For the most part this season, the second half of basketball games has been much better for USC than the first. Against Presbyterian College on Monday, that was a good thing. Trailing 32-24 at the break to the Blue Hose, the Gamecocks outscored PC 45-27 in the second half to knock off their Big South foe 69-59 at Colonial Life Arena.
USC finishes up the pre-SEC portion of its schedule at 10-3, as the Gamecocks travel to #17 Mississippi State for a 2 pm tip on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Blue Hose (7-8) crank up conference play at home on Thursday versus Longwood.
Former player, turned assistant, now head coach Quinton Ferrell couldn’t have been prouder of his team’s effort in the first twenty minutes. The Blue Hose shot 52% from the field while turning 12 USC turnovers into 14 points in building their eight-point halftime margin. Kory Mincy led PC into the break with twelve points, four assists, and three rebounds. The sophomore guard finished the contest with a game-high 27 points, but that wasn’t his best effort against a high-major team this season. Mincy scored 28 points in Presbyterian’s loss at NC State in early November.
After a little soul searching, the Gamecocks came out with a renewed focus in the second half, especially offensively. USC bullied PC inside as Collin Murray-Boyles scored 18 points and got to the free throw line fourteen times in the final twenty minutes. As a team, Carolina was 19-of-27 from the line in the second half, drawing twenty fouls from the Blue Hose in the period. For the game, Carolina was 20-of-30 from the stripe.
CMB led the Gamecocks with 22 points and 9 rebounds, while Nick Pringle tossed in fourteen.
All three of USC’s upcoming conference games are matchups against “Top 20” foes. After the road trip to Mississippi State on Saturday, the Gamecocks return home to host 5th-ranked Alabama next Wednesday before #2 Auburn rolls into the CLA on Saturday, January 11th.