Marcus Johnson leads unbeaten South Carolina against Gardner-Webb

Freshman guard Marcus Johnson has helped South Carolina Gamecocks get off to a hot start, which the Gamecocks seek to continue against Gardner-Webb Bulldogs on Saturday in Columbia, S.C.

Johnson missed South Carolina's opener due to a head and nose injury after taking an elbow to the face at practice. He impressed with 10 points and no turnovers in 24 minutes in his debut, a 78-68 home win over Southeast Missouri State on Sunday, and starred in the Gamecocks' third contest.

Making his first collegiate start, Johnson paced the Gamecocks with 20 points, six assists and five steals in South Carolina's 77-41 home victory over Saint Peter's on Wednesday.

"(Johnson) just has a natural gift of being aggressive to score the basketball," said South Carolina coach Lamont Paris.

Paris noted that in the summer, South Carolina's director of player personnel Carey Rich told him that Johnson "is not playing like a freshman." A four-star prospect in high school who was selected Ohio Mr. Basketball in 2025 and 2026, Johnson is averaging 15.0 points and 3.5 assists over two games.

South Carolina (3-0) is also getting significant production from 6-foot-11 forward Juan Fernandez, a native of Argentina who played five seasons in Spain. The fifth-year player is using his experience to post 15.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game through three contests.

The Saint Peter's Peacocks' 41 points were the fewest allowed by the Gamecocks in Paris' four-plus seasons. South Carolina's nine made 3-pointers (on 15 attempts) were the most in one game under Paris.

Meanwhile, Gardner-Webb (1-2) has opened its season with lopsided losses to top-10 opponents UConn (No. 4) and Texas (No. 7) but rebounded with an 88-66 home win over Division II Erskine on Wednesday in Boiling Springs, N.C.

Senior guard Seth Brown, a transfer from Fresno Pacific, led all scorers with 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 4-for-9 from 3-point range, in the win. The Bulldogs benefitted from 18 points and eight boards from senior forward Mikhail Pocknett, a transfer from Buffalo. Senior guard Ace Talbert added 11 points off the bench and freshman guard Rue Wells notched 10 points.

Expectations are not very high this season for the Runnin' Bulldogs off a 4-29 record a year ago. The Big South Conference's coaches picked Gardner-Webb to finish last in the nine-team league in their preseason poll. But the aggressive schedule is part of coach Jeremy Luther's plan to improve.

"We have three Power Fours to start our season and then three Power Fours going into conference play," Luther said. "So I think it's a good test for us to kind of see how we compete early."

--Field Level Media