Once again, the South Carolina men’s basketball team was right there.
Just like on the road at Houston in early December or at LSU in mid-January or against Mississippi State at home on Saturday, the Gamecocks had every chance to defeat No. 11 Alabama on Tuesday in a close-fought, back-and-forth affair.
But once again, Frank Martin’s club couldn’t find a way to finish. The Gamecocks fell to the Crimson Tide by a narrow 81-78 margin on Tuesday, dropping their sixth straight game against the Tide since 2017.
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3 OBSERVATIONS FROM USC-ALABAMA
1. Blow for blow
Only two teams in the entire country have attempted more 3-pointers than Nate Oats’ Alabama club. The Tide is one of the most prolific deep-shooting teams in the country. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks entered the game coming off a loss to Mississippi State in which they missed 41 of 62 shots.
Alabama, as expected, took plenty of 3-pointers. And the team’s leading shooter from beyond the arc, guard John Petty Jr., paced Alabama in scoring and in rebounding, taking advantage of several long rebounds.
Martin said Monday that he wanted to work more on the offensive side of the game in practice. Much of USC’s practice work in recent weeks has been focused on defense. In recent games, Martin said the Gamecocks’ offense has been so simple he’s hardly called any plays.
On Tuesday, not only did the Gamecocks keep pace with Alabama, but they even shot a touch better than the Tide from the field — 44% to 38%. Junior A.J. Lawson once again led the Gamecocks in scoring with 21 points and five 3-pointers, while Keyshawn Bryant finished closely behind with 16.
2. Minaya bounces back
Redshirt junior forward Justin Minaya went from having his worst game of the season in the loss to Mississippi State to one of his most complete games of the year against the Tide.
Martin said something was off about Minaya’s energy in the game against the Bulldogs, in which the junior missed all five of his 3-point attempts and finished scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting overall. The team’s top rebounder, Minaya also pulled down only three rebounds against a physical Bulldogs team.
On Tuesday night, Minaya found an extra spark, scoring 15 points and attacking the glass for a team-leading seven rebounds. At one point in the second half, the 6-foot-6 Minaya took flight for a rare, explosive dunk.
Matched up against one of the top rebounding teams in the conference, the Gamecocks held their own on the glass, in large part due to Minaya’s efforts. He entered the game tied eighth in the SEC with 6.7 rebounds per game.
3. Rude welcome home
The Alabama roster features three Columbia natives, two of which have played significant minutes for the Tide. None factored into Tuesday’s contest.
Forward Juwan Gary, who played high school ball at Gray Collegiate Academy before transferring to West Charlotte High, drew the start for Alabama but injured himself just two minutes into the first half, screaming in audible pain on the court as he clutched his left shoulder. He walked off the court and into the Alabama locker room and never returned.
The Tide was already playing shorthanded without fellow Columbia native Jordan Bruner, a graduate transfer from Yale whose older sister, Ashley Bruner, played for the USC women’s team. Martin said Monday that he had spoken to Bruner a couple of times about transferring to South Carolina after the Ivy League canceled winter sports. Bruner required knee surgery in January but is expected back this season.
Walk-on graduate transfer Kendall Wall, a Spring Valley High teammate of Bruner’s, also plays for Alabama but didn’t see action Tuesday night.
