Gamecocks sink 14 3s to defeat NC A&T in opener, 91-72

SC SID,

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Meechie Johnson scored 14 points and South Carolina made 14 3-pointers to help cruise past North Carolina A&T 91-72 on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams.

Johnson made a pair of 3s to go with five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Nordin Kapic added 13 points and hit three 3-pointers, leading nine Gamecocks who made a least one bucket from long range. Kobe Knox chipped in with 12 points.

The Gamecocks shot 31 of 63 overall (49%) and 14 of 32 (44%) from beyond the arc.

Lureon Walker led NC A&T with 22 points. Lewis Walker added 16 points and Amadou Doumbia grabbed 10 rebounds for the Aggies.

South Carolina has 12 new players on its roster with returners Jordan Butler, Myles Stute and Cam Scott. Johnson, an All-SEC player in 2024 for the Gamecocks, spent last season at Ohio State where he began his college career.

Stute and Butler scored nine points apiece against the Aggies.

KEY STATS

  • South Carolina shared the basketball at a high rate with 23 assists on 31 made field goals. All 12 players who got in the game for the Gamecocks had at least one assist led by highly-touted freshman Eli Ellis (5). The 23 helpers are the second-most in the Lamont Paris era, trailing only a 25-assist performance in a road win at Georgia on Feb. 3, 2024.
  • The Gamecocks hit 14 3s, the fourth-most in the Paris era at South Carolina.
  • The 31 made field goals tonight are T-4th most in the Paris era. The Gamecocks improve to 8-0 under Paris when making 30 or more shots.

NOTABLES

  • Redshirt senior Meechie Johnson led the way in his return to South Carolina scoring a team-high 14 points. He was one of four Gamecocks who grabbed a team-high five rebounds. The Cleveland, Ohio native also added four assists and two steals.
  • Senior transfer Nordin Kapic (13), redshirt senior transfer Kobe Knox (12), junior transfer Elijah Strong (11) and freshman Eli Ellis (11) rounded out the five Gamecocks in double figures on opening night, all shooting 50.0% or above from the floor.
  • South Carolina improves to 13-0 under head coach Lamont Paris when scoring 80 or more points. Paris’ teams are 45-4 (.918 win percentage) in his nine seasons as a head coach when scoring more than 80 points.
  • Tonight marked the fourth game under Paris when Carolina has scored 90 or more. The Gamecocks also had 91 points an overtime victory over in-state rival No. 25 Clemson last season.
  • With the victory tonight, Paris moves to 3-1 in season openers at South Carolina.
  • The Gamecocks built a 46-28 first half lead after shooting 59.3% (16-of-27) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.
  • Ellis (11) and fellow freshman Hayden Assemian (2) and Grant Polk (3) all scored their first career points tonight in Garnet and Black in their college debuts. Ellis led the team with a +/- of +22 in 27 minutes of run.

UP NEXT

South Carolina (1-0) remains home and will face Southern Miss (0-1) on Sunday, Nov. 9. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m. (ET) on SEC Network with John Schriffen (pxp) and former Texas head coach Rodney Terry (analyst) on the call for the linear broadcast. It’ll be the 20th all-time meeting between the programs and first since the 1990-91 season.

Categories: Local Sports, Sports, USC Gamecocks

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