The South Carolina men's basketball team fell to Illinois State, 69-65, in the first game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina.
"They came at us and our defense was bad, and when you're in a half-court game, and your defense is back, that's not good," head coach Frank Martin said. "On defense the object of the game is don't let the ball get between two defenders. We never got it between two defenders, they got it between two defenders every time they wanted to. They won it."
Illinois State got off to a strong start, going up 10-3 with the help of a 3-pointer from Taylor Bruninga and dunk from Milik Yarbrough. South Carolina got off to a cold start from the field, shooting 0-for-8 to start the game. The Gamecocks struggled to bury a shot. The first made shot for South Carolina came from a Wesley Myers mid-range jumper with 14:25 left in the half.
After a layup from Maik Kotsar to cut the Redbird lead to three, Hassani Gravett drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game at 12. Illinois State went on a 9-0 run over the course of four minutes capped off by a jumper and two free throws from Yarbrough.
A 3-pointer from Hassani Gravett assisted by Frank Booker brought the Gamecocks within single digits to the Redbirds with 2:42 left in the first half. Wesley Myers made a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left in the half to bring the Gamecocks within six. The Redbirds answered with a 3-pointer of their own, coming from Keyshawn Evans to end the half.
The Gamecocks shot 7-for-30 from the field, while the Redbirds shot 8-for-22 from the field in the first half. The difference came from free throws.
Illinois State shot 14 for 19 from the line, and the Gamecocks struggled, shooting 50 percent at the line (6 for 12). Illinois State opened the second half with a dunk from William Tinsley to push the lead to 11.
Every time the Gamecocks had momentum, Illinois State found a way to get a basket to fall to keep South Carolina at bay.
A pair of layups from Kotsar and Felipe Haase, along with a 3-pointer from Frank Booker had the Gamecocks even with the Redbirds with 11:51 left in the game. Illinois State responded with a layup from Phil Fayne to take back the lead, but Chris Silva made two free throws to even the game again with 10:37 left in the game. After tying the game, Illinois State went on a 5-0 run to retake the lead again.
South Carolina brought the game within three twice with a layup from David Beatty with 8:18 left and from a three pointer from Haase with 4:37 left in the game, but each time Illinois State found a way to stop the momentum and keep their lead.
"We never got inside the zone, and when we threw to within five feet, our bigs couldn't score," Martin said about the offense struggling. "Our guards never, never drove the zone, they just kept passing it around the zone and that's to their advantage ... We never, never played off the dribble to get inside the zone."
Frank Booker brought the Gamecocks within one with 3:13 left to play in the game after sinking a three pointer, but the Redbirds took control again to keep the lead to the end of the game. The trio of Milik Yarbrough, Keyshawn Evans and Phil Fayne kept Illinois State in control. Yarbrough finished with 18 points, Evans finished with 17 and Fayne finished with 14.
The Gamecocks found themselves in foul trouble which proved to be crucial. South Carolina finished with 32 total fouls compared to 20 from Illinois State. Chris Silva and Maik Kotsar, along with David Beatty all fouled out of the game. These fouls led to many opportunities for Illinois State. The Redbirds shot 28-for-39 from the free throw line.
South Carolina's poor shooting and defensive struggles proved critical in the game. The Gamecocks finished 18-for-61 from the field, shooting 29.5 percent. South Carolina also gave up many easy buckets to Illinois State inside the paint.
"We just didn't hit shots," Gravett said. "We've got a lot of guys who can shoot the ball and we didn't hit shots today we didn't make our layups, so [we] couldn't score at all."
The Gamecocks (2-1) will begin the consolation round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off against UTEP at 10:30 a.m. on Friday.