It was a better performance than in the Tuesday night loss to Wichita State, but USC didn’t have enough down the stretch to overcome Northern Iowa Wednesday night in a 78-72 loss in the consolation game of the Cancun Challenge. The Gamecocks trailed by two with a minute to play and were still down two after the teams traded baskets. AJ Green hit a pair of three throws with 12 seconds left for a 4 point Panther lead. Jair Bolden missed a three pointer with 6 seconds to play and then fouled Green on the rebound. He nailed two more free throws to nail down the victory.
AJ Lawson led four Gamecocks in double figures with 20 points. Maik Kotsar and Alonzo Frink had 12 points each. Green led all scorers with 26 including 10-10 at the line. The Panthers outscored the Gamecocks by 15 points at the foul line.
USC falls to 4-3 with the loss and returns home Sunday afternoon to play George Washington.
