Tough one.
South Carolina drops their first SEC contest of the season to Vanderbilt in OT 84-79. Although, the Gamecocks could not come out on top, I was impressed with their performance.
The Commodore bench was vital in the win for Vanderbilt, scoring 64 of the teams 84 total points. The Commodores only had one starter hit double figures in points, which was Tyrin Lawrence with 10.
Erza Manjon and Liam Robbins came off the bench and showed South Carolina what they were made of. Manjon put up 24 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 3 assists, as well as knocking down some crucial free throws towards the end of the game to seal it. Liam Robbins had 22 points and a team high 7 rebounds. Robbins hit some crucial free throws to end the game as well. Defensively, Robbins was everywhere in the paint. Recording an insane 6 blocks, the Gamecocks just could not find a way around him.
Chico Carter Jr. left it out all on the floor for South Carolina, scoring a team high 24 points and 6 rebounds. Carter shot 9-14 from field, including 4 three pointers on 6 attempts. Carter was also impressive on defense, not letting anyone get by him without a battle and only picking up 2 fouls in a game where the Gamecocks were riddled with foul trouble.
Meechie Johnson Jr. had another impressive performance, putting up 18 points and saving the game with a long rebound on the final possession. However, at times Johnson tends to get a little sloppy. Tonight, he had a game high of 4 turnovers which cost the Gamecocks vital possessions.
Hayden Brown was the temporary savior for South Carolina tonight. On the final possession of regulation, Meechie Johnson threw a laser-type pass to Brown right under the basket, where he proceeded to lay the ball in to tie the game with .3 seconds left on the clock. With that, Brown added 12 points, a block, and a steal.
Overall, it was good fight that South Carolina put up, but unfortunately they were not able to pull this one out. This drops the Gamecocks to 7-7 on the season, with an only tougher road ahead.