GG Jackson explodes for 30 points, South Carolina drops third straight game
Seven days ago, South Carolina entered a three-game homestand with an opportunity to move up the league standings.
The Gamecocks exited Saturday’s game 0-3 in that stretch with another double-digit loss, this time to No. 16 Auburn 81-66.
South Carolina’s now in the middle of its second three-game skid of the season despite GG Jackson going off for a career-best 30 points.
“God is definitely putting me and my teammates through a very, very big test. He showed what this team can be capable of in that Kentucky game. I feel like it’s up to us to be as competitive as possible to go out there and get it,” Jackson said. “Tonight, I felt kind of good and tried to get my teammates on the same page as me. Hayden was on the same page as me. We were both trying to get downhill and have as much energy as possible.”
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How it happened
Like most of their games, the Gamecocks (8-11, 1-5 SEC) failed to start fast, finding themselves in a 9-2 hole three minutes into the game. There would be ample opportunity, though, for South Carolina to get back into the game but the offense, once again, struggled.
The Gamecocks started just 4-for-21 from the field and an anemic 1-for-10 from three with a handful of turnovers. They would cut Auburn’s deficit to just six points with 4:44 to go in the first half before a massive Tigers’ run.
Auburn closed the first half on a 15-4 run, taking advantage of the paint with Hayden Brown dealing with foul trouble and Josh Gray not on the floor with the Tigers up 17 at the half.
Click here for Saturday’s box score
“Certainly there are some mistakes you make. There are differences in athleticism, length, size, talent or whatever you might have in those situations. But there are breakdowns they have you don’t take advantage of. That’s one thing: being able to take advantage of good opportunities that are right there in front of our face and generating offense in different ways,” Lamont Paris said.
“Then responding in a way where they make a run. They made a run and got up. We got off to another bad start. Well, can you push a little forward at the end? Chico made a free throw to cut it to eight with three minutes to go. At that point, can you make any sort of push to make it six or play even and it’s eight at halftime? Instead, it’s 17.”
Frontcourt continues to be an issue for South Carolina with the Gamecocks allowing Auburn’s big men–Johni Broom and Jaylin Williams to combine for 39 points and 17 boards Saturday.
The second half didn’t start much better for South Carolina while the Gamecocks watched the deficit balloon to 15 points just six minutes into the half.
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Auburn’s lead would get up to 26 points in the second half before the Gamecocks mounted a bit of a comeback.
South Carolina used an 18-3 run where it hit five straight shots paired with Auburn missing nine of 10 to make it a 10-point deficit.
But Auburn’s lead was too big, and the Tigers would counter with a big run of their own while South Carolina went nearly four minutes without a bucket.
“I thought we played well trying to extend that run as long as we possibly could. Then once we cut it to ten,” Paris said. “We went bang-bang with two pick-sixes and gave up four points. Then it was hard for us to recover from that. One of those was in a set situation and we were in full control of what should have happened there. That shouldn’t have happened.”
South Carolina did chip away late, getting the deficit back to 12 with just over a minute to go, but Auburn free throws squashed any hope of a comeback.
GG Jackson finished with a team-high 30 points on 10-for-21 shooting but no one else on the team had more than 11 points.
“It’s good to look at a box score and see GG Jackson having 30 points. I’m encouraged by that. There have been times where that’s not the case. For as young as he is, to have that resiliency whether it be mental or physical,” Brown said. “For him to come out here and have a game like he did, we have to fall in line. Whatever we have to do individually to buy into the rhythm, the work ethic and consistency GG had tonight.”
Two observations
South Carolina can’t let defensive energy slip if offense isn’t going–The Gamecocks momentarily got back in the game thanks to a big run where the defensive energy was a lot better. That was tied to offensive success at times, which is human nature. But the Gamecocks can’t have that happen. If the offense is stagnating, then the defense has to pick it up. That didn’t happen. Auburn was able to use that and balloon its lead back up after the South Carolina run.
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A much better game for GG Jackson–It wasn’t perfect, especially with Jackson missing his first six shots. But he finished with a load of points and shot 47.6 percent from the field. The biggest plus for him was getting to the free throw line eight times and hauling in eight rebounds. That performance is more in line with what South Carolina needs from him.
Key stat
46 points–That’s how many points in the paint Auburn had. It showed a willingness to get the ball inside and test a South Carolina frontcourt that’s had issues this season. South Carolina finished with just 20 points in the paint.
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Turning point
South Carolina just closed the deficit to just 10 points and the Gamecocks forced a miss. Meechie Johnson was whistled for a foul going for a loose ball with 7:29 left. That led to two Auburn free throws, followed by back-to-back Gamecock turnovers that led to Auburn transition buckets. A 10-point deficit was back to 16 and the Gamecocks couldn’t recover.
Up next
South Carolina heads back on the road for two straight away from Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks are at Florida Wednesday night with tip scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
