Missed free throws doomed South Carolina in a 77-67 loss at #10 Houston.

South Carolina did everything right in the first half. It shot the ball well, attacked the glass, and guarded Houston’s shooters. South Carolina extended its defense full court, mixing up man and zone and flustering short-handed Houston. The result was a 35-31 halftime lead. The lead got up to seven early in the second half when Houston called a timeout.

The Cougars were missing their head coach, associate head coach, leading scorer, and top reserve, so it would have surprised nobody if the Gamecocks had been able to pull away. But acting head coach Quannas White calmed the Cougars, and reminded them why they are the #10 team in the country.

The Cougars scored eight straight out of the timeout to retake the lead. The Gamecocks retied the game, but the game was slipping away. The Cougars grabbed the first five rebounds and made their first five shots, Frank Martin’s worst nightmare.

Then it got worse. South Carolina turned the ball over seven times in the first 12 minutes of the half as Houston’s defense settled down, while South Carolina struggled to defend without fouling. Houston shot a staggering 21-25 from the line in the second half and 31-38 (81.6%) overall. Meanwhile, South Carolina was just 17-29 and was barely 50% from the line midway through the second half.

Justin Minaya had 13 points to lead South Carolina, and was joined in double figures by Keyshawn Bryant and Jermaine Couisnard with 10 apiece. Quentin Grimes had 23 for Houston and shot 14-15 from the line. Tramon Mark added 18.