It’s not enough that Auburn recently poached three football coaches away from USC. Saturday afternoon in Columbia, the Tigers came in and took the heart out of the Gamecock basketball team. The Tigers dominated the Gamecocks in every phase of the game in handing USC its third straight loss 109-86.
The Tigers scored 57 first half points to lead by 15 at the half, and they kept pouring it on in the second half. They outscored the Gamecocks 6-0 to start the final half and it was never a contest from there as the lead eventually reached 31 points.
The Gamecocks went ice cold midway thru the first half missing 12 straight shots and going nearly eight minutes without a field goal. During that stretch, the Gamecocks went from leading by a point to trailing by 9 points.
Auburn became the first team to score 100 or more points on a Frank Martin coached USC team, and it’s the first time in 20 years the Tigers surpassed the century mark in scoring in a game. The 109 points ties for sixth most ever allowed by a Gamecock team.
The Tigers shot 52% from the floor, hit 14 three-pointers, went 15-16 at the line, outrebounded the Gamecocks by 12, had 21 second-chance points, and scored 46 points in the paint.
Keyshawn Bryant scored 24 points to lead the Gamecocks. AJ Lawson added 23 points, 18 coming in the first half. Five Tigers scored in double figures led by Allen Flannigan with a career high 24 points.
The Gamecocks fall to 3-5 overall and 1-3 in the SEC. They will host Georgia on Wednesday night. The Tigers improve to 9-7 and 3-5 in the SEC.
Gamecock Postgame
Final Game Stats
Mmmmm, Do we (USC) really have a Basketball Team and Coach??