South Carolina 82, Longwood 44: Villanova transfer Tyrone Johnson scored a game-high 18 points with Sindarius Thornwell and Brenton Williams adding 14 apiece as the host Gamecocks won their 13th consecutive season opener in convincing fashion.
Michael Carrera collected 12 points and nine rebounds in a reserve role for South Carolina (1-0). Mindaugas Kacinas grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to go with his eight points for the Gamecocks.
Tristan Carey scored 12 points to lead Longwood (0-1), but was only 5-of-20 from the floor and 2-for-10 from 3-point range. The Lancers shot a meager 22.8 percent overall and were just 4-for-22 from behind the arc.
The Gamecocks never trailed, racing out to an 18-4 lead and closing the first half with 10 straight points for a 37-15 halftime advantage. Carrera scored eight points in the first 8:56 of the game, including back-to-back 3-pointers that pushed the margin to 12.
South Carolina held Longwood without a field goal for two stretches of more than five minutes in the second half and cruised to its largest margin of victory since an 88-50 win over Alabama A&M to open the 2009-10 season.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Johnson was expected to be ineligible until the second semester, but was granted a waiver from the NCAA on Saturday morning. He played in one exhibition game at Villanova last season before transferring. … Freshman PG Duane Notice had a solid debut for the Gamecocks with eight points, five rebounds and four assists before fouling out. … South Carolina has won its two contests again Longwood by an average of 34 points.
Longwood | South Carolina | |
Tristan Carey 12 | Scoring | Tyrone Johnson 18 |
Lucas Woodhouse 4 | Assists | Duane Notice 4 |
Karl Ziegler 7 | Rebounds | Mindaugas Kacinas 14 |
Karl Ziegler 5 | Free Throws Made | Tyrone Johnson 6 |
Isaac Belton 3 | Steals | Michael Carrera 2 |
N/A | Blocks | Michael Carrera 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Longwood | 44 | 22.8 | 4-22 | 14-22 | 7 | 24 | 0 | 9 | 13 |
South Carolina | 82 | 49.1 | 6-20 | 20-24 | 13 | 48 | 8 | 5 | 15 |