Lamont Paris’ South Carolina basketball team defeated Notre Dame 6-0 in the ACC/SEC Challenge earlier this week. The quarterfinals are off to their best start since the 2016-2017 Final Four.
Next up on the schedule is a home game against the George Washington Revolutionaries. Last year, GW beat the Gamecocks by 24 points in Washington, DC. The Gamecocks want revenge on Friday, but George Washington isn’t going to make it easy. The Revolutionaries, no longer known as the Colonials, are off to their best start since 2015-2016 at 6-1.
Colin Murray-Boyles, who missed every game in the 6-0 start against mononucleosis, suited up for the first time on Friday. The return came much earlier than expected, as he didn’t start training until this Wednesday. However, the Gamecocks’ starters remain the same, with the top five being Talon Cooper, Mitch Johnson, Myles Stout, B.J. Mack and Stephon Clark.
After Notre Dame started the game on an 0-5 run, the Gamecocks got their first shot of the game, with Myles Stute hitting a jumper from the free throw line. After Mitch Johnson and Talon Cooper hit three-pointers, the team led 8-1.
Meechie Johnson’s deep pass extended the lead to 13-3, but the Revolutionaries clawed their way back to close the gap to 17-9.
The two teams traded scoring chances, but the lead shrank further as all of GW’s three-pointers came from beyond the arc. At the timeout of the second half, the score was 24-18. After halftime, the two teams hit three consecutive three-pointers, but the Gamecocks got the better ending with outside jumpers from B.J. Mack and Morris Ugusuk. Darren Buchanon’s 3-pointer brought his total to eight points in the first 13 minutes of the game.
The Gamecocks experienced a 3-minute scoring drought, and GW reduced the lead to 4 points, but Cooper’s three-pointer ended the scoring drought and extended the lead to 33-26. The shot kicked off a 7-0 run, just one minute before the final timeout of the first half.
When the final halftime buzzer sounded, the Gamecocks found themselves leading 42-32 by 10, despite being easily outgunned on the glass. The home team has a huge shooting advantage, with Carolina shooting 52%/50%/100% and GW shooting 36%/36%/75%.
The Revolution scored the first two goals after halftime, but another USC 3-pointer (from B.J. Mack) pushed the lead back to nine points.
A few possessions later, Stephen Clark had his best performance of the season, grabbing an impressive offensive rebound in the Revolution’s athletic frontcourt and then passing it to B.J. Mack for a layup.
A 3-12 start to the first half didn’t hurt the Gamecocks too much, as George Washington only made four field goals. The slow shooting stretch stretched to 3-15 before the Gamecocks’ two top scorers made back-to-back baskets. Meechie Johnson hit a layup (and a free throw) and BJ Mack scored hard in the post before hitting a clutch 3-pointer.
After Zach Davis hit a three-pointer, Mack hit his third long ball of the game, and a close game suddenly became no longer close. All told, the Gamecocks went on a 14-0 run to extend their lead to 65-45.
Renaissance’s James Bishop quickly hit a three-pointer, but Talon Cooper and Mitch Johnson scored eight points in a row to push the deficit back to 19 points with 8 minutes left.
Myles Stute finished with contact on a well-placed dribble break, and Johnson hit his fourth 3-pointer to give his total points to his fourth straight. More than 20 points on the second night. On the next play, Talon Cooper hit the Roosters’ 16th three-pointer of the game, tying a South Carolina basketball record. The official game result was 81-59.
Collin Murray-Boyles made the Gamecocks’ first field goal with about three minutes left in the game, and Meechie Johnson added his fifth from downtown. Three points broke the record. CMB scored on a contact layup on a nice pass from BJ Mack.
Morris Ugusuk extended a new school record with 18 3-pointers and South Carolina basketball defeated Georgetown 89-67.
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George Washington revolutionary
67
south carolina cockfighting
89