South Carolina opened the second half with a 12-5 run to erase a 25-19 Blue Hose halftime lead and take the eventual 66-58 win over the Presbyterian College men's basketball team this evening at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
The Blue Hose fall to 4-5 overall, while USC improves to 4-5.
South Carolina outscored Presbyterian College, 36-16, in the first 13 minutes of the second half, coming out of intermission with a 12-5 run that erased a 25-19 Blue hose halftime lead and gave the Gamecocks their first lead of the game, 31-30, with 15:46 to go.
Trailing by 14, 55-41, with 7:07 on the clock, the Blue Hose fought back to within eight off a three-pointer by Khalid Mutakabbir, who's 15 points led the team, and trailed 60-52, with 3:51 remaining. That would be as close as PC could get, as USC matched point-for-point down the stretch to take the 66-58 win
Back-to-back three-pointers by Josh Johnson gave the Blue Hose the early 6-0 lead in the first half, which was extended to a 20-10 margin with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half. The Gamecocks cut the deficit to three, 19-22, with a three-pointer by Bruce Ellington, who had a team-high 15 points, with just under a minute before half. Pierre Miller's three-pointer with 22 seconds to go gave the Blue Hose the six-point, 25-19 halftime lead.
PC, which shot 50 percent in the first half, shot 44 percent in the second to end with 46.7 percent. South Carolina was cold in the first and hit just seven-of-29 shot for 24.1 percent, but exploded on 19-of-27 shots in the second for 70.4 percent. The Gamecocks ended the game with 46.4 percent from the field. The Blue Hose were seven-of-18 from beyond the three-point arc, including five-of-10 in the first half. USC was five-for-11 for the game. USC held the rebounding advantage, 33-24, and the turnover edge, 13-18.
Following Mutakabbir and his 15 points was Johnson with 13 and Al'Lonzo Coleman with 10 to go along with his team-leading six rebounds. After Ellington's 15 points for USC was Malik Cooke with 14 and Anthony Gill with 13 points on the night. Gill also led the team on the boards with eight.
PC is next in action Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. against Furman at the Templeton Center
The game Tuesday can be heard on the radio at WLBG AM-860 or www.GoBlueHose.com. Fans can also watch on-line at www.BigSouthSports.com for a nominal fee.
