South Carolina headed to an in-state tournament, the Charleston Classic, riding high off a 2-0 start to the season. Four days and three losses later, the Gamecocks had encountered their first major adversity of the campaign.
South Carolina will return to the court Friday looking to snap its losing streak when it faces visiting South Carolina Upstate in Columbia, S.C.
The Gamecocks (2-3) lost 85-53 to Colorado State, 69-60 to Davidson and 79-60 to Furman in Charleston. In that trio of games they committed 16, 16 and 17 turnovers, respectively.
“Sometimes it’s just pure sloppiness again with the ball,” South Carolina coach Lamont Paris said after the Furman loss, per The (Columbia, S.C.) State.
“I think if you go back through history, I don’t know how many teams can be successful turning the ball over as many times as we do. So that impacts your ability to score. Those are wasted possessions.”
Highly touted freshman Gregory “GG” Jackson II has scored in double figures in all five games for South Carolina. He leads the team in both scoring (16.2 points per game) and rebounding (eight per game), but he is also averaging three turnovers per game.
USC Upstate (2-3) lost 83-56 at Air Force last time out on Monday, but before that was a thrilling 79-78 home win over Coastal Carolina on Nov. 18.
The Spartans lost a 43-35 halftime lead against the Chanticleers and fell behind by six with 1:41 to play, but they took the lead twice during the final minute, with Trae Broadnax’s jumper at the 10-second mark proving to be the game-winner.
“We needed to win a game like this around here,” Spartans coach Dave Dickerson said. “We needed it not only for our team but for our athletic department and for our fans. We don’t win this game without our Spartan army.”
Jordan Gainey leads USC Upstate with an average of 14.4 points per game and is shooting 43.5 percent from the 3-point arc.
Since USC Upstate joined Division I in 2007, the Gamecocks have gone 6-1 in the series, with the Spartans’ lone win coming in 2013.
–Field Level Media