After a shock loss to North Florida on opening night, South Carolina basketball looks to rebound against an in-state foe.
South Carolina basketball is facing off against South Carolina State Friday night at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks are 0-1 after falling to North Florida, while the Bulldogs are 1-0 after a victory over NAIA Morris.
General Information:
Teams: South Carolina (0-1) vs. South Carolina State (1-0)
Tip-Off Time: 7 p.m. EST
Watch: SECN+/ESPN+
Listen: 107.5 The Game
What to know about South Carolina State:
The Bulldogs are headed by Erik Martin. The long-time West Virginia assistant is in his third year as head coach of the university. After a 5-26 season in year one, the Bulldogs improved to 14-18 this past season, with a 9-5 record in-conference. Entering the 2024-25 season, South Carolina State was projected 5th in the MEAC.
Last year, they were led Michael Teal and Mitchell Taylor with 8.4 PPG and 8.2 PPG, respectively. Despite no one player averaging 9+ PPG, they had nine players average between 5.6 PPG-8.4 PPG. Martin prefers a deep rotation, with 11 players between 13.7 MPG-21.3 MPG last season.
Of those 11 players, the top seven in MPG return for the 2024-25 season, including Teal, Taylor, forward Caleb McCarty, leading rebounder Davion Everett, steals leader Omar Croskey, guard Wilson Dubinsky, and blocks leader Drayton Jones. Martinique native guard Florian Tenebay comes over from JUCO Central Georgia Tech, and forward Colin McKenzie transferred in from Spartanburg Methodist.
Freshman Jayden Johnson from Brooklyn will provide depth in the guard room, with other freshmen including Jamal Miles (South County High School), Roko Maric (Vancouver College), and D’Shay Wright (Polaris Prep). Both Maric and Wright hail from Canada.
The Bulldogs beat Morris 137-55, but South Carolina figures to put up more of a challenge. Dubinsky led with 29 points in just 11 minutes (he shot 8-9 from deep!), while six Bulldogs in total scored in double figures. Florian Tenebay came off the bench to record 11 points and lead the team with five assists. Colin McKenzie and Omar Croskey combined for 36 points.
Latest on South Carolina basketball
South Carolina led for most of the contest against North Florida, but they never pulled away, leaving an open window of opportunity for the Ospreys. Matthew Driscoll and Co. took advantage, hitting a few threes late to enjoy the bus ride home to Jacksonville as victors.
For the Gamecocks, there were a few bright spots on the court and in the box score. Projected first-round pick Collin Murray-Boyles led the team with 17 points, collected seven rebounds, and had six combined blocks + steals. Jacobi Wright came off the bench to score 12 points and lead both teams with six assists on the night. Lengthy wing Zachary Davis scored 12 points and brought in six boards. Norfolk State transfer Jamarii Thomas scored 12 points as well, along with four rebounds and two assists.
No other Gamecocks, however, scored more than six points on the night. As a team, Lamont Paris’s group shot just 14-25 from the free-throw line, a routine of mistakes that virtually cost them the win in their first game of the season. Alabama transfer Nick Pringle was 3-8 from the line, Collin Murray-Boyles was 3-6, and highly-touted freshman Cam Scott was 1-3. Even if three of those misses went in, the team would be looking at overtime at the worst.
But what’s done is done. Once the buzzer sounds, it’s time for a team to recharge and regroup in order to focus on the next game. With 29 games left on the schedule, there’s plenty of time for this Gamecocks team to gather momentum heading into the SEC slate (which is a gauntlet) on the schedule. Though Myles Stute started the game at the two for the Gamecocks, he played 17 minutes compared to Cam Scott’s 21. Jacobi Wright also contributed 28 minutes off the bench, third-most on the team, so the guard rotation is something worth monitoring.