National Basketball Association
South Carolina 62, Southeastern Louisiana 43
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Where: The Colonial Center Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
Officials:
# Ron Groover, # Gary Maxwell, # Michael Stephens
Attendance:
7972
By SportsDirect Inc.
Malik Cooke and Anthony Gill scored 14 points apiece to lead South Carolina to a 62-43 victory over visiting Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday.
The Lions (5-5) lost their 15th consecutive game against the SEC, and it was due mainly to poor shooting. Despite coming into the game as the worst team in the SEC at defending the 3-pointer, the Gamecocks limited the Lions to 6-of-22 from behind the arc, part of a 34.9 percent overall shooting night.
South Carolina (5-6) wasn’t much better from three, making 1-of-7 in the first half, but fixed that problem once the second half began. The Gamecocks hit three consecutive shots from long range, part of an 11-0 run that gave the hosts a 36-18 cushion.
The lead ballooned to as much as 25 when Gill scored the last of his points on a layup with 1:25 left.
Both offenses struggled mightily in an ugly opening half. The visiting Lions, who made 7-of-23 shots in the opening 20 minutes, got a 3-pointer from Jeremy Campbell at the 9:05 mark, then went nine minutes without scoring.
South Carolina had a one-point lead midway through the half, but an 11-0 run, aided by a 3-pointer by Damien Leonard and a Damontre Harris dunk, helped the Gamecocks build their largest first-half lead at 25-13.
Elgin Bailey led Southeastern Louisiana with 15 points.
Top Game Performances
Southeastern Louisiana |
|
South Carolina |
Elgin Bailey 15 |
Scoring |
Malik Cooke 14 |
Jeremy Campbell 2 |
Assists |
Malik Cooke 3 |
Jan Petrovcic 9 |
Rebounds |
Damontre Harris 7 |
Elgin Bailey 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Malik Cooke 7 |
Jeremy Campbell 1 |
Steals |
Malik Cooke 4 |
Elgin Bailey 2 |
Blocks |
Malik Cooke 2 |
Team Stats Summary