Buckets over whistles: Hot-shooting South Carolina sinks Vandy despite foul trouble
South Carolina finished a first half with a comfortable lead, it was shooting at a historic rate and had a freshman playing as well as he had all season. But boos rained down on the court as intermission commenced Saturday at Colonial Life Arena.
It was an odd scene until you realized the full picture. Crowd disapproval wasn’t for the home time. It was for the officials as they too headed to the locker room.
For a while, this was the main distraction to USC’s otherwise solid showing against Vanderbilt. In between all the Gamecocks’ makes were whistles. A ton of them. Frank Martin wasn’t happy and the USC supporters followed their coach’s lead.
Fortunately it never caused Carolina to lose its focus.
Jalyn McCreary had a breakout night, Justin Minaya was a glass magnet and A.J. Lawson was again a perimeter threat as South Carolina routed Vandy, 90-64.
The Gamecocks (11-8, 3-3 SEC) have won three of four while the Commodores (8-11, 0-6) tied a record for most consecutive SEC regular season losses (24 games).
The result might have been expected — USC was a 12-point favorite — but the nature of performance deserves credit. South Carolina, hardly sidetracked by calls or non-calls, executed when it mattered and gained its most lopsided SEC win in three seasons.
“Any time you can score 90 points,” Martin said, “it can make winning a little easier.”
Fouls aside — USC players committed 29, Martin was issued a technical — Carolina was a model of offensive efficiency. The Gamecocks made 54.1% of their field goals and had 20 assists next to 11 turnovers. Minaya led the way with 14 points and 12 rebounds, good for his second career double-double. McCreary, a rookie forward who seems to be growing more confident by the game, set a career-high for points for 11. Lawson, one of two Gamecocks to play in the first half and not commit two fouls, had 14 points, his most since the Virginia win on Dec. 22.
The game plan, Martin said, was to attack Vanderbilt at the rim. The Commodores were not only down their leading scorer — Charleston’s Aaron Nesmith — but their leading shot blocker in Clevon Brown.
The Gamecocks finished with 44 points in the paint, their second-most of the season. They had 11 offensive rebounds, including six from Minaya.
“They’re thin at the front line and they’re all freshmen,” Martin said. “Being aggressive at the time was part of our game plan going in. I thought we did a better job of that in the second half than early in the game. And I think that wore them down to a certain extent.”
After Minaya’s three-point play pushed the Gamecocks ahead with 17:19 left in the first half, they never trailed again. The lead only jumped to a blowout level when they went on a 13-3 run midway through the second half. Trae Hannibal’s steal and layup made it 71-49 in Carolina’s favor with 7:52 remaining.
Officiating was no longer catching the crowd’s attention. South Carolina’s relentless energy became the story.
“I know if there was one guy that stood out to me more than another,” said first-year Vandy coach Jerry Stackhouse. “It felt there were six (Gamecocks) out there. They’re big, they’re strong. Frank does a helluva job with those guys. They play with a toughness and a competitiveness that we aspire to get to across our roster.”
And one: Both Keyshawn Bryant and Hannibal returned from injury. Bryant saved all seven of his points for the second half. Hannibal logged a career-high for minutes in an SEC game and had a team-best five assists, three steals and no turnovers.
Personal foul: Martin’s technical, his second in three games, came at the 5:27 mark of the first half after Jair Bolden was called for a foul. For a third straight game, the opponent took at least 10 more free throws than the Gamecocks.
Tip-in: Shortly before player introductions, Martin emerged from the locker room and immediately greeted Nesmith. Nesmith, a Charleston native, the SEC’s leader scoring and a former USC recruit, is out indefinitely with a foot injury. He rolled around warm-ups Saturday on a scooter.
NEXT
What: South Carolina at Arkansas
When: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville
TV: SEC Network
Radio: 107.5 The Game in Columbia area
South Carolina Vanderbilt basketball box score
VANDERBILT (8-11): Lee 5-14 7-15 17, Pippen 4-14 3-6 11, Evans 1-6 0-0 3, Disu 2-7 0-0 5, Wright 1-5 8-10 10, Moyer 1-3 0-0 2, Obinna 1-1 3-4 5, Albert 1-3 0-0 2, Rice 2-3 0-0 6, Jankovic 1-1 0-0 3, Jossell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-57 21-35 64.
SOUTH CAROLINA (11-8): Minaya 5-9 3-4 14, Lawson 6-11 0-0 14, Bryant 3-7 1-3 7, Bolden 5-10 0-0 13, Couisnard 2-3 3-3 7, Hannibal 2-3 0-1 4, McCreary 4-5 3-4 11, Frink 4-5 5-5 13, Kotsar 1-3 0-0 2, Leveque 0-1 2-4 2, Moss 0-2 0-0 0, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Green 1-1 0-0 3, Henry 0-0 0-0 0, Nelson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-61 17-24 90.
Halftime—South Carolina 44-35. 3-Point Goals—Vanderbilt 5-30 (Rice 2-2, Jankovic 1-1, Disu 1-6, Evans 1-6, Albert 0-2, Moyer 0-2, Wright 0-2, Lee 0-4, Pippen 0-5), South Carolina 7-18 (Bolden 3-5, Lawson 2-6, Green 1-1, Minaya 1-4, Couisnard 0-1, Moss 0-1). Fouled Out—Pippen. Rebounds—Vanderbilt 30 (Disu, Obinna 5), South Carolina 41 (Minaya 12). Assists—Vanderbilt 9 (Lee 3), South Carolina 20 (Hannibal 5). Total Fouls—Vanderbilt 23, South Carolina 30.
