Kapic assisted or scored on all of the team’s first nine points, finishing as the team’s second highest scorer with 13 points.
One of two returning players, Myles Stute, missed all SEC play in the 2024-25 season due to injury. In the prior season where the Gamecocks reached the NCAA tournament, he shot 38.5% from three on the year, the second best mark on the team. In his return, Stute knocked down two triples.
The Aggies had sequences that impressed, but their roster couldn’t keep up with the roster depth South Carolina had to offer. Ellis and junior forward Elijah Strong combined for 22 points off the bench, adding to the 39 total points the bench contributed in the game.
This was a far from perfect game for South Carolina. The team turned the ball over more than the Aggies, 13 times to 12, and were outscored 34-28 in the paint. Twenty-eight points for the Aggies came off of fast breaks compared to just 9 for the Gamecocks.
Partnering team-first shot selection with above-average consistency from deep made for a successful opening night for the Gamecocks.
What's next?
The Gamecocks will host the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles this Sunday at Colonial Life Arena. The game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network.