Gamecocks fall to Vanderbilt in overtime in their SEC opener Tuesday night
Jan. 03, 2023
FINAL BOX (PDF) / SEASON STATS (PDF)
The first SEC game of the Lamont Paris Era was a loss for South Carolina. Traveling to Nashville to take on Jerry Stackhouse’s Vanderbilt men, the Gamecocks fell to the Commodores 84-79 in the back-and-forth affair. Carolina forced overtime with a last-second layup by veteran forward Hayden Brown with 0.3 seconds left in regulation, but the Commodores (8-6, 1-0 SEC) pulled ahead in overtime.
The win snapped a two-game winning streak for the Gamecocks (7-7, 0-1), who capped off non-conference play with home wins against a quality Western Kentucky team and an Eastern Michigan squad led by top prospect
Vandy protected their lead down the stretch of overtime from the line. Over the final 2:24, the Commodores went 8-9 from the line on a night in which they outscored the Gamecocks 23-10 from the stripe. Vandy went 13-14 from the foul line in overtime in which they scored 17 points.
The Gamecocks owned a 7-point lead at 45-38 after Meechie Johnson nailed a three-pointer with 13:15 to play. They held the lead until the 4:04 mark when Vandy tied things up at 61. The ‘Dores were up by 4 with 1:03 to play, but Johnson hit a layup with 50 left, and after a Vanderbilt miss, the Gamecocks got the final shots with Hayden Brown putting back an offensive rebound for the tie at the buzzer.
Four Gamecocks scored in double-figures led by Chico Carter Jr. with 24 points. Johnson had 18 points and GG Jackson added 13 points and a team-high 7 rebounds. Ezra Manjon led Vanderbilt with 24 points and Liam Robbins added 22 points and 7 boards. They were part of a 64-point output by the Vandy bench.
The schedule will immediately ramp up in difficulty for the Gamecocks, who will host a top-10 Tennessee team on Saturday before traveling to Kentucky. The Gamecocks are 7-7 and 0-1. They will host Tennessee Saturday afternoon.
Stand-out players against Vanderbilt Veteran guard Chico Carter Jr. a mainstay at starting shooting guard got off to an electric start from the perimeter, making two early 3-pointers and scoring eight of Carolina's first 10 points. The former Cardinal Newman standout finished the first half with three made 3-pointers and a team-high 11 points, pacing the Gamecocks in a first-half 3-point shootout. Carter entered the game as Carolina's leading 3-point shooter, with 26 made on 52 attempts (50%).
Carter kept cooking in the second half, adding another 14 points and a 3-pointer. With a free throw in overtime, Carter finished with a game-high 26 points one off his career high.
Star freshman GG Jackson picked up the slack on the boards along with a 5-star dunk in the first half. He entered the game as Carolina's leading rebounder on the season, and he continued the trend with seven rebounds. He added another double-digit scoring day (13 points) to his resume and is the only freshman in the country to score in double digits in every game played.
Lack of depth Outside of Carter and Jackson, the Gamecocks found little consistent offensive production from any other scorer on the floor. Carter and Jackson combined to score 21 of the team’s 32 points in the first half. In the second, Carolina received better production from point guard Meechie Johnson (9 points) and Brown (7 points), but there was nowhere else Carolina could turn on its roster for scoring.
Jan. 03, 2023
FINAL BOX (PDF) / SEASON STATS (PDF)
The first SEC game of the Lamont Paris Era was a loss for South Carolina. Traveling to Nashville to take on Jerry Stackhouse’s Vanderbilt men, the Gamecocks fell to the Commodores 84-79 in the back-and-forth affair. Carolina forced overtime with a last-second layup by veteran forward Hayden Brown with 0.3 seconds left in regulation, but the Commodores (8-6, 1-0 SEC) pulled ahead in overtime.
The win snapped a two-game winning streak for the Gamecocks (7-7, 0-1), who capped off non-conference play with home wins against a quality Western Kentucky team and an Eastern Michigan squad led by top prospect
Vandy protected their lead down the stretch of overtime from the line. Over the final 2:24, the Commodores went 8-9 from the line on a night in which they outscored the Gamecocks 23-10 from the stripe. Vandy went 13-14 from the foul line in overtime in which they scored 17 points.
The Gamecocks owned a 7-point lead at 45-38 after Meechie Johnson nailed a three-pointer with 13:15 to play. They held the lead until the 4:04 mark when Vandy tied things up at 61. The ‘Dores were up by 4 with 1:03 to play, but Johnson hit a layup with 50 left, and after a Vanderbilt miss, the Gamecocks got the final shots with Hayden Brown putting back an offensive rebound for the tie at the buzzer.
Four Gamecocks scored in double-figures led by Chico Carter Jr. with 24 points. Johnson had 18 points and GG Jackson added 13 points and a team-high 7 rebounds. Ezra Manjon led Vanderbilt with 24 points and Liam Robbins added 22 points and 7 boards. They were part of a 64-point output by the Vandy bench.
The schedule will immediately ramp up in difficulty for the Gamecocks, who will host a top-10 Tennessee team on Saturday before traveling to Kentucky. The Gamecocks are 7-7 and 0-1. They will host Tennessee Saturday afternoon.
Stand-out players against Vanderbilt Veteran guard Chico Carter Jr. a mainstay at starting shooting guard got off to an electric start from the perimeter, making two early 3-pointers and scoring eight of Carolina's first 10 points. The former Cardinal Newman standout finished the first half with three made 3-pointers and a team-high 11 points, pacing the Gamecocks in a first-half 3-point shootout. Carter entered the game as Carolina's leading 3-point shooter, with 26 made on 52 attempts (50%).
Carter kept cooking in the second half, adding another 14 points and a 3-pointer. With a free throw in overtime, Carter finished with a game-high 26 points one off his career high.
Star freshman GG Jackson picked up the slack on the boards along with a 5-star dunk in the first half. He entered the game as Carolina's leading rebounder on the season, and he continued the trend with seven rebounds. He added another double-digit scoring day (13 points) to his resume and is the only freshman in the country to score in double digits in every game played.
Lack of depth Outside of Carter and Jackson, the Gamecocks found little consistent offensive production from any other scorer on the floor. Carter and Jackson combined to score 21 of the team’s 32 points in the first half. In the second, Carolina received better production from point guard Meechie Johnson (9 points) and Brown (7 points), but there was nowhere else Carolina could turn on its roster for scoring.
