A Balanced South Carolina Bounces Back With Win over UNC Asheville

South Carolina appeared to have a good opportunity for success in the Charleston Classic Tournament.  They handily won their first game over Cornell 69-45.  In the second game, they were up twelve on Charlotte, 30-18 in the first half and seemed to be on their way to the championship game.   But it went all downhill from there.

Charlotte rallied from that deficit and took the lead late in the second half.  The Gamecocks rallied to tie the game at 63 with a little less than two minutes left in the game and had a chance to take the lead. The 49ers made two free throws and held off the Gamecocks 65-63. 

Then South Carolina faced Akron in the third place game, a team the Gamecocks handily beat twice last season; a ten point win in the Diamond Head classic and a thirty point regular season game blowout a few days later.  This time was different.  The Zips controlled most of the game, even going up by twelve points early in the second half.  South Carolina rallied to tie the game late but eventually lost to Akron 68-63.

Thus the Gamecocks came home with a losing record from Charleston, 2-3 on the season.  They were hoping Wednesday night that the Bulldogs of UNC Asheville would be the cure to their ailing woes, specifically in the three point shooting department.  In their losses to Charlotte and Akron, South Carolina shot a combined five of twenty eight from beyond the arc (eighteen percent).   However, the Gamecocks would have to play the Bulldogs without their starting forward Michael Carrera who suffered a concussion and a sprained ankle in practice during the week.

Since it was Thanksgiving Eve, which is what many call the biggest night out of the year, and students were off on break,  the Colonial Life Arena was not as filled as usual.  In fact, it was the smallest crowd of the men's or women's basketball seasons so far, with 8223 only in attendance.  Three of those people in attendance were my friend Ian McCormick, veteran Mid Majority writer, who sat with my color analyst, aka my older son Matthew and me.

Those in attendance saw the Gamecocks continue their struggles early on, as the Bulldogs came out firing, well more specifically, Andrew Rowsey came out firing.   Rowsey scored eight quick points, two on three pointers and he assisted on a three pointer by Kem Ubaru.  UNC Asheville was up 12-6 a little more than five minutes into the contest.

This was not the first time I had seen the sophomore Rowsey (#15 in the pictures) play in person.   Last season, I watched Rowsey light up the College of Charleston at TD Arena, as he lead his team to a 67-58 overtime victory over the Cougars.  Rowsey scored twenty three points on eight of eleven shooting, including three from beyond the arc.  Rowsey is an exciting player to watch.  He is quick, has incredibly long range, very accurate shooter (shoots forty six percent from three ) and is not shy about launching a three.

The Gamecocks would respond with a 7-1 mini spurt to tie the game at thirteen.  The Gamecocks tied the game on a three pointer by Justin McKie, a sophomore who has worked his way into the rotation with his solid play.  

After Ubaru put the Bulldogs back up one, 14-13, hitting one of his two free throw attempts, South Carolina would again go on a spurt, this time a 14-0 run over nearly four minutes.  Freshman Marcus Stroman would cap the rally with a layup that resulted in a three point play.  Stroman's free throw gave the Gamecocks a 27-14 lead. 

However, the Bulldogs would respond, again led by Rowsey and a couple of turnovers by Stroman.  Rowsey's two three pointers would ignite an 11-3 UNC Asheville run.  Rowsey's fourth three pointer on the day made the score 30-25 South Carolina with 6:43 left.    The Gamecocks would extend the lead a little going into halftime, 37-29.

The first half was somewhat sloppy, as both teams combined for sixteen turnovers.  As for the Gamecocks, that meant Frank Martin was particularly unhappy on the night.  And unfortunately for South Carolina, the sloppy play would continue into the second half, making Coach Martin REALLY unhappy.

After Tyrone Johnson hit a layup to extend the Gamecocks' lead to ten, 39-29, the Bulldogs responded with five points as Rowsey assisted again on a Ubaru three pointer, then hit a layup of his own to make the score 39-34.  

Then the turnover fest really went into high gear.  Over the first six minutes of the second half, both teams combined for eight turnovers.  This allowed UNC Asheville to hang around in the game.  After hitting another three pointer, his fifth of the game, Rowsey hit two free throws to keep the Bulldogs within ten, 53-43.

But with about twelve and half minutes left in the game, Rowsey was then called for an offensive foul, his fourth.  Rowsey, who had twenty three points at the time,  was forced to go to the bench.  Once Rowsey left the game, UNC Asheville was done.

The Gamecocks took advantage, outscoring the Bulldogs 19-9 over the next seven minutes. This included a span of three plus minutes where the Bulldogs didn't score a point.  A Sindarius Thornwell dunk gave South Carolina a 72-52 lead with a little under six minutes left in the game.

Rowsey would re-enter the game and cut the lead to fourteen, 72-58 with his sixth three pointer of the game.  But the damage had already been done and the Bulldogs would not get closer the rest of the game.   In a high scoring second half, where both teams would combine for nearly one hundred points, the Gamecocks would go on for the 89-75 win.  

Despite the twenty turnovers on the game, there were some bright spots for South Carolina.   The team did have twenty one assists, six by Stroman and six by Thornwell.  The Gamecocks shot eight of seventeen from beyond the arc.  And there was a concerted effort to have balanced scoring, especially working the ball into the USC bigs.  Chatkevicus scored a career high seventeen points and had his first career double double with thirteen rebounds, shooting six of eleven from the field.   He also buried two three pointers, also the first two of his career.

Demetrius Henry had fifteen points on six of eleven shooting.  The Carolina bigs combined to shoot fourteen of twenty six from the field.   Tyrone Johnson, Thornwell and Duane Notice each had twelve points as all five starters scored in double figures.  McKie chipped in with eight points in only thirteen minutes of action.  Finally, USC shot nineteen of twenty six from the charity stripe.

Rowsey led all scorers with thirty points on ten of eighteen shooting from the field, including six of twelve from beyond the arc.  David Robertson was the only other Bulldog in double figures with fifteen as he hit five of nine shots from beyond the arc.   The rest of UNC Asheville shot an unseemly eight of thirty five from the field (twenty three percent).  Ubaru particularly had a rough night shooting two of eleven from the field, though he hit both of his three point attempts.

The Gamecocks next game is on the road vs. Marshall Sunday, December 1st.  It will be USC's first real road game of the season.  In fact it will be their first game outside the state of South Carolina after three home games and three neutral site games in Charleston.  This will be a good test for the Gamecocks as the Thundering Herd are in the top twenty five in the country in rebounding and assists.    South Carolina will again need balance and better ball handling to prevail.

Gamecocks Answer Lots of Questions By Beating Ospreys

The end of last season showed promise for South Carolina.  They won four out of their last six games, including a major upset win over eventual national runner-up Kentucky, plus two wins in the SEC Tournament, one of which likely ended Arkansas' hopes for a NCAA at large bid.   For a team that only went 5-13 in the SEC, the end of the season provided a glimmer of hope for the 2014-15 season.

That glimmer of hope looked more like a large ray of sunshine at Colonial Life Arena as the Gamecocks defeated the North Florida Ospreys 81-56 in the opening game of the college basketball season last night for both teams.  And that ray of sunshine was needed due to an unusually cold night in Columbia, South Carolina thanks to the Polar Vortex cold front.

The first question heading into last night for the Gamecocks was "Who is going to replace last season's leading scorer, Brenton Williams?"  Williams, who averaged just about fifteen points per game for the Gamecocks, graduated, leaving what appeared to be a gaping hole in the scoring column for South Carolina.

The answer after last night was "Everyone".

First, the start of the game showed how important Tyrone Johnson is to this South Carolina team. Johnson, who missed most of last season due to injury, came out of the gate quickly, hitting two quick layups as the Gamecocks would never trail in the game.   Johnson would have a solid night with twelve points, five rebounds, four assists and most importantly, zero turnovers.

The Ospreys would tie the game at 6-6.   But South Carolina would respond with a 19-4 run over the next six and a half minutes.  Duane Notice buried a three pointer to put the Gamecocks up 25-10 with 11:21 left in the half.  Notice would score eight points on the evening, one of nine players to have between six and twelve points on the evening.

It was at this point where the Gamecocks of early last season would have struggled with prosperity, not being able to put away a mid major team.   Against teams like Florida International (down three at half before winning) and USC Upstate (a six point loss), the Gamecocks would look good for a few minutes, then just unravel.

And when North Florida hit two three pointers in a row, the second by Trent Mackey, to cut the lead to nine, 25-16 with nine and a half minutes left in the half,  fans had to have this running through their mind "Are we going to see another USC Upstate game?"

The answer was an emphatic "NO!"

The Gamecocks would answer with a 13-0 run over the next six minutes.  Laimonas Chatkevicius would cap the scoring with two free throws to make the score 38-16. Chatkevicius did his part, chipping in with eleven points in only seventeen minutes of game action.

Finally, the biggest question Gamecocks' fans likely had entering last night was "How good is freshman Marcus Stroman"?

The answer...really good.

Stroman would play twenty five minutes last night, most of them at the point guard position for the Gamecocks.  He scored his first career basket on a sweet jumper during the first Gamecocks' run to make the score 20-8.  Stroman would then assist on the next two baskets.  Stroman would have six points and six assists on the night and just like Johnson, he also had zero turnovers.

But the stats didn't do Stroman justice.  Watching the game, he played like a steady senior, not a flashy frosh.  He showed his quickness when he had to, but he was more content running a smooth offense, an offense that actually moved really well without the ball.   Finally, he showed his defensive prowess, forcing a five second call on the Ospreys' best player, Dallas Moore, a talented sophomore guard who led all scorers last night with twenty one points.

The final stats showed the balance and depth South Carolina need to overcome the loss of a leading scorer.  As aforementioned, nine players had between six and twelve points on the night.  Johnson and Demetrius Henry were the leading scorers for South Carolina with twelve points each.  Nine players also played fifteen or more minutes.

It didn't matter that the second leading scorer from last season, Sindarius Thornwell had less than half his average from last season, scoring only six points.  The team as a whole shot fifty one percent from the field and seventy three percent from the line (19 of 26).   The Gamecocks out-rebounded the Ospreys 42-28 and had nineteen assists and only nine turnovers.

It was a very nice win to start the season.  The team was so solid that Frank Martin didn't seem to be all that upset as only Frank can be at times.  The true test will be when South Carolina hosts Baylor on Tuesday at Noon, part of the ESPN Twenty Four Hours of Hoops.

But if last night was any indicator, the Gamecocks have the answers to pass the test.

Without Ellington, Gamecocks Struggle in Win over Bulldogs (Recap of SC State vs. South Carolina)

Bruce Ellington came to the University of South Carolina on a basketball scholarship.  After his first season with the Gamecocks, Ellington decided that he wanted to play football as well.  So for each of the past three seasons, he would play football for Steve Spurrier and then play for the basketball team, first under Darrin Horn, then under Frank Martin.

Including three games this season, Ellington averaged eleven points per game as a starting guard for South Carolina over his four seasons.  But over the past two football seasons, Ellington became a star wide receiver for the Gamecocks.  In their Capital One Bowl win over Wisconsin, he had six catches for one hundred and forty yards and two touchdowns.  He even threw for a third touchdown to Connor Shaw in South Carolina's 34-24 win.

Despite his amazing two sport prowess, it had become evident that Ellington's future was in football, not basketball.  Ellington had forty nine catches for eight hundred yards and eight touchdowns this season. He has been timed running a 4.34 in the 40 yard dash.  In the bowl win over the Badgers, Ellington's basketball skills came into play as he showed great hands in tipping and ultimately catching what appeared to be an overthrown pass by Shaw on a huge fourth down and seven play for a twenty two yard completion and a first down.  The Gamecocks ultimately scored a touchdown on that drive by Ellington, on another twenty two yard pass from Shaw.

Having season tickets this season to Gamecocks' football, I can tell you, as many others would attest, that Ellington has shown all football season the knack for getting open and making the big catch.  He is clutch as a wide receiver can be in college football.  Ellington is definitely someone you will see on TV on Sunday afternoons.

So with all that in mind, the senior Ellington declared for the NFL draft on Friday morning, which effectively ended his college basketball career.  Martin was very understanding of Ellington's decision stating in an article by David Cloninger on Go Gamecocks.Com, "Whatever he does, he’s got a friend for life in me. The commitment that he’s made to this program is unparalleled, at least in my time here.”

With Ellington now solely concentrating on his NFL draft position, several of the Gamecock guards now were going to play more and needed to step up their game.  They had an immediate first test on Friday night as South Carolina welcomed South Carolina State to the Colonial Life Arena.

My wife dropped my older son Matthew off with me at work at the University so that I didn't have to go home and pick him up for the game.  After finding "The Thirsty Fellow" to be too crowded, we walked over to the arena.  Shortly before I left work, the director of IT who works for me, who knew I was going to the game, noted that it was going to be a cold night to walk to the arena.  I noted to him that it wasn't as cold or blizzard like as it was on Friday in New York, where I had just come back from Christmas vacation.

Now a quick note - It seems I may have ruffled a few feathers here in South Carolina with my article "The Things I Miss This Time of Season", where I noted that some of the things that I miss are the close proximity of NYC basketball games as opposed to longer drives in South Carolina, as well as the camaraderie I had at Hofstra.  It was not my intention at all to be negative about my experience in South Carolina.

Now having lived in South Carolina for a year and five months, there are several things I don't miss about New York.  First, no snow, certainly not any blizzards in South Carolina.  Second, it's much less colder here.  Though I lived on Long Island for forty six years and my family is from western Pennsylvania, I hate cold winters.   Also, I don't miss the stressful pace, the taxes and "The Fast and Furious" drivers in New York.  Here in Columbia, I really like my job, I like the slower pace and definitely much less taxes, along with a ten month baseball season (Matthew REALLY likes that).  Finally, the people here are very friendly and if anything, the drivers are too slow. It's been a much welcome change.

Now back to the article.  When I first saw Matthew, I noticed he was wearing his Bruce Ellington basketball jersey over a long sleeve shirt.  Ellington became Matthew's favorite player during last season. During our walk, I told Matthew the bad news that Ellington would be no longer playing basketball.  He understood, having seen Ellington in person with me for a couple of football games this season as well as watching him on television.  Later on in the arena, after we grabbed our dinner at the concession stand and ate at our seats.  Matt asked me if #4, Tyrone Johnson was still on the team.  I laughed and said "Yes."  Matt had his new favorite player in the junior transfer from Villanova.

The Gamecocks were hosting a Bulldogs team that nearly had an identical record, 4-8, as they did last season when they faced South Carolina around the same time (4-9).  The Bulldogs only lost by eleven last year and returned two of their best players, forward Matthew Hezekiah, who had a double double against the Gamecocks last season with twenty four points and fourteen rebounds, along with forward Darryl Palmer.  SC State is coming off a two game sweep of Coastal Carolina this season, winning its last game on the road over the Chanticleers 68-58.

Before last night, the last South Carolina home game I saw before heading up to New York for Christmas vacation was the Gamecocks' loss to USC Upstate, after they had blown a 32-16 first half lead.  The Gamecocks were 2-5 after that loss and appeared to be struggling with their identity.  Since then, South Carolina has played far better.  They won two out of three games at the Diamond Head Classic, defeating two NCAA Tournament teams from last season, St Mary's and Akron.  Then facing the Zips again at home, the Gamecocks destroyed them, winning by thirty three, 78-45.  They followed that up by pounding Marshall 92-65.  In their last four wins, the Gamecocks have shot nearly forty eight percent from the field and nearly forty seven percent from beyond the arc.

The Gamecocks' resurgence can be attributed to several things.  One, Brenton Williams has come alive. Williams, South Carolina's leading scorer from last season, struggled at the outset of the season. In five of his first eight games, he failed to score in double digits.  In fact, in three of those games, he didn't even score a point. Going into Friday night, Williams had scored in double figures in each of his last four games, averaging
seventeen points per game and hitting a ridiculous thirteen of twenty five shots from beyond the arc.

Another key player during this stretch has been freshman guard Duane Notice.  Notice has emerged as the starter at point guard as Johnson now comes off the bench. After failing to score in double figures in his first seven games, Notice entered Friday night scoring in double digits in four of the last five games.  More importantly, Notice has had six assists in each of his last two games.

Unfortunately, there were not a lot of people out Friday night to see the revitalized Gamecocks.  Colonial Life was very empty on the evening, with an announced attendance of 7,500, but it seemed less than that.  Whether it was still a hangover from winning the Capital One Bowl or too many people stayed up the night before enjoying seeing perennial SEC football powerhouse Alabama get upset by Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, the crowd seemed subdued at the start of the game. There was only what amounted to a polite golf clap by the fans in my section during starting lineup introductions.

The Gamecocks started out quickly with Williams and Notice each hitting a jumper followed by Notice hitting one of two free throws for a 5-0 lead.  The Bulldogs responded, scoring four of the next five points to cut the lead to two, 6-4.  But Notice and Williams each hit a three pointer to put South Carolina up 12-4.  But SC State again would cut the lead, scoring the next four points to make it 12-8.

The Gamecocks responded with a 15-7 spurt. Demetrius Henry scored four straight points to start the run.  Then Laimonas Chatkevicius scored three straight baskets to end the run, the last of which put South Carolina up 27-15 with 8:28 left in the half.

The Gamecocks' lead would stay in the eleven to thirteen point range for nearly the next seven minutes.  Williams would extend the lead to fifteen on a three pointer to put South Carolina up 44-29 with ninety seconds left in the half.  But some teams can't stand prosperity and the Gamecocks allowed the Bulldogs to score two baskets before the half to cut the lead to eleven 44-33 at the half.

Long before the game started, we were one of the few people in our seats and someone from the South Carolina Athletics marketing department came up to us asking Matthew if he would like to be in the regular halftime trivia game shown on the big scoreboard.  The game consists of naming as many items in a specified category, like NBA teams, musical acts etc. within 15 seconds (or maybe it's ten, I forget).  Then a recording of a Gamecocks player asked the same question is played.  Whoever gets more is the winner.

Having seen the game before, Matthew, being somewhat shy, turned down the offer, afraid that he might know enough items in the category (they don't let you know until the trivia game starts).  I tried to convince him to do it and that there was nothing to lose.  But Matthew refused and the marketing person went and found someone else.  It turned out the category was "superheroes".  Matthew rolled his eyes when that was announced, due to his love of superhero cartoons.

The start of the second half ended much like the first. Theron Stephens buried two three pointers in a row for the Bulldogs to cut the lead to five, 44-39.  After two Henry baskets and two Sindarius Thornwell free throws extended the Gamecocks' lead back to eight, 50-42, SC State responded with an 8-1 spurt to cut the lead to one, 51-50.   As my friend Ian McCormick, who joined us in the second half, had noted at halftime, the Gamecocks had let the Bulldogs hang around.  Now they were paying for it.

South Carolina did score seven of the next nine points.  Two Johnson free throws with under ten minutes left put the Gamecocks up 58-52.  However, emboldened by their fans behind the bench, SC State went on a 8-2 spurt.  A Devon joint dunk tied the game at sixty with seven minutes left.

It was here that the Colonial Life crowd woke up.  Whether it was seeing the Bulldogs' fans emphatically cheer on their team in what had been a quiet arena or whether they wanted their team to continue on their winning ways, the Gamecocks' fans got loud and got into the game.  South Carolina responded by scoring eight of the next nine points.  A Thornwell three pointer started the run and Williams capped it with a layup and one to put South Carolina up to stay 68-61 with 5:17 left.

What made this run impressive was that Williams was not just shooting three pointers, which he does very well.  In the second half, Williams used a shot fake and his quickness several times which allowed him to get driving layups to the basket.  On Friday night, he was a scorer, not just a shooter.

Despite Hezekiah scoring the last twelve Bulldogs points, SC State would get no closer than five points the rest of the way and South Carolina would win 82-75.  The Gamecocks are now 7-6 heading into SEC conference play.

Williams led four Gamecocks' scorers in double figures and all scorers with nineteen points as he was six of seven from the field, two of three from beyond the arc and once again, a perfect five for five from the free throw line.  Williams is a perfect thirty for thirty from the line this season.

Johnson came off the Gamecocks' bench to add seventeen points, Notice had thirteen points and Henry had his first career double double with ten points and eleven rebounds.  South Carolina shot exactly fifty percent from the field and was seven of fifteen from beyond the arc.

Hezekiah led the Bulldogs with eighteen points.  Stephens added fifteen points and Palmer had ten points for SC State.  The Bulldogs had seventeen offensive rebounds.

Frank Martin was not pleased with his team's effort, noting "We got totally outplayed. We had no business winning today. I think the only reason we won today was we had played well coming into this game, so we felt that we should win."

Martin knows that his team can't afford to sleepwalk in SEC conference play.  However, his team is shooting the ball much better than the beginning of the season and has embraced driving to the basket more.  Plus the emergence of Notice and the reemergence of Williams has sparked the Gamecocks.

Losing Ellington for the rest of the season hurts, but he was in his final year of eligibility for the basketball team.  This team is now truly in the hands of players like Notice, Johnson, Thornwell, Henry and Williams. What they make of the rest of the season is entirely up to them.

Better Scoring Balance, Better Results for Gamecocks (Recap of Florida International vs. South Carolina Game)

Coming off consecutive road losses to Baylor, 66-64 and Clemson, 71-57, South Carolina was looking to rebound with some home cooking when they hosted Florida International on Sunday afternoon.  In each of the losses to the Bears and the Tigers, the Gamecocks had only two players score in double figures. In the loss vs. Baylor, Sindarius Thornwell had 20 points and Brenton Williams added 12 points.  In the loss vs. Clemson, Mindaugas Kacinas had 13 and Thornwell added 10 points.

In 1970, the Moody Blues released the album "Question of Balance", which includes one of my all time favorite songs, "Question".  However, I don't think Justin Hayward, John Lodge and the other band members had balanced college basketball scoring in mind when they released the album forty three years ago.  But the album title is appropriate for the Gamecocks, in which the past season and the recent two games against Baylor and Clemson have highlighted a common problem; a lack of balanced double figures scoring.

Last season, only one player, Brenton Williams, averaged double figures in scoring for the entire season.  The lack of balanced scoring resulted in the Gamecocks averaging 66 points per game, which was eighth in the SEC in 2012-13.  However, when you are twelfth in the SEC in scoring defense at 68.9 points per game, you're not going to win many games in conference.  And thus, the Gamecocks only won four games in the SEC all season.

This season, the Gamecocks returned fifty two percent of their scoring, but that was really only five players - Williams, Kacinas, Michael Carrera, Bruce Ellington and Laimonas Chatkevicius.  So it was very important that the eight new players recruited by Coach Frank Martin would bring some much needed scoring punch, along with Martin's trademark defense from his days at Kansas State.  But after three games, the Gamecocks only had two players in double figures scoring - Tyrone Johnson and Thornwell.  And South Carolina as a whole was averaging 68 points per game.  In other words, once again the Gamecocks had a "Question of Balance".

South Carolina was hosting a Florida International team that had won six straight games after losing its first two games.   The Golden Panthers had a very interesting off season, as their coach Richard Pitino left to take the Minnesota Gophers head coaching position.  Pitino tried to take a few FIU players with him.  Malik Smith, who as a junior averaged fourteen points per game was allowed to transfer to Minnesota, due to FIU being banned from postseason play this season due to a poor APR under previous head coach Isaiah Thomas (as you can see Thomas not only damaged the Knicks, but the Golden Panthers as well).  However, forward Rakeem Buckles was not allow to transfer to Minnesota, as Florida International denied his transfer request.

Florida International hired Anthony Evans, formerly the coach of Norfolk State (and known for their famous upset of Missouri in the 2012 NCAA Tournament) to replace Pitino.  And Evans already had his own crisis to deal with as guard Raymond Taylor was not available to play against the Gamecocks due to a question of his eligibility after pulling out of the past NBA draft.

The announced crowd of 9,869 saw the Gamecocks take an early 7-3 lead as Kacinas and Demetrius Henry combined for all seven points.   But the Golden Panthers responded with Buckles scoring seven of the first eleven FIU points.  A Buckles jumper gave the Golden Panthers an 11-9 lead.

But one of the new players Martin brought in to help add scoring, freshman guard Jaylen Shaw, highlighted the Gamecocks' new three point shooting prowess.  Shaw buried two three pointers in a row, then later, Johnson and Williams added three pointers to put the Gamecocks up 23-19.

The Golden Panthers answered with a 10-2 run, with Marco Porcher Jiminez scoring six of their points.  FIU was back up 29-25 with 7:56 left in the half.   The Gamecocks, who were last in the SEC last season in FG percentage defense at 45.2 percent, allowed the Golden Panthers to hit on ten of their first fourteen shots.

FIU was still up four, 31-27 with less than six minutes left in the half when South Carolina went on a 12-4 spurt, which included two three pointers by Shaw and Carrera.  The Gamecocks were back up 39-35 with 1:44 left in the half.  But the Golden Panthers scored the last seven points in the half, five by forward Tymell Murphy.   FIU led at halftime 42-39.

The second half started with Florida International actually extending their lead to their largest of the game, five, 44-39 on two Jerome Frink free throws.  South Carolina would score the next six points, the last of which came on a Kacinas layup to put the Gamecocks back in front, 45-44.  However, the Golden Panthers would regain the lead twice over the next four minutes, leading 51-49 with thirteen minutes left in the game.

From there, South Carolina would take command, outscoring Florida International 12-4 over the next three minutes, as Shaw and Williams both buried three pointers in the run.  Williams' three pointer made the score 61-55 with ten minutes left in the game.  The Golden Panthers would hang around however, as Dominique Williams and Murphy each hit three pointers to cut the deficit to two, 63-61 with eight and a half minutes left.

But FIU would not get any closer.  The Gamecocks clamped down on the Golden Panthers, as FIU would not score a field goal for more than six and a half minutes and only scored thirty points in the entire second half.  By the time Florida International finally scored on a basket by Jiminez, the score was 69-65 South Carolina with 1:53 left in the game.  The Gamecocks would hit thirteen of fifteen free throws the rest of the way and Thornwell ended the scoring with an emphatic dunk as South Carolina would win 84-72.

The Gamecocks shot fifty percent from the field, including eight of nineteen from beyond the arc.  The key was South Carolina had four players in double figures scoring.  Johnson led USC with eighteen points, while Shaw and Williams each had sixteen points, with Shaw hitting four three pointers.  Henry added fourteen points for the Gamecocks.  Kacinas nearly had a double double with nine points and nine rebounds.  FIU also had four scorers in double figures as Murphy led all scorers with 22 points, Jiminez added 15, Buckles had 11 and Dennis Maven added 10 points.

For one afternoon, at least scoring wise, the Gamecocks had no question of balance. The only question now is whether a relatively young South Carolina team can be consistent in their play with a long way left in the season.

As far as a Moody Blues album title that covers that, well there is  "Long Distance Voyager".