Gamecocks On The Road At Coastal Carolina Wednesday

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (5-1) prepares for its first true road game of the season when it travels to face Coastal Carolina (2-2) on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. ET tipoff (ESPN+) at the HTC Center in Conway.  The meeting is the fifth all-time between the two schools, and the first since the 2018-19 campaign.  Jeff McCarragher (play-by-play) and Nate Ross (analyst) will be on the call for the ESPN+ broadcast, while Derek Scott (play-by-play) and Casey Manning (analyst) will be over the air on the Gamecock Radio Network.

GAME INFORMATION
ARENA: HTC Center (3,600)
BROADCAST: ESPN+
  PLAY-BY-PLAY: Jeff McCarragher
  ANALYST: Nate Ross
RADIO: Gamecock Radio Network
  IN COLUMBIA: 107.5 The Game
  PLAY-BY-PLAY: Derek Scott
  ANALYST: Casey Manning
  SIRIUS: – | XM: 380 | SXM APP: 970
WATCH: WatchESPN/ESPN App
LIVE STATS: GamecocksOnline.com
  SERIES: Carolina leads the series, 3-1
  IN CONWAY: First meeting
  SERIES TREND: The Gamecocks have won two straight in the series
  LAST MEETING: 85-79 Gamecock win on Nov. 30, 2018, in Columbia

TIPOFF NOTABLES
> South Carolina prepares for its first true road game of the season when it travels to face Coastal Carolina on Wednesday evening at the HTC Center in Conway.  The meeting is the fifth all-time between the two schools, and the first since the 2018-19 campaign.
> The Gamecocks trailed for the majority of their contest with Rider at Colonial Life Arena on Sunday, but a 3-pointer from senior forward Keyshawn Bryant tied the contest at 36-all with 12:30 to go, and Carolina was able to maintain its lead the remainder of the game to close the 65-58 non-conference win.  
> Bryant led Carolina with 17 points in the win over the Broncs, while he also collected five rebounds, dished out two assists, collected two steals and blocked three shots, just one shy of matching his career high.
> Carolina captured a big win over visiting Wofford on Nov. 23 at Colonial Life Arena, posting an 85-74 victory over the Terriers.  Senior guard Erik Stevenson had his best performance this season, hitting nine field goals, including five 3-pointers, en route to a 25-point performance.  His six rebounds were also a team best.
> Rookie guard Devin Carter was clutch at the free throw line, hitting all four of his attempts in the final five seconds of play to clinch a 66-63 Gamecock win over visiting UAB at Colonial Life Arena on Nov. 18.  The Blazers, who are the preseason pick to win C-USA this season, battled back from a 16-point deficit to make it a one-point game with a minute remaining in the matchup, but Carter sank all four of his attempts late in the contest to secure the Carolina win.  
> Following its first loss of the season, Carolina rebounded with a 75-64 victory over Western Kentucky on Nov. 14 in its final contest at the inaugural Asheville Championship.  Junior guard Jermaine Couisnard and rookie guard Devin Carter led Carolina with 16 points each, and graduate student guard James Reese V tallied a season high 14 points behind four makes from 3-point range.  
> The Gamecocks suffered their first loss of the season on Nov. 12, falling 66-62 to Princeton.  Carolina struggled from the field, hitting just 36.2 percent overall, and just 15.4 percent (4-26) from 3-point range.  Princeton made 11 3-pointers in the win.
> Junior forward Wildens Leveque posted the first double-double of his career with a dominant 12-point, 10-rebound performance vs. Princeton on Nov. 12.  Leveque, who was 6-of-6 from the field, played 32 minutes of action, including 18:52 of the second half.  Four of his rebounds were on the offensive end.
> The Gamecocks improved to 84-30 all-time in season openers when they posted a 78-60 victory over USC Upstate in the 2021-22 opener on Nov. 9 at Colonial Life Arena.  Junior guard Jermaine Couisnard and junior forward Wildens Leveque led the Gamecocks with 14 points each, while Couisnard dished out a game high seven assists in the win.
> Head coach Frank Martin is in his 10th season leading the Gamecocks.  He is assisted by associate head coach Chuck Martin (fifth season), assistant coaches Will Bailey (second season) and Brian Steele (first season), and the director of operations is Andy Assaley (10th season).  
> South Carolina posted a 101-76 exhibition win vs. Benedict on Nov. 4.  James Reese V led all scorers with 21 in the contest.
> The 2021-22 campaign is the 20th season of basketball at Colonial Life Arena.  The facility opened just prior to the 2002-03 campaign.
> South Carolina returns three of its top five scorers from a season ago, including senior forward Keyshawn Bryant (14.4 ppg), junior guard Jermaine Couisnard (10.1 ppg) and junior forward Wildens Leveque (6.1 ppg).
> The Gamecocks welcome nine newcomers to the team this season, including a trio of freshmen in Devin Carter, Ta’Quan Woodley and Jacobi Wright.  Six transfers are also set for their first season at Carolina in Chico Carter Jr. (Murray State), Josh Gray (LSU), Brandon Martin (USC Upstate), James Reese V (North Texas), Erik Stevenson (Washington) and AJ Wilson (George Mason).

SCOUTING THE CHANTICLEERS
> Coastal Carolina is led by head coach Cliff Ellis in his 15th season at the helm of the CCU program, and his 48th season overall.
> CCU is 2-2 on the year, and most recently finished as the runner-up at the Baha Mar Nassau Championship.
> Sophomore Essam Mostafa leads the Chanticleers with 18.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game this season.  He is the Sun Belt’s top rebounder as well.
> Mostafa is fifth in the nation with 4.75 offensive rebounds per game this season, and his 10.5 overall per game rank 13th nationally.
> Junior guard Ebrima Dibba paces the team and the Sun Belt with 5.5 assists per game.
> Coastal Carolina ranks third in the nation with only 40 turnovers through the first four games of the season.  
> CCU is 41st nationally with 13.25 offensive rebounds per game this season.

DID YOU KNOW?
> First-year assistant coach Brian Steele is one of 28 assistants nationally who are 30 or younger.  Steele just turned 28 on Nov. 10.  A three-year letterwinner for the Gamecocks on the hardwood (2012-15), Steele saw action in 50 career games in the Garnet and Black, with four starts. After knee injuries dotted his first three seasons on the court, Steele opted to serve as a student assistant coach during the 2015-16 campaign.  He did the same during the historic 2016-17 season that saw Carolina reach the Final Four, and then was a graduate assistant manager the following year.

BY THE NUMBERS
3,018 – South Carolina’s six incoming transfer student-athletes combined to score 3,018 points during their college careers prior to joining the Gamecocks, led by Erik Stevenson’s 826 career points.  
212 – AJ Wilson saw action in 114 games during his career at George Mason.  As a junior, Wilson set GMU’s all-time record for blocks in a single season with 92, and he concluded his career as the school’s all-time record holder in the category with 212 blocks.  
87.3% – James Reese V entered action this season having hit 62 of his 71 career attempts at the foul line, 87.3 percent.  Reese was 15-of-16 (93.8%) at the line as a freshman at Buffalo, 23-of-24 (95.8%) as a junior at North Texas, and he was 24-of-31 (77.4%) at the free throw line for the Mean Green last season.
:52 – Junior guard Jermaine Couisnard almost gave the Gamecocks the winning edge vs. Princeton on Nov. 12, as the East Chicago, Ind., native hit a trio of 3s in the final 52 seconds of play to twice pull the Gamecocks to within three of the Tigers.
12/10 – Junior forward Wildens Leveque posted the first double-double of his career with 12 points, and a game high 10 rebounds vs. Princeton.  Leveque was 6-of-6 from the floor, including a pair of highlight reel dunks in the matchup.
6 – Senior guard Erik Stevenson struggled from the field vs. Princeton, but the Lacey, Wash., native made some big plays down the stretch in the contest.  He collected a career high six steals, while also pulling in eight rebounds and dishing out a game high five assists.
8-8 – Rookie guard Devin Carter was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the win vs. WKU on Nov. 14.  He scored a season high 16 points, dished out a team high four assists and also had eight rebounds.

FATHER AND SON DUOS
> South Carolina head coach Frank Martin, and his son, senior forward Brandon Martin, are one of 23 father-son  coach-player duos in Division I this season.  See below for the full list (school: head coach, son):

Boise State: Leon Rice, Max Rice
UConn: Dan Hurley, Andrew Hurley
Detroit Mercy: Mike Davis, Antoine Davis
Illinois-Chicago: Luke Yaklich, Griffin Yaklich
Iowa: Fran McCaffery, Connor/Patrick McCaffery
Liberty: Ritchie McKay, Gabriel McKay
Memphis: Penny Hardaway, Jayden Hardaway
Michigan: Juwan Howard, Jace Howard
Michigan State: Tom Izzo, Steven Izzo
Milwaukee: Pat Baldwin, Patrick Baldwin Jr.
Miss. Valley State: Lindsey Hunter, Caleb Hunter
Nebraska: Fred Hoiberg, Sam Hoiberg
Oklahoma: Porter Moser, Jacob Moser
South Carolina: Frank Martin, Brandon Martin
South Carolina State: Antonio Madlock, Antonio Madlock Jr.
USC Upstate: Dave Dickerson, Dave Dickerson III
Southern: Sean Woods, DeSean Woods
Syracuse: Jim Boeheim, Buddy/Jimmy Boeheim
Texas Southern: Johnny Jones, John Jones
Utah State: Ryan Odom, Connor Odom
Western Illinois: Rob Jeter, III Rob Jeter IV
WKU: Rick Stansbury, Noah Stansbury
Wright State: Scott Nagy, TJ Nagy

COMING UP NEXT
> South Carolina returns to Colonial Life Arena for a Sunday matchup with Georgetown.  The meeting is the sixth all-time between the Gamecocks and Hoyas, and the first since the 2004-05 campaign.  Sunday’s matchup will be broadcast on the SEC Network at 2 p.m. ET with Kevin Fitzgerald and Dane Bradshaw on the call.