Men's Basketball . November 9, 2018

South Carolina Falls to Stony Brook, 83-81, Friday Night

by By JEFFERY COLLINS (Associated Press)

Freshman A.J. Lawson scored 23-points and had six assists

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Akwasi Yeboah scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds to lead Stony Brook to an 83-81 stunner over South Carolina on Friday night.

The Seawolves (2-0) led for most of the second half and held on as Jeff Otchere blocked a potential game-winning 3-pointer from Justin Minaya with two seconds left. South Carolina (1-1) was out of timeouts and scrambling to get a shot off after Yeboah missed a layup with six seconds left.

Stony Brook pulled down 10 more offensive rebounds than South Carolina and the Seawolves final five baskets were either in the paint or 3-pointers in transition.

The Gamecocks only had two chances to tie or take the lead in the final 18 minutes and missed 3-pointers both times. South Carolina was 9-for-23 shooting behind the arc after missing all 18 of its 3s in their opening night win over USC-Upstate.

Elijah Olaniyi added 16 points and 9 rebounds while Jaron Cornish had eight points and eight assists.

A.J. Lawson scored 23 points and Tre Campbell added 15 for South Carolina. Chris Silva had just seven points and two rebounds and coach Frank Martin didn’t put him back in the game after he picked up his fourth foul with 10:18 left in the game.

KEY STATS
> Stony Brook outrebounded the Gamecocks 49-33 with 22 boards on the offensive glass
> Carolina went just 14-for-26 (54 percent) at the free throw line

NOTABLES
> Freshman guard A.J. Lawson scored a career-high 23 points knocking down eight of his 17 shots (47 percent) with a trio of 3s
> He also logged team-highs in minutes (36) and assists (6)
> Graduate transfer point guard Tre Campbell tallied 15 points for his first double-figure scoring output as a Gamecock – he went 4-for-7 from behind the arc
> Sophomore wing Justin Minaya had 11 points and nine rebounds, falling just shy of his first career double-double
> Freshman forward Keyshawn Bryant had another solid outing, with nine points in 22 minutes off the bench

UP NEXT
Carolina remains at home with another non-conference contest that’s part of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tip-Off when Norfolk State (Nov. 13) visits Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET with the game televised on SEC Network+.