USC MBB wraps 2024 with nail-biting win over Presbyterian. Here’s what we learned

It was an unexpectedly close one for the Gamecocks in their final game ahead of SEC play, as South Carolina needed a comeback to defeat Presbyterian 69-59 at Colonial Life Arena on Monday night.

With this being the Gamecocks’ final nonconference game, USC head coach Lamont Paris just needed one in the win column before SEC plays tips off.

“I told them after the game that if we had found a way just to win the game, there’s only going to be so much frustration that I could have, no matter how we played,” Paris said.

He got exactly what he wanted. It wasn’t the prettiest of games, but USC won.

The Gamecocks got off to another slow start, trailing 32-24 at halftime. The 24 points in the first half were USC’s season low.

Presbyterian was the polar opposite, getting off to one of its best starts of the season. In the first half, the Blue Hose went on four different runs of five points or more, taking advantage of the Gamecocks’ early shooting woes.

However — in a familiar scene this season — the Gamecocks fought back in the second half, going on a 16-5 run early in the period to tighten up the game.

With the game tied at 50 with 6:35 to play, the Gamecocks went on a 19-9 run to pull away for the win.

“It was a hard game for us to get going,” Paris said. “Sometimes the best way to do it is just to get into the locker room at halftime, regroup and then get to the business in the last 20 minutes.”

Presbyterian (7-8) entered Monday’s game at .500 and was picked to finish eighth among nine teams in the Big South Conference. They’re also the Gamecocks’ third-lowest opponent in the NET rankings (No. 240), ahead of only Towson and USC Upstate.

The Blue Hose led the game for more than 30 minutes. Presbyterian’s Kory Mincy had 27 points, tying the most by a Gamecock foe this season.

Sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles led the way for the Gamecocks with 22 points, including 18 in the second half, nine rebounds and a steal. Senior transfer Nick Pringle had 14 points, five rebounds and two blocks.

South Carolina (10-3) now prepares for SEC play when it travels to No. 17 Mississippi State on Saturday.

Here are three observations from South Carolina’s game against Presbyterian:

Another sluggish start

South Carolina has suffered from slow starts in most of its games this season. Even in the team’s final nonconference tuneup, the Gamecocks still hadn’t figured it out. USC turned the ball over 10 times in the first half. They also couldn’t find their form, as they shot 38.5% before the break.

“Not to take anything away from them, but they weren’t pressing or trapping — just bad decisions, carelessness with the ball, not making strong moves,” Paris said of his team.

The recipe for the Gamecocks has been to bounce back from the slow starts with a strong second-half effort to pull away for the win. The same occurred on Monday as USC outscored Presbyterian 45-27 after the break.

Paris said he would like for the Gamecocks to play more complete games, but he’d rather have a slow start and still win the game.

“We’re going to be in a lot of close ones,” Paris said. “I try not to get caught up in in the ebbs and flows. ... Certainly, we’d like to get off to a better start.”

Pringle’s aggression

One of the lone bright spots in the first half was Pringle, who scored nine points before intermission. Every time the Gamecocks needed a basket, they went to Pringle down low — like when Jamarii Thomas found him on an and-one, alley-oop dunk to end a Presbyterian 8-0 run midway through the period.

Presbyterian countered that by denying him the ball, and USC’s offense started to sputter again from there.

Before Pringle’s hero ball efforts started, the points came from Myles Stute and Morris Ugusuk from behind the arc. They combined to get South Carolina off to an early 3 of 3 start from long range. But even that fizzled out as USC missed its next four attempts on 3-pointers in the first half.

“It’s just what we practice every day,” Pringle said. “Us starting inside opens up our guys on the outside. ... that’s definitely something you can look forward to me doing.”

Suiting up for SEC

South Carolina enters SEC play as ranked No. 85 in the NET rankings, or last among conference teams. There are 10 SEC teams in the newest Associated Press Top 25, including five in the top 10 — No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Auburn, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Florida and No. 10 Kentucky.

USC was predicted to finish 11th in the conference in the preseason poll, and that stock may have fallen with three losses in nonconference play. With the SEC appearing to be a gauntlet for all 16 teams in the conference, however, the Gamecocks will have a chance to make a statement with a good showing. That starts with South Carolina’s first three opponents, each ranked in the AP poll.

If USC wants to make a postseason push, the run starts now.

Next four games

• Saturday at Mississippi State, 2 p.m. (SEC Network)

• Jan. 8 vs Alabama, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)

• Jan. 11 vs Auburn, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)

• Jan. 15 at Vanderbilt, 6 p.m. (SEC Network)