Story by
Aiken Standard, S.C.
Gamecocks' new veterans wallop Stetson in season-opener
- Story byAiken Standard, S.C.
- Gamecocks' new veterans wallop Stetson in season-opener
Nov. 3—COLUMBIA — There was a lot of newness with South Carolina, but the newness came with a veteran flair due to the transfer portal and international recruiting.
Experience is what you lean on, even if it didn't come in your uniform.
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The Gamecocks' trio of Juan Fernandez, Aleksas Bieliauskas and Camden Heide— all transfers and Fernandez a former pro in Spain — combined for 43 points and controlled the paint in a season-opening win over Stetson on Tuesday, 81-55. Knowing that the smaller Hatters (0-2) couldn't stop them in the lane and would try to zone them out, USC lobbed the ball over the top and let the big men score at the rim.
Couple that with (mostly) staying out of the trap of the Hatters wanting them to shoot 3-pointers, the Gamecocks made enough early so the result was never in doubt. USC had a 30-point lead at times and got contributions from up and down the roster.
"They play hard from start to finish. That was my main concern coming in," said coach Lamont Paris, who also collected his 150th win as a head coach. "I was really, really happy to see what the guys did. For the first time with this group against another opponent, we were our own living, breathing organism that had very little to do with me."
It was an extremely balanced scoring effort and USC (1-0) put its film acumen on display. Stetson played Monday night at Clemson and the lack of energy could probably benefit USC, if it took care of its business.
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Even without freshman Marcus Johnson — projected to start at point guard, out due to an elbow to the face sustained in practice last week — USC followed the script.
Kory Mincy handled directing the offense and scoring equally well. Jakub Necas scored 11 points. Heide had a couple of highlight-reel dunks and even when veteran and former walk-on Eli Sparkman entered well before the 10-minute mark of the first half, he delivered.
He drilled two 3-pointers and deflected a pass into a steal in his brief time. Again, a veteran presence.
"Put in a guy like Eli and let him disappear. He's had a knack to do some stuff like that," Paris said. "He understands what we're looking for and how we want to play."
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Stetson shot a respectable 43 percent and Collin Kuhl had 17 to lead the Hatters. But the Gamecocks were tight on defense and when they were shooting 51 percent, it was all about playing in a flow and not allowing any runs.
USC had 18 assists, not to take away from the other end of the court.
"I think we had a great (defensive) effort tonight," Heide said. "That's something this team does very well is compete in practice, and we had a great week of practice."
"I was really happy with what we did. Even in the second half, we cleaned up some things," Paris said. "We shared the ball, we played really hard."
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Injury update
There is a path toward Johnson playing in the next game, but it's day-to-day, Paris said. They'll have to see how he responds to some tests.
Next game
The Gamecocks host Southeast Missouri State at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Follow David Cloninger on Twitter at @DCPandC
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