South Carolina and Davidson will meet Friday night in the consolation bracket of the Charleston (S.C.) Classic after each team suffered its first loss of the season in the quarterfinals a day earlier.
The Gamecocks (2-1) were crushed by Colorado State, which stretched its 21-point halftime lead to 34 in the second half in an 85-53 win on Thursday.
Davidson (3-1) trailed Charleston by a dozen with about seven minutes left in the first half en route to an 89-66 loss.
The Gamecocks were led by Gregory Jackson II, who had 20 points and seven rebounds, but no other teammate scored more than Jabobi Wright’s eight points.
South Carolina shot 19 for 61 (31.1 percent) from the field, including 8 for 26 (30.8 percent) from 3-point range, in addition to getting outrebounded 40-34. The Gamecocks committed 16 turnovers that the Rams converted into 19 points.
“I have a lot of belief in these guys as long as they stay the course and commit to what we are doing,” South Carolina first-year coach Lamont Paris said before the tournament. “We are a growth-minded team.”
Davidson trailed Charleston 52-34 with 17:03 to play but cut the deficit to 54-51 on David Skogman’s 3-pointer with 11:53 remaining. But the Cougars countered with an 18-2 run to take an insurmountable 72-53 lead on Dalton Bolon’s 3-pointer with 7:25 left.
The Wildcats were led by Sam Mennenga’s 19 points and eight rebounds, and Grant Huffman added 17 points. Foster Loyer, who averaged 28.3 points a game through three games, was held to four points on 2-for-8 shooting from the field.
Davidson shot 22 for 51 (43.1 percent) from the field, including 4 for 11 (36.4 percent) from 3-point range, and was outrebounded 42-32. The Wildcats committed 17 turnovers that the Cougars converted into 22 points.
“These next few weeks, we’re going to have some competitions,” Davidson first-year coach Matt McKillop said earlier this month. “We’re going to have some chances to see what our program is made of.”
–Field Level Media
