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After a month of games being postponed or canceled, South Carolina got a nonconference tune-up last week, and now finally opens SEC play Wednesday, hosting Texas A&M in Columbia, S.C.
Texas A&M (6-2, 1-1 SEC) is coming off a thrilling 68-66 win over visiting Auburn, and hopes to use the game to build some serious momentum.
It's the Gamecocks' second game in five days after not playing for 28 days, and last week marked the first time since the beginning of the team's outbreak on Dec. 5 that they put together multiple practices.
South Carolina acknowledged after Saturday's 78-71 victory over visiting Florida A&M that it couldn't help but feel the layoff.
"I feel like everyone was definitely a little winded (after the long break)," said A.J. Lawson, who had 25 points and made two late free throws to clinch the win. "But we had to push through it. Like I know for myself I was tired ... but it's all worth it because we all locked in and we ended up getting the win. That's what we're all about."
In their opener, the Gamecocks (2-2) were without veterans Keyshawn Bryant and Alanzo Frink and key rotational players T.J. Moss and Jalyn McCreary, all of whom remain in quarantine.
"I got no idea how our guys had the courage to make the plays to go win that game (against Florida A&M)," South Carolina coach Frank Martin said. "I thought we played hard. We didn't play great. We didn't shoot great. Defensively we had some breakdowns. But that's to be understood after what we went through for the last three and a half weeks."
Jermaine Couisnard added 15 points, five assists and four steals and Justin Minaya picked up his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
In the Aggies' win over Auburn, Andre Gordon scored his 10th point of the game on the game-winner in the final second.
"Andre's willingness to step into that moment is who he is," Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said. "There are a lot of guys who want to be in the moment when it goes their way, but the separator is when it doesn't go right, can they carry the burden of that? Andre can. He's never scared."
Emanuel Miller had 16 points and five rebounds for Texas A&M, which bounced back from a 77-54 loss at LSU in its previous game. Miller leads the Aggies in scoring (17.1 points a game) and rebounds (8.6).
--Field Level Media
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