SOUTH CAROLINA MEN’S BASKETBALL

South Carolina entered the game with momentum and promise, and one mission: don’t blow it. They did, and lost to Stetson 63-56.

Stetson entered the game with a 5-9 record, on a four-game losing streak, and 327th in the NET rankings. South Carolina should have been able to win just by showing up. And they tried.

Whenever Stetson needed a shot, there was somebody open for a three-pointer, and the Hatters shot 24-36 from the free throw line. But mostly, it was South Carolina’s inability to score. South Carolina shot just 37 percent from the floor, 50 percent from the foul line, and committed 15 turnovers. It was just 4-19 (21 percent) from three, and unable to penetrate Stetson’s zone.

“Our guys played with really good energy,” Stetson’s Donnie Jones said. “We’ve really played zone to a strength more than a weakness because we felt we could be active, we could simplify scouting reports. We mixed up zones, we played two or three zones, and our guys did a really good job with scouting reports.”

South Carolina dug itself a hole early, when it was unable to solve Stetson’s zone and rusty defensively. It took just three minutes for Frank Martin to yank Lawson, Jair Bolden, and Keyshawn Bryant. Jermaine Couisnard, TJ Moss, and Trae Hannibal came in and provided a spark, but it was short-lived.

South Carolina looked like a team still on Christmas break. Martin described the practices since the team returned from break as being “all right,” although “we didn’t make a single shot.” But he knew there was a problem at shootaround Monday morning.

“Shootaround was at 10, and we had guys in there with swollen eyes like they’d been wrapped up in a blanket until 9:35,” Martin said. “We were real quiet. It’s game day, man, there’s no place to be quiet.”

Maik Kotsar was the only Gamecock in double figures, with 11 points. He took responsibility for the loss, saying, “It shouldn’t happen.”

“Today we weren’t aggressive at all,” he said. “Everything we practiced went out the window.”

Christian Jones led all scorers with 18 points. The Columbia native and former Cardinal Newman start said it was his first time playing at Colonial Life Arena since he was eight and attended a camp at South Carolina. Jones played with Martin’s son at Cardinal Newman, and giving him a chance to play in Columbia was one of the reasons Martin scheduled the game.

Notes:

Wildens Leveque contributed seven productive minutes. He grabbed six rebounds and scored three points, but remains limited by inconsistency. … Justin Minaya finished with six points and nine rebounds. … Bolden was scoreless on 0-4 shooting. … Couisnard had nine points and five rebounds. Hannibal had eight points and five rebounds. … South Carolina played decent defense, holding Stetson to 36 percent shooting, forcing 14 turnovers, and finishing plus-five rebounding. … Announced attendance was 10,985. … South Carolina’s next game is January 7 against Florida.