COLUMBIA, S.C.?Behind a strong 11 point and six rebound performance by Columbia native Travis Sligh, and Josh Johnson's 13 points and five assists, the Blue Hose fell 75-56 to South Carolina on Dec. 21 at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
After trailing 8-14 seven minutes into the first half the Blue Hose cut the deficit to 11-14 off of a three pointer from Pierre Miller (Warner Robbins, Ga./Warner Robbins) at 11:44. With USC only leading by three points, the Gamecocks went on a 13-0 scoring run to take their largest lead of the game at 27-11 with 7:03 remaining in the first half.
PC was only one of nine from behind the three point line for most of the first half until Josh Johnson's (Hendersonville, Tenn./Hendersonville) trey with a little under three minutes left brought the score to 29-13 in favor of USC.
The Gamecocks, however, ended the half on a 23-7 run to enter the locker room with a 35-18 lead. Travis Sligh (Columbia, S.C./Keenan) knocked down a jumper with 33 seconds left to cut USC's lead to 17 points heading into halftime.
PC struggled scoring in the paint in the first half, with the Gamecocks outscoring the Blue Hose 24-8 in points in the paint. Al'Lonzo Coleman (Charlotte, N.C./Vance) played only 13 minutes after finding himself in foul trouble, but the Blue Hose grabbed 17 rebounds to USC's 15.
To start the second half PC hit five of its first seven shots to bring the score to 39-26, including a bucket by Coleman at the 15:24 mark. After shooting only 28.6% from the field in the first half, the Blue Hose improved to a 60.9 shooting percentage in the second half.
Johnson hit a big three pointer with just under 11 minutes left in the game to cut the Gamecocks' lead to 11 points at 47-36, but the Blue Hose couldn't come any closer as USC would extend their lead to as many as 20 points in the last five minutes. Miller hit a three pointer in the waning minutes but it wasn't enough as USC would grab the 75-56 victory over the Blue Hose.
Coleman matched Johnson's 13 points to lead PC in scoring, and his six rebounds tied Sligh for team-high honors on the boards. Miller chipped in 10 points while Sligh also led the team with three steals in the contest.
PC falls to 5-7 on year with the loss, but still stands at 2-0 in conference action. The Blue Hose return to Big South play on Jan. 3 with a home contest against Radford, but first travel to Milwaukee, Wis. to take on Marquette on Dec. 28. The game against the Golden Eagles is scheduled to tip-off at 1 p.m. (CT) and is the third straight road game for the Blue Hose.
