Gamecock Gameday: Carolina Hosts Newberry In Exhibition Sunday Afternoon

Nov. 4, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. –South Carolina welcomes Newberry for an exhibition contest at Colonial Life Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Wolves are led by head coach Dave Davis in his seventh season, and Carolina is led by fifth-year head coach Frank Martin. Admission is free to Sunday’s exhibition matchup.

GAME STORYLINES

– South Carolina is in its 109th season of varsity basketball in 2016-17.
– On the sidelines, Frank Martin is joined by associate head coach Matt Figger, assistant coaches Perry Clark and Bruce Shingler, and director of operations Andy Assaley.
– The contest vs. Newberry marks Carolina’s first on its new court, which features a Block C logo at center court, a lighter wood grain and South Carolina Palmetto Trees in the corners.
– South Carolina returns two starters and eight letterwinners from last season’s squad that posted a 25-9 overall record, matching the Carolina record for total wins.
– Those returning starters feature the only backcourt in the SEC with two 1,000-point scorers, in senior guards Sindarius Thornwell and Duane Notice. The duo accounted for 24.2 points and 6.1 assists per game last season.
– Thornwell was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team last March, while Notice was named the league’s Sixth Man Of the Year.
– The Gamecocks return just 49.4 percent of their scoring from a year ago, with the departure of three senior starters in Michael Carrera (14.5 ppg), Laimonas Chatkevicius (10.2 ppg) and Mindaugas Kacinas (9.9 ppg).
– Carolina welcomes nine newcomers to the squad this season in Tommy Corchiani, Rakym Felder, Hassani Gravett, Khadim Gueye, Evan Hinson, Kory Holden, Sedee Keita, Maik Kotsar and Ran Tut.
– The Gamecocks are undefeated in exhibition contests under the direction of Frank Martin with wins over Kentucky Wesleyan (2012-13), USC Aiken (2013-14), Benedict (2014-15) and Allen (2015-16).

2016-17 Schedule

South Carolina has an exciting schedule set for the 2016-17 campaign. The slate features 14 games, with 10 home contests, including one exhibition. Highlighting the non-conference portion of the schedule is the Gamecocks’ participation in the Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational, as well as a matchup versus Seton Hall in the Under Armour “Reunion” doubleheader at Madison Square Garden in mid-December. The Gamecocks will face eight teams that advanced to the postseason a year ago, with four of those NCAA Tournament participants, including Syracuse, which advanced to the Final Four.

Scouting Newberry

Newberry finished last season with an 18-12 overall record and a 12-10 mark in South Atlantic Conference Play. The Wolves return guards Gerald Evans and D.J. Copeland who were named All-SAC Honorable Mention and to the All-Freshman team, respectively. Evans led the SAC last season in steals, averaging 3.12 per game. Copeland averaged 6.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in his first year.

Ticket Information

Season tickets are available for South Carolina men’s basketball contests for as low as $90. For information on tickets, please visit itsgreattobeagamecock.com.