South Carolina didn’t put together a clean afternoon, but it did enough when the game tightened to stay unbeaten.
The Gamecocks beat Southeast Missouri State 78-68 on Sunday at Colonial Life Arena, leaning on a second-half surge after taking only a one-point lead into the break. A 10-0 run helped South Carolina seize control, and the home team finished the job behind a strong closing stretch from Kory Mincy.
Mincy scored 19 points to lead all scorers, and 15 of those came after halftime. South Carolina also got 18 points and seven rebounds from Juan Fernandez, 12 points from Jakub Nečas, and 10 points from Marcus Johnson in his Gamecocks debut.
“We’re on a mission for improvement and getting better. That’s our primary goal,” fifth-year head coach Lamont Paris said.
South Carolina’s offense looked far different after the break. The Gamecocks shot 63.6% from the floor in the second half, a huge jump from their first-half number, when they managed just 28.0% and coughed the ball up nine times. Even with the rough shooting, they stayed afloat by going 17-of-20 at the line before halftime and winning the rebounding battle by 11.
“Just stop being so stagnant, stop looking,” Mincy said of the halftime adjustments. “I feel like basketball is just a game of fluidity. We were out there just kind of just overthinking a lot, overthinking, rather than just playing our game.”
The turning point came right out of the locker room. Southeast Missouri State scored first in the second half, but Mincy and Camden Heide answered with 3-pointers to spark the decisive run. Mincy capped that stretch with a driving layup with 14:56 left.
The RedHawks still had some fight in them. Fontaine Williams Jr. drilled a 3-pointer with 6:37 remaining to pull SEMO within four at 59-55. South Carolina responded with a 7-0 burst over 63 seconds to put the game out of reach.
Paris said the Gamecocks had to adjust on the fly and credited them for closing it out.
“It’s nice to learn lessons when you still make enough plays to end up on the right side of things. That’s a good team, though.
They play really hard. They’re physical.
They’re athletic. I did give the guys some credit for their ability to adjust and then find a way ultimately to bring the game home as a win and then just move forward and try to get better.”
Paris also pointed to Mincy as the player who changed the game’s energy.
“We need Kory to play well. That doesn’t mean he has to have a triple double (but) we need him to play well,” Paris said.
“I thought he was aggressive on both sides of the ball, found some good looks from the three point line, got to the basket. Then the energy went up even another echelon, and so I think that was a moment where we were making a good run there in the second half.
But he was the key that sparked that.”
Johnson’s first regular-season appearance with South Carolina came after a facial injury forced him to wear a protective mask. He finished 4-for-8 from the field in 24 minutes, adding one assist and three rebounds.
“They told me I had to miss the first game, which was all a little down because I wanted to be out there for my first game, but I still support my guys,” Johnson said. “We still got that win, so that’s all that matters. Definitely, I’m just thankful to be out here and play this in the second game.”
In Other News...
South Carolinas Momentum Comes With One Big LaNorris Sellers Concern
South Carolinas win over Texas A&M gave Shane Beamer exactly the kind of late-season lift he has been chasing, and it came in the sort of grind-it-out game that can define a teams November. The Gamecocks kept the scoreboard low, leaned on a defense that Beamer praised for holding the Aggies to just nine points, and in the process locked up a postseason trip while adding another quality result to a season that has been gathering momentum.
The one concern hanging over the celebration is LaNorris Sellers, who found the end zone but also re-injured his ankle during the game. His availability for the next stretch is now uncertain, and for a South Carolina team that has started to look more complete, the timing could hardly be more delicate. The defense has done its part, but the offenses next step may depend on how quickly Sellers can get back on the field. [Read more 🡒]
LaNorris Sellers Injury Concern Hangs Over South Carolinas Arkansas Trip
LaNorris Sellers spent South Carolinas Week 10 win over Texas A&M working through an ankle injury, and the Gamecocks are now carrying that concern into a road trip that could shape the rest of their season. Even so, the early read out of Columbia is encouraging, with Shane Beamer saying Sellers underwent tests that did not reveal anything worrisome and the staff coming away optimistic about his status for Arkansas.
For a team that just moved to 6-3 overall and 4-3 in the SEC, the timing matters as much as the diagnosis. South Carolina has enough momentum to make the next stretch meaningful, but everything starts with how well Sellers bounces back and whether the Gamecocks can keep their quarterback upright in a game that suddenly feels a little more important than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolina Is Back In The Poll And Facing A Huge Test
South Carolina is back in the poll, a small but meaningful step for a program trying to stay in the national conversation as the season tightens. The latest Coaches Poll brought plenty of movement around the Gamecocks orbit, with Notre Dame jumping to No. 3 after knocking off previously top-ranked Miami, Georgia reclaiming the No. 1 spot after handling Ole Miss, and Miami sliding to No. 6 after taking its first loss of the year.
For South Carolina, the ranking is only part of the story, because the next stretch will say far more about where this team really stands. Poll movement can create momentum, but it can disappear quickly when the schedule turns unforgiving, and the Gamecocks now face a huge test with the kind of stakes that can either validate their return or send them right back into the pack. [Read more 🡒]