Men's Hoops Hosts North Greenville Monday

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina returns from the holiday break to host North Greenville at 2 p.m. ET on Monday at Colonial Life Arena.  The contest is the final non-conference matchup for Carolina before conference action begins later this week.

STARTING FIVE
> South Carolina returns from the holiday break to host North Greenville on Monday in its final contest before the start of SEC play later this week.  The Gamecocks look to snap a four-game losing streak, after recently suffering losses to No. 5 Virginia and Clemson.
> Senior forward Chris Silva pulled down seven rebounds in the most recent outing vs. Clemson, bringing his career total in the category to 705.  Silva is just the 10th Gamecock all-time to record 700 rebounds, and the eighth to pull down 700 and score at least 1,000 points in his career.
> Senior guard Hassani Gravett continues to pace the Gamecocks from beyond the arc this season.  He hit a pair of 3s vs. Clemson, and is averaging 42.2 percent from 3-point range this season.  He has also led the Gamecocks in bench scoring, recording a team high off the bench in each of the last three games.
> Rookie forward Alanzo Frink averaged 8.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the contests vs. Virginia and Clemson.  He missed the first six games of the season while recovering from a knee injury suffered during the preseason, and is averaging 5.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game since his debut.
> With the recent injuries to junior forward Maik Kotsar (concussion) and freshman guard T.J. Moss (high ankle sprain/foot injury), five different Gamecocks have missed a combined 22 games due to injury this season thus far.

THROUGH THE FIRST 11 GAMES…
> Rookie guard A.J. Lawson paces the Gamecocks with 13.1 points and 3.5 assists per game, but senior forward Chris Silva has led Carolina in scoring in each of the last three outings, and is averaging 15.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game during the stretch … Silva and Lawson are the only two Gamecocks that have started every game this season … Eight different Gamecocks average at least 6.2 points per game and nine average at least 18 minutes per outing … Lawson (13.1), Silva (11.7) and senior guard Hassani Gravett (10.3) average double figures on the year entering Monday’s contest vs. the Crusaders.

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
> Carolina looks to snap a four-game losing streak on Monday when it hosts North Greenville in the final non-conference contest before the start of SEC action this weekend at Florida.
> Senior forward Chris Silva has led the Gamecocks in scoring in each of the last three games, and led or shared the team lead in rebounds in two of the last three.  Over the stretch, he is averaging 15.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
> Senior guard Hassani Gravett’s 19 3-pointers on the year are a team high.  He has six games this season with two or more makes from beyond the arc, including a pair in Carolina’s Dec. 22 matchup vs. Clemson.
> In home games, the Gamecocks average 70.4 points per outing and 40.0 percent from the field.  
> South Carolina returns seven letterwinners from last season’s 17-16 squad, including senior guard Hassani Gravett and senior forward Chris Silva.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS
> North Greenville is 1-10 on the year, with an 0-5 mark in Conference Carolinas contests.
> NGU most recently suffered an 81-78 loss to Lees-McRae on Dec. 15.
> Three average double-figures for the Crusaders, led by Kovi Tate’s 14.3 points per game.  His 8.7 rebounds are also a team high.
> Roderick Howell (12.4) and Daniel Burchette (11.3) are also in double figures.
> NGU averages 67.0 points per game, but opponents average 81.6.
> Head coach Chad Lister is in his 16th season at the helm of the Crusaders’ program.

COMING UP NEXT
South Carolina begins SEC action Saturday when it travels to face Florida in Gainesville.  Tip time is set for 7 p.m. ET between the former SEC East foes, with the matchup set for broadcast on ESPN2 with Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Sean Farnham (analyst) on the call.