Erik Stevenson jogged back out from the locker room and the student section, packed to the gills across from the Gamecock bench, went crazy.

Minutes before, Stevenson was on the ground after getting hit in the face and ducked back into the locker room for some treatment before reemerging.

Then, as he jogged back to the scorer’s table to check back into the game, the crowd got even louder and began chanting his name in the midst of what was his best performance of the year in a 66-63 win over UAB.

“I heard that. I appreciate it,” Stevenson said, smiling. “It’s always cool having the fans love you, and we appreciate the fans. Without them it’s probably a different ballgame in the second half…We’re going to need it this year.”

Through the first three games of the year, Stevenson—brought in to be a stabilizing force in the backcourt and leader on the team—was making an impact, albeit not as much offensively.

The fourth-year college player is second on the team in defensive box plus-minus (6.1) and first among regular contributors in defensive rating (77.1) but struggled offensively.

Entering Thursday’s game Stevenson was averaging 10 points but shooting just 23.3 percent from the field and a paltry 2-for-25 from three.

But against UAB he came alive with 11 first-half points en route to a 15-point performance where he hit his first three shots of the game, all threes, and ended 6-for-9 from the field.

“Seeing those first two go in and felt good and a little confidence booster in the game. It’s nothing that surprises me. I’m supposed to make shots. Having the team and staff and whole program back me when it comes to shooting struggles and telling me to keep shooting, that’s what gives me the confidence to keep shooting,” he said. “You have people behind you who are still allowing you to shoot the basketball. It felt good to see those two go in. Hopefully I can build on it.”

Stevenson finished with a season-high 15 points and showcased the kind of offensive impact he can have on this year’s team when shots are falling.

It was a long start to the year but the Gamecocks looked better offensively with him hitting those threes, finishing with their second-best field goal percentage of the season, best three-point percentage and notched a big win over a good UAB team.

“I don’t worry about people that work at something they’re good at. He’s a good shooter and works at it. You know when I mess up his head? If I start talking to him about missing shots,” Frank Martin said. “Then if he thinks I’m losing faith in his shot making, he’s going to doubt himself. I don’t do that. If he didn’t’ work he wouldn’t be shooting 2-for-27 or whatever he was. We would have cut those threes off a long time ago. He works at it.”

It wasn’t perfect—Stevenson turned the ball over once to no assists—and his foul trouble, along with fouling out, thrust some of the Gamecocks’ newcomers into a pressure-packed situation late.

But Stevenson showed enough offensively and how he can continue impacting the Gamecock roster this season.

“I’ll take the blame for that getting in foul trouble. Had some dumb fouls and some non-Erik-like fouls, if that makes sense. That put those young guys in the game during those situations,” Stevenson said.

“That’s a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because those guys get that good experience with league play. It’s discouraging because instead of winning that game by 15 we win it by three. Ups and downs, positives and negatives to it. Older guys have to be better.”

----

• Not a subscriber? Learn more about Gamecock Central here!

• Watch our live show and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

• Sign up for Gamecock Central's FREE news alerts and daily newsletter.

• Subscribe to our podcast on whatever podcast platform you prefer!

• Follow us on Twitter: @GamecockCentral, @GCChrisClark, @WesMitchellGC, @CollynTaylor and @Mike_Uva.

• Follow Gamecock Central on Instagram @GamecockCentral.