Senior guard Chico Carter landed a game-winning fadeaway jumper to give cap South Carolina's 60-58 physical win over on Friday night.
“I’m a little open, let me try it and went in,” Carter said said of the shot. “All the work put in at the gym, eventually will pay off.”
Carter led South Carolina with 16 points including four 3-pointers. He shot 67% on the night in addition to three assists and two steals. He landed a buzzer-beater three to close out the first half, giving the Gamecocks a nine point lead at halftime. With 0.3 seconds left on the clock and the game tied, Carter landed a second buzzer-beater on a fadeaway jumper to secure the win.
“We have a lot of grit,” junior forward Josh Gray said. “In those final minutes, we were all composed, and we all knew our roles and what to do.”
Aggressive play was a focus for both sides as the game featured 32 turnovers, 32 personal fouls and eight blocks between the two teams. In the paint alone, both teams combined for 50 points. South Carolina managed to out-rebound Clemson 50-32, including 19 offensive rebounds to gain the edge physically.
“It’s hard to win when you give a team that many opportunities,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “They’ve got big, long bodies coming at you, physical bodies, and they probably wore us down a little bit.”
Gray led the way for South Carolina with 10 rebounds, five of which were on the offensive end. Gray’s 7-foot, 255 pound frame made him a defensive staple for the Gamecocks as he had a team-high of three blocks.
“Just the physicality,” Gray said. “I knew Clemson last year was very physical, so my goal for today was to be even more physical with my frame.”
South Carolina's roster features many new faces in the form of five new transfer players and three freshmen. The eight new players make up over half of the current roster. Despite this, head coach Lamont Paris has led the team to a 2-0 start in his debut season, following the win tonight and the 80-77 victory against South Carolina State on Tuesday.
With the win, Paris becomes the first South Carolina head coach to beat Clemson in their first season since David Odom in 2001.
"We know that there's a path for us, we know it's going to take work," Paris said. "I've got a lot of belief in these guys as long as they stay the course and commit to what we're doing. We're a growth-minded team."
In spite of being ranked towards the bottom of the SEC coming into the season, fans are hopeful about the culture shift taking way under a new head coach. Paris is trusting his system and his team to pave the way for a new era of Gamecock men's basketball.
“I’m really optimistic about where we could go,” Paris said. “We've got to keep getting better, but I’ve got a lot of faith and belief in these guys when they play the way they did tonight.”
The Gamecocks will travel to take on Colorado State in the 2022 Charleston Classic on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPNU.