The South Carolina men's basketball team defeated the South Carolina State Bulldogs 86-64 on Friday night at Colonial Life Arena.
The Gamecocks saw strong performances from sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles and senior guard Jacobi Wright to give the team its first win of the season.
"It's good for us to get our first win with this group," head coach Lamont Paris said. "We'll have some really good film to show of some things that we didn't do well, some things that we did do well."
South Carolina jumped out to an early 7-0 lead when junior guard Zachary Davis scored his first points of the game. However, the Bulldogs answered when senior guard Wilson Dubinsky scored five consecutive points, making it a two-point game. With around twelve minutes to play in the first half, sophomore guard Morris Ugusuk converted a pair of three-pointers to stretch South Carolina's lead to six.
The Gamecocks struggled with turnovers throughout the first half, as the Bulldogs defense forced seven in the first ten minutes of the game. Wright converted a three-pointer to give the Gamecocks a 20-12 lead with around nine minutes to go in the first half. Wright scored eight point s in the first half, going 2-4 from the three-point range.
In the first half, South Carolina received a standout performance from Murray-Boyles. Murray-Boyles, a Columbia, South Carolina native, scored 12 points in the first half, shooting 5-6 from the field.
The Bulldogs struggled with shooting the ball in the first half, going just 9-32 (28.1%) from the field. Dubinsky finished the first half with eight points, while sophomore forward Drayton Jones added four points.
The two teams went back and forth to start the second half. Bulldogs senior guard Michael Teal scored eight points in the first two minutes of the half to shrink South Carolina's lead to eleven. The Gamecocks responded with consecutive field goals from Wright and graduate student forward Nick Pringle, giving South Carolina a 49-32 lead with around 16 minutes to go in the game.
With about fifteen minutes to go, freshman guard Cam Scott made a three-pointer to give the Gamecocks a 56-36 advantage. The Gamecocks led comfortably for the rest of the game, leading to a 22-point home win over the Bulldogs.
Murray-Boyles lifts Gamecocks to win
In his second appearance of the season, Murray-Boyles put together his best performance so far. The Preseason Third Team All-SEC member posted 19 points on seven-of-eight shooting. He also added 16 rebounds and four assists.
"The emphasis of this game was be very aggressive and play with a lot of energy," Murray-Boyles said. "That's what everybody seemed lacked in last game, so I think just picking it up on every single aspect of the game was our biggest thing."
In South Carolina's season-opening loss to North Florida, the Gamecocks were out-rebounded 42-36, including 15-9 on the offensive glass. The Gamecocks flipped the script against the Bulldogs, grabbing 51 rebounds to the Bulldogs' 36. The Gamecocks also scored 42 points in the paint compared to the Bulldogs' 24.
"Rebound was obviously a part of it," Murray-Boyles said. "We gave up 15 offensive boards (last game) and we didn't really want the same story to be written about this game. So, just coming out here with more aggression and to take it into the season with this same aggression that we played with tonight."
Wright, Thomas shine against the Bulldogs
After coming off the bench in the game against North Florida, Wright was put in the starting lineup for the matchup against the Bulldogs. The veteran guard made the most of the opportunity, scoring 20 points on 70% shooting. Wright also shot four-of-seven from three-point range and added two assists.
"He's developing into a well-rounded guy," Paris said. "Today he made threes. I thought he did a good job of finding some good looks. He was aggressive on a couple of them also, which I like guys to be aggressive as shooters."
Senior guard Jamarii Thomas, who started alongside Wright, also had a strong night. Thomas posted 14 points on five-of-eight shooting, along with three assists. After learning he'd be starting next to Thomas, Wright said his preparation didn't change.
"About two days ago in practice, we made a little switch," Wright said. "I just stayed in the gym, just like I have been this whole time. Just staying ready, and I just prepare for it like a normal game. It's just another game in the journey."
South Carolina's defense step-up
On Friday night, the Bulldogs struggled against South Carolina's stout defense. For the game, the visitors shot just 24-67 (35.8%) from the field. The Bulldogs also struggled from the three-point range, shooting three-for-16 (18.8%) . The Bulldogs also committed ten turnovers, which the Gamecocks scored 16 points off of. Dubinsky finished with ten points and four rebounds, while Teal added eleven points.
"I thought we did a really good job defensively," Paris said. "There was one stretch in the first half where we really were cooking as a defensive unit, and then we followed those up with good rebounding."
What's next?
South Carolina (1-1) continues its season on Nov. 12 at home against the Towson Tigers (1-1). Tip-off from Colonial Life Arena is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+.