South Carolina had a six-game losing streak and extended their winning streak against Georgia to 10 on Saturday afternoon with 91-70.
The Gamecocks (6-12, 4-10) won their first victory since the road victory over then-ranked Florida on February 3. It was a complete effort to Frank Martin‘steam. Gamecocks hit 54 percent of the field and held a Bulldog team that just scored 91 points against LSU on Tuesday for 70 points and 37 shots on Saturday.
“It was a difficult month in February and a difficult year, but yesterday I felt a spirit of practice that was very good, as good as I saw some time ago and we went out and played that way today,” said Martin.
“We created a presence in the offensive and defensive ring at the beginning of the game that gave us confidence. I am very happy for our boys. Contrary to popular belief, we established a winning mentality in our locker room and it took a long time to build that. Our guys believed that we should win and when we don’t, it really hurts them. We ended the month with a victory, we played very well and we have to be positive and stay in a positive place as we go. “
Instead of relying on the junior guard AJ Lawson, the SEC’s third highest scorer (18.7 ppg), Gamecocks got 55 combined points from the guards Jermaine Couisnard and Trae Hannibal and forward Keyshawn Bryant. Lawson also contributed 11 points and was praised by Martin for his defense in Georgia’s point guard Sahvir Wheeler, who just came out of a triple-double earlier in the week. Wheeler scored just seven points out of 2 out of 13 shots in 40 minutes.
Couisnard, who left the bench for the second consecutive game on his return from an ankle injury, set the season’s record with 23 points from 8 out of 16 shots. Bryant, who started, scored 17 points out of 7 out of 10 shots. Hannibal, who did not travel with the team on Tuesday because he had “a day off” from Martin, played his best game of the season. In 22 minutes off the bench, Hannibal tied the best of his career with 15 points and scored the best of his career with eight rebounds and four steals. He also had a team with five assists.
“I am very proud of him,” said Martin of Hannibal. “He is a very good boy and a very good player. Everyone wants to react as if he has done something crazy and Frank hates him. This is the world we live in today. Sometimes, letting someone take a deep breath when they are going through a difficult time and emotionally not being in a peaceful place is what you have to do. He wants to win. Trae is a very good boy.
“He was very good defensively today. Offensively, in the second half, we did jumps, which opened up the scene and he is very good at directing people. He played strong, disciplined and aggressive, so I am very happy for him.”
South Carolina’s winning streak against Georgia has now reached double digits over five years (two games per season). The last time the Bulldogs won the Gamecocks was on March 3, 2016 in the SEC tournament.
“I’m not going to sit here and brag about hitting someone 10 times because it’s hard to hit someone once,” said Martin when asked about the feat. “We are just lucky. Our approach has always been one day at a time. I grew up across the street from the Orange Bowl, watching the Dolphins in the 70s beat the Patriots, Jets and Bills. The next time the Dolphins beat these teams in one year will be the first in 20 years. This can turn to you at any second. “
Then South Carolina will host No.20 Arkansas on Tuesday night at Colonial Life Arena, the regular season finale at home. Tip time vs. Razorbacks are set for 6:30 pm ET on the SEC Network. The meeting is the only one between the two schools this regular SEC season.