National Basketball Association
South Carolina 78, Coker 52
When: 3:30 PM ET, Sunday, December 21, 2014
Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
Officials:
# Patrick Adams, # Jeff Clark, # Rick Hartzell
Attendance:
8419
By SportsDirect Inc.
South Carolina 78, Coker 52: Duane Notice scored 19 points to pace four players in double figures as the host Gamecocks shook off a sluggish start to cruise by the Division II Tigers.
Laimonas Chatkevicius added 16 points and Demetrius Henry set a career high with 16 points for South Carolina (7-3), which extended its winning streak to five games by outscoring the Cobras (3-6) by a 22-10 margin over the final 9 1/2 minutes of the first half. Tyrone Johnson finished with 12 points for the Gamecocks.
Errick Bethel scored 14 points to lead Coker, which has lost four in a row. Jordan Scott added 12 points and Trey James grabbed 15 rebounds for the Cobras, who shot 31 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers.
The Gamecocks got off to a miserable start, committing eight turnovers in the opening eight minutes while shooting 3-of-9 from the field. Coker’s Aubrey Daniel tied the game at 13 on a 3-pointer just over midway through the half, but Chatkevicius scored eight of South Carolina’s next 10 points and Notice’s 3-pointer with 32 seconds left in the half gave the Gamecocks a 35-23 lead at intermission.
South Carolina opened the second half on an 11-3 spurt, going up 46-26 on Johnson’s basket with 15:21 to play. The Gamecocks outrebounded the Cobras 47-31 and finished with 21 assists, including a career-high eight from Marcus Stroman and five from Johnson.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Gamecocks hit 11 of their final 21 shots from the field in the opening half, as Notice finished with 12 points, four rebounds and three steals in the opening 20 minutes. … South Carolina has its longest winning streak since winning five in a row from Dec. 7, 2012-Jan. 5, 2013. … Coker committed 13 first-half turnovers and shot 33.3 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
Top Game Performances
| Coker |
|
South Carolina |
|
Errick Bethel 14 |
Scoring |
Duane Notice 19 |
|
Errick Bethel 2 |
Assists |
Marcus Stroman 8 |
|
Trey James 15 |
Rebounds |
Michael Carrera 8 |
|
Jalen Watson 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Duane Notice 5 |
|
Errick Bethel 2 |
Steals |
Tyrone Johnson 3 |
|
Trey James 1 |
Blocks |
Demetrius Henry 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Coker |
52 |
31.0 |
7-21 |
9-14 |
8 |
27 |
1 |
8 |
19 |
| South Carolina
|
78 |
48.4 |
3-11 |
13-19 |
21 |
44 |
9 |
11 |
15 |