South Carolina basketball tops Towson at home. 3 things we learned

A convincing win was exactly what South Carolina needed.

That’s what USC got when it toppled Towson 80-54 Tuesday at Colonial Life Arena.

South Carolina (2-1) has been prone to slow starts in the first couple of games this season, but the Gamecocks essentially controlled the contest from the tip against the Tigers (1-2).

The Gamecocks led nearly the entire night after going on a 12-2 run to start the game. They also went on another 8-0 run shortly afterward.

“It’s really important. You’ve got to come out with intensity every night,” senior Nick Pringle said of the quicker start. “We said it before the game: It’s got to be an every-game mentality just to come out and want to put your foot on the gas and go to it.”

Towson, which was predicted to finish first in the Colonial Athletic Association, fought back in short spurts, but USC held them off and maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the first half. The Gamecocks went into halftime with a 43-26 lead.

“We had a tremendous team effort against a team that I think is going to win a lot of games,” USC coach Lamont Paris said. “Those are the kind of teams that you like to play early on this season and see what you’re made of and see where you are.”

Sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles led all scorers with 27 points to go along with nine rebounds. Pringle had 15 points, nine rebounds and a block, while senior Jacobi Wright added 16 points.

USC travels to Indiana on Saturday for its first road game of the season.

Here are three observations from South Carolina’s win over Towson:

Pringle finally gets going

Pringle, the Alabama transfer, hasn’t done much from an offensive standpoint to start the season. It seemed he came into this one with the intention to score more often.

“Just my teammates continuing to build confidence within me,” Pringle said when asked what allowed him to get more involved with the offense. “I always knew I had it in me. They knew I had it in me. I showed it in practice. It was just translating it into the game.

“Coach still trusting and believing in me just allowed me to come out and play hard for everyone tonight. I just want to continue to stack those games just like that and make the most for my team in the season.”

Paris had said he expected Pringle to be an integral part of the Gamecocks’ offense this season. That hadn’t been the case before Tuesday.

He came into the game shooting 3-of-9, and hadn’t taken more than two shots in the first half of either of the first two games.

Pringle came out firing against Towson. He got his first shot of the game blocked, but then made his next four attempts. He finished with 10 points before the break. His 15 points on the night marked his first time in double-digits as a Gamecock.

USC appeared to make it a focus to get the ball to him often in the paint. He scored multiple times on post moves down low. USC outscored Towson 38-20 in the paint.

Towson’s off-night

Towson couldn’t get the lid off the basket all night. They missed their first 10 shots of the game, including seven 3-pointers. The Tigers didn’t get their first shot to fall until over five minutes had elapsed in the game.

Some of it had to do with on-ball pressure from Gamecock defenders, but Towson missed a few wide-open shots too.

“Our energy and effort on a different defensive side, I thought it was clear how much different it was,” Paris said. “That needs to be who we are. I think it needs to start with having that sort of commitment and effort to what we’re doing on the defensive end, and ultimately the belief in that what we do on the defensive end is what’s going to lead most to churn out some wins.”

Towson went 3-of-16 from behind the arc and 10-of-30 overall in the first half. It just wasn’t the Tigers’ night.

CMB is as advertised

Murray-Boyles did not hesitate to make his impact against Towson. He scored 10 points in the first half, along with five rebounds.

He didn’t stop there as he came out of intermission and scored USC’s first seven points. He showed the aggression that USC needed out of its No. 1 option on offense.

Murray-Boyles shot 9-of-12 from the field, his second-straight efficient outing as the engine fueling the Gamecocks’ offense.

Schedule: Next four games

• Nov. 16 at Indiana, 3 p.m. (Peacock/streaming only)

• Nov. 21 vs. Mercer, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

• Nov. 25 vs. Xavier @ Fort Myers Tip-Off – 8:30 p.m. on FS1

• Nov. 27 vs. Michigan/Virginia Tech @ Fort Myers Tip-Off 6/8:30 p.m. on FS1