South Carolina Rolls Past Vanderbilt, 90-64

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Justin Minaya had 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead South Carolina to a 90-64 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday night, the Commodores’ SEC-record tying 24th straight conference loss.

Vanderbilt (8-11, 0-6 Southeastern Conference) matched the league’s basketball mark for consecutive lossses set by Sewanee from 1938-40.

Sewanee left the SEC after that season. Vanderbilt will look to avoid holding the dubious record alone when it goes to No. 15 Kentucky on Wednesday night.

The Commodores have lost 11 straight at Kentucky with their last win their coming in 2007.

South Carolina (11-8, 3-3) won its third straight over Vanderbilt and for the third time in four SEC games after opening conference play 0-2.

Minaya, the smooth-shooting sophomore, led five players in double figures for South Carolina with his second career double-double.

Minaya also had four assists, two steals and a block.

The Gamecocks, 10th in SEC field goal percentage coming in, used some on-target shooting to open a double-digit lead in the first half.

The Gamecocks made six of seven shots midway through the opening period to stretch a one-point lead into a 31-19 margin with less than seven minutes to the break.

Freshman Jalyn McCreary had three baskets during the burst to extend his perfect touch to seven straight over South Carolina’s last four games. McCreary, who finished with 11 points, missed his first attempt of the second half to end the streak.

But the Gamecocks couldn’t stop sending Vanderbilt to the free-throw line. South Carolina committed 18 fouls as the Commodores went 15-of-23 from the line the first 20 minutes. Vanderbilt shot just 12 free throws in the second half.

South Carolina coach Frank Martin was so frustrated he picked up a technical foul.

The Gamecocks built a 24-point lead in the second half as Vanderbilt could not keep up.

AJ Lawson also had 14 points for South Carolina.

Saben Lee had 17 points to lead Vanderbilt.

KEY STATS
> South Carolina shot lights out from the opening tip, finishing the game 33-of-61 (54.1 percent). The Gamecocks shot a blistering 60 percent (18-of-30) from the field the opening 20 minutes.
> Eleven different players scored for Carolina, including five in double figures. 
> The Gamecocks held a 46-18 advantage in bench points and a 44-26 edge in points in the paint over the Commodores.

NOTABLES
> Redshirt sophomore Justin Minaya had 14 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for his second career double-double. The Harrington Park, N.J., native, also had a double-double in the season-opening win vs. North Alabama (11/6/19) with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
> Freshman Jalyn McCreary had a career-high 11 points in 14 minutes off the bench, marking his first ever game in double figures.
> Sophomore AJ Lawson (14), redshirt junior Jair Bolden (13) and sophomore Alanzo Frink (13) also joined Minaya and McCreary in double figures. Frink’s 13 were a career high and marked his fifth game scoring 10 or more this season. He went 5-for-5 at the free throw line.
> The Gamecocks’ 44 points in the paint were a season-high in league play and the team’s most since scoring 52 inside during a road win at UMASS (12/4/19) earlier in the season.
> Carolina had 20 assists by nine different players. Freshman Trae Hannibal led the team with a career-high five helpers and no turnovers.
> The Gamecocks improve to 58-2 in the Frank Martin era the past eight seasons (2012/13-Present) when scoring 80 or more.

UP NEXT
South Carolina is back on the road on Wednesday when it travels to face Arkansas (15-4, 3-3 SEC) in Fayetteville. Tip time is set for 8:30 p.m. ET at Bud Walton Arena, with Mike Morgan (play-by-play) and Andy Kennedy (analyst) on the call for the SEC Network Broadcast.
 
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