Men’s basketball hosts Georgia in first meeting
The last time coach Darrin Horn declared a game a must-win situation, South Carolina pulled out a last-second victory against Alabama. Unfortunately, that was the lone win in USC’s past 10 games, having dropped five straight since that victory.
The Gamecocks (9-15, 1-9 SEC) host Georgia (12-12, 3-7) tonight in search of an elusive second SEC victory.
“It’s a game where there’s no question we need to win,” Horn said. “I think our guys understand that. I think at some point, there’s a mindset that they want to be rewarded for all the hard work they’ve put in.”
For all of the difficulties this season has seen, Horn has maintained that the effort and desire are still there.
“One of the things that’s been very impressive to me as a coach is with the challenges and the adversity and the struggles that we’ve faced and our record not being what we want it to be, this team has continued to work hard, play hard and be ready to play games as we were Saturday,” Horn said.
The Gamecocks played well for much of the game against the Razorbacks, even reeling off a 16-0 run in the second half, but ultimately fell short, once again plagued by turnovers. In light of recent turnover struggles, taking care of the ball is becoming a top priority for Horn. While playing well for short spurts, carelessness and poor offensive execution have given opposing teams easy buckets.
“[Turnovers] are the things that eventually you’ve got to get tired of and eliminate,” Horn said. “Coming back home and having the opportunity to do that will hopefully energize us a little bit to give us the opportunity to do that against a Georgia team who’s playing very well.”
After playing four out of their last five on the road, with the lone home game against top-ranked Kentucky, being back in Columbia should be a big help as the Gamecocks take on the visiting Bulldogs.
Point guard Bruce Ellington spoke to the rigors of going on the road in the SEC and the mentality moving forward.
“Being on the road is hard, so we’re glad to be back home and try to get a ‘W,’” Ellington said. “We’ve just got to stay focused and just keep going in to every game trying to get a win, really.”
Georgia has had its fair share of disappointment this year as well, though the Bulldogs have looked good recently, winning their last two against Arkansas and Mississippi State.
“They have terrific perimeter play. A McDonald’s All-American (in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope) on the wing, two veteran guards that have been very solid for them and played extremely well, and though inexperienced like us, extremely athletic up front,” Horn said.
As the season draws closer to its conclusion and weight of expectations grow, players have remained focused on the task at hand.
“I wouldn’t say pressure, but it would help us a lot to get a win,” said forward Damontre Harris. “I feel like we come every day and practice hard, even though we’ve been losing. We just try and stay positive, and hopefully it’ll come around.”
For the majority of the season, freshman Anthony Gill has started in the frontcourt with Harris, though RJ Slawson is now getting the nod with Gill coming off the bench. Horn has been impressed with both players’ production.
“[Slawson] will continue to stay in the lineup,” Horn said. “I like what he’s doing. He brings us athleticism and activity at that spot and has done some really good things without question ... With [Gill] coming off the bench, it gives us a big physical presence with high skill level that can do a lot of things well.”
Harris had high praise for Slawson as well, saying, “RJ brings a lot to the table. He’s a high energy guy, crashes the boards very hard, plays hard. He helps our team a lot when he’s on the floor.”
As the team continues to search for only its second conference win of the season, Horn knows his team can’t afford to lose this one.
“I think our team continues to get better, but we’ve got to get the wins to show for it,” Horn said.