The South Carolina men's basketball team closed its opening homestand with an 80-54 win over Towson University on Tuesday night to move its record to 2-1.
The game was the third ever time these schools have met. The last time was during the 1997-1998 season, where the Gamecocks won 65-55.
The Gamecocks took the lead after trailing 1-0 in the first minute and held onto it until the final buzzer, thanks to the large difference it had in field goal percentage, its defense and the Tigers’ fouls.
Things started slow for South Carolina for the first minute of the half, giving only 1 point to Towson, before scoring 7 unanswered points, with 3 points coming early from sophomore forward Colin Murray-Boyles. This was also in part due to the multitude of fouls that Towson University produced, with 3 of South Carolina’s 7 points coming at the free throw line.
Towson struggled offensively after scoring the first point, shooting 0-7 by the first five minutes of the game. It wouldn't be until a 2-point basket made by junior guard Christian May that the Tigers’ offense would get into gear.
After some back-and-forth action from both sides, the Gamecocks held a 19-11 lead with 10 minutes to go in the opening half. Twelve of the Gamecocks’ 19 came from senior forward Nick Pringle and Murray-Boyles, who scored 6 points each.
The Gamecocks extended its lead by 15 points later in the half, making the score 28-13 after an 8-point run. Towson eventually gained some momentum back after making its first three of the night and going on a quick 5-point run, making the score 28-18.
At the end of the half, the Gamecocks still held the lead at 43-26, putting together a 9-0 run before the half ended, with a team-high of 10 points from both Nick Pringle and Colin Murray-Boyles.
The second half started with a back-and-forth series where both teams put up 11 points combined in the first four minutes. The Gamecocks outscored the Tigers 6-5 in that run.
By the 12th minute, the Gamecocks started making more fouling mistakes, putting up eight compared to the Tigers’ four. This gave Towson some momentum, but South Carolina didn’t let this hold it back, still scoring 12 points by the 12th minute, which made the score 55-41.
The Gamecocks started pulling away even more in the last four minutes of the second half after a late 7-0 run, making the score 74-50. The Gamecocks closed out the game 80-54, never giving up the lead since the first minute.
Defense holds strong
In the first half, South Carolina had five more defensive rebounds at 14 than Towson who had nine, a major factor in keeping South Carolina from letting them score. The Tigers had seven offensive rebounds compared to the Gamecocks’ two, but the Tigers hardly took advantage of the rebounds because of the team’s issues with shooting.
"Our energy and effort, on the defensive side ... I thought it was clear how much different (from game 1) it was against a team that was (physical and strong)," head coach Lamont Paris said. "That needs to be who we are. I think it needs to start with having that sort of commitment and effort on what we're doing on the defensive end."
By the end of the game, the Gamecocks had 29 defensive rebounds compared to the Tigers’ 16. In total, South Carolina had 39 rebounds, eight higher than Towson’s 31. The rebounds allowed the Gamecocks to go on multiple scoring runs to build up momentum, leading to its win.
Differences in field goal percentage
The Gamecocks shot 50% from the field compared to the Tigers’ 30%, a big reason why the Gamecocks held onto its lead throughout the contest. In the opening half, that number was 63% and 33%, respectively, which helped carry the Gamecock’ momentum in the first half.
"We did try to make a concerted effort that the looks that they did get would be more challenged,” Paris said. "A little more rushed, there'd be a little more uncertainty as to whether or not they should shoot that shot."
Towson University attempted 25 3-point shots during the game, making only five. South Carolina attempted fewer 3-point shots with 21, but ended up making one more than Towson did, totaling six for the whole night.
Fouling issues for both sides
Towson had 14 fouls by the end of the first half, nine more than South Carolina’s five. Out of the 43 points of the first half that the Gamecocks put up, 10 of those came from the foul line. In total, the Gamecocks shot 10-15 from the foul line.
South Carolina started making mistakes of its own in the second half, adding nine fouls to its total by the 10-minute mark of the half. In just the second half, the Gamecocks totaled its fouls to be 16 compared to the Tigers' 12 in the half. This gave Towson a little more momentum in the second half and allowed the team 17 points total from free throws.
"My teams have generally been a lower-than-normal fouling team. We talk about situations where maybe you will foul. We talk about intentionally not fouling in specific situations," Paris said. "I thought we did a good job of that in the first half."
By the end of the game, the Gamecocks had 21 fouls to the Tigers’ 26, which helped the Gamecocks score 22 total points from fouls, shooting 22-30 from the free throw line.
What’s next?
The Gamecocks will face its first ranked opponent of the season in No. 16 Indiana University at Assembly Hall on Saturday. The game will tip-off at 3 p.m. and will stream live on Peacock.