Men's Hoops Back In Action Friday Night

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (2-0) is set to host Cleveland State (1-2) on Friday evening at Colonial Life Arena.  Tip time is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, with the contest set for broadcast on SEC Network+ with Burch Antley (play-by-play) and Carey Rich (analyst) on the call, as well as with Derek Scott (play-by-play) and Casey Manning (analyst) over the air on the Gamecock Radio Network.  The meeting between the Gamecocks and Vikings is only the second all-time, and the first since the 1980-81 campaign.

TIPOFF NOTABLES
> The Gamecocks host Cleveland State on Friday evening, the first of three games over the next seven days.  
> Carolina improved to 2-0 on the young season when it posted a 66-32 victory over Wyoming at Colonial Life Arena on Sunday.  Four were in double figures for the Gamecocks, but the story of the game was the Carolina defense, which held Wyoming to just nine made field goals in the contest.
> Sophomore guard AJ Lawson and r-freshman guard Jermaine Couisnard each tallied 12 points to pace the Gamecocks in the win over the Cowboys.  Sophomore forward Alanzo Frink netted a career best 10 points, and r-junior guard Jair Bolden added 11.
> South Carolina improved to 83-29 all-time in season openers, and a perfect 8-0 under the direction of Frank Martin in season lidlifters, when the Gamecocks posted a 77-55 win over North Alabama Nov. 6 at Colonial Life Arena.  Redshirt-sophomore forward Justin Minaya (17) and r-junior guard Jair Bolden (14) scored in double figures to pace Carolina in the win.
> Sophomore guard AJ Lawson is Carolina’s top returning scorer after contributing 13.4 points per outing last season.  Lawson, who was named to the Jerry West Award Watch List last month, posted 18 double-figure scoring games last season, including six 20-point performances.
> R-freshman guard Jermaine Couisnard made his college debut vs. North Alabama, putting together a strong showing with nine points, four rebounds, two assists and a block in 22 minutes of action.  Couisnard missed the exhibition vs. CIU on Oct. 30 due to illness.

NUMBERS OF NOTE
32 – Carolina held Wyoming to just 32 points in the non-conference matchup on Sunday.  The mark was the lowest opponent point total during the seven+ seasons under Coach Martin.
10+ – Ten different Gamecocks played at least 10 minutes in the win over Wyoming, and 10 different Gamecocks are averaging at least 10 minutes per contest through the first two games.
24.0% – The Gamecock defense is holding opponents to just 24.0 percent from the field thus far, which leads the SEC and ranks third nationally.
+20 – The Gamecocks out-rebounded Wyoming 41-21 in the win on Sunday.  Carolina pulled down 11 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 10 second chance points.
57.1% – It’s early, but r-junior guard Jair Bolden has shown his scoring ability.  The Brooklyn, N.Y., native leads the Gamecocks with 12.5 points per outing, and a team best 57.1 percent (4-7) from 3-point range.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
> CSU is 1-2 on the year and is led by first-year head coach Dennis Gates.
> Gates played college basketball at Cal, and was most recently an assistant coach at Florida State.
> The Vikings began the season on the road at Minnesota, suffering an 85-50 loss to the Gophers.  The first win of the Gates era came in a 79-54 victory over Edinboro, and most recently CSU suffered a 73-53 road loss at Missouri State.
> Freshman guard Hugo Ferreira paces the team with 9.7 points per game this season, and sophomore forward Deante Johnson has a team best 6.7 rebounds per outing.
> The Vikings are averaging 38.9 percent from the field, and opponents have hit 40.5 percent thus far.

NOTES TO KNOW
> South Carolina is led by eighth-year head coach Frank Martin.  Martin, the 2017 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year, owns a 248-160 record in his 13th season as a head coach, and a 131-106 record in his eighth season at Carolina.
> Joining Martin on the sidelines is a veteran staff, including assistant coaches Perry Clark (seventh season), Chuck Martin (third season) and Bruce Shingler (fourth season), director of basketball operations Andy Assaley (eighth season) and strength and conditioning coach Scott Greenawalt (eighth season), and several support staff members.
> South Carolina returns a core group from last season’s squad, while welcoming seven newcomers to Columbia, including five freshmen – Trey Anderson, Jalyn McCreary, Trae Hannibal, Wildens Leveque and Mike Green, transfer Seventh Woods (North Carolina/not eligible this season due to NCAA transfer rules) and graduate transfer Micaiah Henry (Tennessee Tech/immediately eligible).
> Carolina’s top returning scorer, and 2019 SEC All-Freshman Team honoree, is sophomore guard AJ Lawson, who scored 13.4 points per outing last season, while dishing 2.9 assists per game.  Over the summer, Lawson competed for Team Canada at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Greece, leading the Canadians with 16.7 points per outing, including an event-high 31 points vs. Senegal.
> The Gamecocks lost two starters to injury early last season in sophomore guard Justin Minaya (missed final 27 games of the season) and rookie guard TJ Moss (missed 25 games last season); the duo have both fully recovered and are back on the court for the Garnet and Black.
> R-junior guard Jair Bolden, who was unable to play last season due to NCAA transfer rules (transferred in the summer of 2018 after playing two seasons at George Washington), will bring veteran leadership and proven scoring ability to the court this season for Carolina, as the Brooklyn, N.Y., native averaged 11.2 points per game as a sophomore for the Colonials, while also pacing the team with 98 assists on the season.
> In non-conference play, Carolina will host five-straight matchups to start the campaign, before traveling to Mexico for the Cancun Challenge, where matchups against Wichita State, and either West Virginia or Northern Iowa await.  In December, the Gamecocks host George Washington,  before a matchup at UMass, followed by a home contest against Houston and consecutive road games at Clemson and Virginia.
> In SEC action, the Gamecocks open league play on Jan. 7 at Colonial Life Arena against No. 6/6 Florida, while also hosting No. 2/2 Kentucky, No. 22/24 LSU, and No. -/25 Tennessee in conference play (rankings listed are preseason).
> Carolina recently announced it will add throwback uniforms to its lineup for game attire this upcoming season.  Fans can get their first glimpse of the throwback uniforms when the Gamecocks host Houston on Dec. 8 at Colonial Life Arena.
> South Carolina returns 43.9 percent of scoring from a year ago, 48.3 percent of its made field goals, and 45.7 percent of its rebounding, following the graduation of All-SEC forward Chris Silva, who led the Gamecocks with 15.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, and 150 made field goals last season.

COMING UP NEXT
> South Carolina continues its lengthy homestand to begin the season when it hosts Boston U on Tuesday, Nov. 19.  Tip time for the contest, which is part of the upcoming Cancun Challenge, is set for 7 p.m. ET, at Colonial Life Arena.