South Carolina dominates behind the arc, commits fewest turnovers in 15 years

This is who South Carolina is. It was always going to take a lot of three-point shots. Whether they could be made consistently was the big question.

On Friday, the Gamecocks showed what could happen when those shots were falling. They set a new school record with 18 three-pointers in a 89-67 win over George Washington.

“It’s exciting,” head coach Lamont Paris said. “You hear it towards the end when the shot goes up. There’s a collective gasp as to whether it’s going to go in or not. And when it does, it splashes. I literally think the whole place would’ve exploded if Eli’s (Sparkman) three would’ve gone in. So it’s fun. It’s a fun brand of basketball.”

[GamecockCentral for $1: In-depth coverage and a great community]

Coming into the night, it was bound to be a shooting clinic between two great teams. The Revolutionaries had four double-digit scorers on their squad. But the Gamecocks had some shooters, too.

By the end of the first half, George Washington went 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) from behind the arc. South Carolina, however, just managed to outdo its opponent with eight-made threes.

Once the second half got underway, it was clear the Revolutionaries were losing their touch. They were out of firepower. Meanwhile, the shots just kept going through the net for the Gamecocks.

Meechie Johnson led the way with five three-pointers. BJ Mack and Ta’Lon Cooper both had four. Even Morris Ugusuk came in and knocked down two threes for his only points of the night.

“You can see we have a lot of guys that are capable of making a three,” Paris said. “When you guard them, you have to prepare for them to be able to make a three. And that allows us to open the floor up and do some different things offensively.”

[The perfect Christmas gift: A gift subscription to GamecockCentral]

When the score got out of hand midway through the second half, South Carolina could’ve slowed down and taken some shots to the hoop. But why do that when everything from the outside keeps going in?

“It’s a quandary to some degree. You’re going to have some games where they’re not going in. And there’s live by the three, die by the three. But our team is also built to where we can get the ball around the basket. Meechie’s been really good driving the ball and some other guys as well. You can throw it to a couple guys but particularly BJ in the post,” Paris said.

“We’re equipped to stop or change some things if we’re not making threes. But we were making shots. At one point it was like, we’re in transition, Meechie was wide-open right across from the bench and it was like, just fling it. And it went in. So you’ve got to keep shooting when you’re feeling like that. The guys felt really good and it was contagious.”

RELATED: South Carolina-George Washington box score

While the three-point stat line will get the headline, it’s important to point out South Carolina only had three turnovers. It’s the Gamecocks’ lowest mark since they had four against LSU on Feb. 27, 2008.

To put it into perspective, South Carolina had 17 turnovers against DePaul on Nov. 17. In the three games the Gamecocks have played since then, they’ve had 17 total turnovers. Simply put, they’re playing a lot more clean basketball. And it’s safe to say everyone watching has enjoyed the ride so far.

“What a group of guys this is to rally behind,” Paris said. “There should be some build up, there should be some real palpable excitement around this group of guys and this team with what they’re doing and how they’re playing right now.”

Discuss South Carolina basketball on The Insiders Forum!