Gamecocks Overcome Shooting Struggles, Defeat VMI 74-64

South Carolina's men's basketball team didn't play cleanly on Monday night, but they did enough to pull away and defeat VMI 74-64.

The South Carolina Gamecocks came into Monday night looking to secure a 3-0 record before they play one of the toughest stretches in their non-conference slate. While Lamont Paris' team didn't always make it easy on themselves, they found a way to win late over Virginia Military Institute, attaining a 74-64 victory.

In the first few minutes of the game, South Carolina played suffocating defense, not allowing the Keydets to get any high-percentage looks, and not allowing a bucket in the first two minutes and 48 seconds of the ball game.

The problem in the first half, however, was that outside of BJ Mack, no else was able to consistently able to create separation in the first ten minutes and seven seconds of play, leading to a 22.2% shooting percentage from the floor. Another issue for Carolina early on was rebounding, as in that same stretch, VMI had a +1 margin on the glass, which looks even worse when you consider the fact that the Keydets only have three players listed 6'7 or taller.

Although they struggled to find consistency early, Paris' team would go on a pivotal 11-0 run between the 9:51 and 7:48 mark, giving them an 8-point lead, which they would hover around for the rest of the first half, with the Gamecocks heading into the break with a 41-33 lead. In the second half, Carolina did a much better job of spreading the ball around, as eight different Gamecocks scored in that period. Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk helped in this regard, by grabbing five offensive rebounds, extending possessions and giving his team a better chance to overcome their 33.3% second-half shooting percentage as a collective.

This combined with the Keydets struggles to make tough shots in their own right help South Carolina hold onto the lead and secure the win over this Southern Conference foe. The Gamecocks will travel out to the desert for their next two games, as they play in the Arizona Tip-Off against DePaul and the winner or loser of the matchup between Grand Canyon and San Fransisco.

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