CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. _ A.J. Lawson's momentum took him to the "G" in "VIRGINIA" along the baseline. That's where he settled after another transition dunk _ a ferocious right-hander _ and flexed for a section of orange- and blue-clad supporters to admire. He wasn't show-boating as much he was making a statement.
South Carolina came to UVa's John Paul Jones Arena _ a long-established place of horrors for visitors _ as double-digit underdogs. The Cavaliers had a top 10 ranking and a recent championship banner hanging from their rafters that explained the elite level of their program. The Gamecocks were two games removed from a 20-point loss to Houston.
Yet here USC was, owners of a second-half lead. So excuse Lawson while he took a second to gloat.
The Gamecocks controlled the majority of the game Sunday afternoon and earned a 70-59 upset of No. 9 Virginia.
USC improved to 8-4. It's now 3-0 in true road games for the first time since 1996-97. It has its first road win over a top 10 team since beating No. 8 Texas A&M in 2016.
South Carolina led by as many as 13 in the second half _ 11 after Lawson's steal and dunk at the 17:56 mark _ before the Cavaliers stormed back. Showing traits of a perennial ACC title-contending program on its own turf, UVa went on a 16-3 run to tie the game at 45 with 11:09 left. John Paul Jones Arena, a place that hadn't seen its team fall to a non-conference foe in three years, rocked.
It was here when Carolina really had to answer the obvious question: Would this be one of those nice-effort-in-a-loss kind of games like Michigan last year? Or would this be a finished deal and perhaps Martin's biggest win since the 2017 NCAA Tournament?
The Gamecocks didn't lay down. They hit seven straight shots, finishing with back-to-back Lawson buckets, to go back ahead 11 with 3:57 left.
Virginia responded with four straight points, but never mounted a serious enough threat. Jermaine Couisnard caught Jair Bolden's air-balled 3-pointer and laid it in with under two minutes to go. The lead then was nine and Virginia fans headed to the exits.
In the end, South Carolina deserved this one. It scored more first-half points _ leading to a 33-24 intermission advantage _ than any previous UVa opponent. It forced 19 turnovers. It got a great shooting performance from Bolden (22 points on eight-of-13 FGs.)
