Gamecocks Fall to Wichita State in Cancun

CANCUN, Mexico — South Carolina (4-2) suffered a 70-47 loss to Wichita State (6-0) in its opening neutral-site game at the Cancun Challenge on Tuesday night at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya.  Senior forward Maik Kotsar was the only player in double figures for Carolina, finishing with 12 points. He also had seven rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks in a team-high 36 minutes.
 
Erik Stevenson led the Shockers with 19 points, all in the first half, and the Wichita State defense held the Gamecocks to just 32 percent shooting (18-for-56) from the field.
 
Stevenson led the Shockers to a double-digit lead midway through the first half, but Carolina fought back and pulled within seven, 29-22, with 2:48 to go after a Jair Bolden made jumper. Wichita State then finished the half on a 12-0 run to go up 19 at the break.
 
The Gamecocks limited the Shockers to seven points the opening nine minutes of the second half but were unable to cut into the deficit.
 
KEY STATS
> The Gamecocks were just 3-for-10 from behind the arc and had just two fastbreak points.
> Wichita State’s bench outscored Carolina’s, 31-14.

NOTABLES
> Kotsar scored in double-figures for the third consecutive contest (28 career games with 10 or more points).  
> Freshman forward Wildens Leveque had six points and a career-high eight rebounds.

UP NEXT
South Carolina will face the loser of West Virginia (4-0) and Northern Iowa (6-0) in the consolation game of the Cancun Challenge tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
 
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