The South Carolina Gamecocks continued their recent pattern of following up a loss with a win, this time collecting an 84-77 bounceback victory against the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday afternoon in Columbia thanks to some incredible sharp-shooting from distance.
Things got off to a sluggish start for USC, though, as A&M opened up an early double-digit lead aided by turnovers and generally sloppy play from the Gamecocks. South Carolina managed to trim the deficit to three points late in the half, but the Aggies nonetheless took a 42-35 lead into the locker room after more Gamecock mistakes — and thanks to a 54 percent shooting performance.
Back on the court, A&M quickly pushed its lead to 10, but that was when South Carolina came alive. The Gamecocks’ recent success from 3-point land, which they used to defeat Arkansas and stay respectable against Tennessee, came to their rescue in a big way. South Carolina tied a school record by sinking 16 3-pointers, led by A.J. Lawson’s astonishing 6-of-7 performance and Hassani Gravett adding a 4-of-7 effort. Tre Campbell’s triple started a 29-15 run that enabled the Gamecocks to wrestle the game away from A&M.
Lawson led South Carolina with 23 points, while Chris Silva put up another double-double with a monster 22-point, 14-rebound performance. Gravett and Campbell rounded out the Gamecocks’ double-figure scorers, with 18 and 13 points respectively. South Carolina shot 52 percent from 3, and 42 percent overall. USC also did a good job keeping A&M off the glass, out-rebounding the Aggies 41-32, although turnovers (17) continue to be a problem.
South Carolina (13-12, 8-4 SEC) concludes its homestand when it faces Mississippi on Tuesday night.