SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL
The play encapsulating South Carolina’s game against Houston happened early in the first half.
After Houston jumped out to a 14-7 lead Sunday, the Gamecocks came storming back and cut the deficit to two off a Justin Minaya three-pointer. They’d pick up a stop after that only to have Minaya miss a three-pointer and Houston respond with a bucket of its own, sparking an 8-0.
“Now we’re down 15-12 and everyone’s deflated. Those are the moments where you have to score,” Frank Martin said. “This is an NCAA Tournament team…You’re not going to win if you don’t make shots. We eventually have to make shots.”
Also see: Instant analysis from Sunday's loss
That was the story of the game for South Carolina, who lost by 20 at home to a good Houston team to drop them to 6-4 on the year, with the Gamecocks pushing for the majority of the game against the Cougars but never able to get over that hump.
“We have a lot of growing up to do. It’s hard to beat teams that win 30 a year when you don’t have the disposition to sustain the effort and disciplined it takes to beat these kinds of teams,” Martin said. “We were not as disciplined as we need to be, and that’s my job. Man to man, we’re not as tough as we need to be. That’s players taking ownership individually what they need to be better at.”
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The Gamecocks got close a handful of times, but Houston would always find a way to go on a run after that to take back every shred of momentum.
Near the end of the half they got within five at 28-23 but Houston closed on an 11-4 run before halftime to make it a 12-point game at the break.
Twice in the second half South Carolina cut it to a 10-point deficit only to watch Houston outscore them 20-7 on two separate runs (10-5 and 10-2).
“It’s frustrating, but it’s on us. We have to be able to keep that momentum going,” Minaya said. “We can’t have breakdowns on defense or our offense not be able to execute,” Minaya said. “I think whenever it’s those times you have to lock in, guard the ball, stick to our principles on offense."
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The Gamecocks struggled offensively, shooting just 32.3 percent on the game and 24 percent (6-for-25) from three. They hit just one of 10 attempted three-pointers in the second half and missed 10 fewer shots (42) than Houston took for the game (52).
“Every time we were there, we’d miss,” Martin said. “We’d have a deflating, wide-open shot we’d miss, a break down on offense and we’d hang our heads and they’d score six in a row. We have to get a lot better there.”
Martin talked after the game about guards needing to be better defending and said they need be tougher.
They’ll have to do it quickly with the Gamecocks starting a tough seven-game stretch of that began Sunday against Houston and will continue with road games at Clemson, No. 5 Virginia and No. 21 Tennessee and home games against No. 8 Kentucky and Florida.
“We took it on the chin,” Frank Martin said. “I don’t know about other people. I’ve been punched in the face and knocked out before. I woke up. When I woke up and I did my job. If that guy and I crossed paths again, he was going to have to punch me out again. It’s pretty simple. That’s where we have to grow up as a team. We’re not there; we’re dealing with the season.”
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