COLOMBIA – After almost a month inactive, South Carolina playing on Saturday was incredible.
The fact that Gamecocks won has sweetened him.
AJ Lawson scored 25 points and had a fundamental block to start the decisive sequence of the game, while the USC surpassed Florida A&M 78-71. Reduced to nine players due to COVID, and the team hasn’t played since December 5 due to the same, the USC was probably rusty and messy.
But Gamecocks (2-2) did what they had to do to win and now they can return to their normal routine before starting to play in the SEC next week.
“How do you fix this in practice, when you train only three times (in a month) and only have nine guys?” Asked coach Frank Martin. “We needed to live one day at a time and, like today, find the courage to make moves.”
The attacking court was particularly destroyed as striker Keyshawn Bryant, striker Alanzo Frink and striker Jalyn McCreary were not in the arena. Reserve guards TJ Moss and Nathan Nelson were also absent, while reserve guard Mike Green was in warm-up uniform, but not during the game.
“I don’t want to say anything every now and then on Monday, it’s something different,” said Martin of the return of the five. “I think one of them will be allowed to practice on Monday.”
Gamecocks played small ball against a team of Rattlers full of big, strong players and were not competitive in painting, opting to stay out and shoot over them. It worked well, although an 8 out of 27 performance from the 3-point line was uneven.
Lawson got three of those 3 points right and assumed the leadership role assigned to him. With USC winning two in the final four minutes, he came back in transition, slapped the tray and Seventh Woods cornered.
“That was a hectic move,” said Lawson. “That’s what our team is about.”
Woods had a chance to pass the man behind for a tray, but he kicked Jermaine Couisnard in the wing. His 3 points saved the game.
There was much to improve and many will be helped if the remaining five players return to the court. The free throw percentage (12 out of 20) and the half court sets that were attempted without big men are all resolved with what the USC did not have last month – consistent practice time.
“We were hoping to make some mistakes, we had to find a way to move forward,” said Woods, who scored eight with four rebounds and four assists. “The coaches just told us to get the win, we will work on the mistakes in the next practice. We did it. “
Looking forward
Gamecocks host Texas A&M at its SEC opening at 9 pm on Wednesday.
Follow David Cloninger on Twitter @DCPandC.