Gamecocks Suffer 77-67 Loss At No. 10 Houston

HOUSTON (AP) Quentin Grimes had 23 points and seven rebounds, Tramon Mark added 18 points and No. 10 Houston rallied for a 77-67 win over South Carolina on Saturday night.

Grimes scored 19 points in the second half, including 12 of 13 from the free throw line. Mark scored 11 points after the break, including 6 of 7 from the line.

DeJon Jarreau finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for Houston (4-0), which shot 38% and made 4 of 19 3-point attempts. Houston was helped by 31-for-38 shooting from the free throw line.

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson and his son, assistant coach Kellen Sampson, missed the game because of COVID-19 and contact tracing protocols. The school said the Sampsons were isolating at their homes and not showing symptoms.

Assistant coach Quannas White served as Houston’s coach.

Justin Minaya scored 13 points and Jermaine Couisnard and Keyshawn Bryant added 10 points apiece for South Carolina (1-2), which shot 44%. The Gamecocks made 17 of 29 shots from the line.

Houston used a 14-2 run early in the second half and opened up a 48-42 lead on a jumper by Mark with 14 minutes remaining.

After South Carolina closed within 50-49 on a free throw by Wildens Leveque, Houston used a 12-3 spurt and opened a 10-point lead on three free throws by Grimes with eight minutes left.

South Carolina led 35-31 at halftime behind eight points each from TJ Moss and Minaya.

Key Stats
> After five makes from 3-point range in the first half, the Gamecocks were just 1-of-6 from beyond the arc in the second half.
> Nearly half of Houston’s points in the second half came at the free throw line, as the Cougars were near perfect hitting 21-of-25 attempts at the line in the second half

Notables
> R-junior forward Justin Minaya led the Gamecocks with a season high 13 points in the matchup vs. the Cougars.  Minaya was a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point range in the contest.
> Sophomore guard Trae Hannibal led the Gamecocks with a career best seven rebounds on the night.  He added six points and three assists.

Up Next
> South Carolina returns to Columbia to host Wofford in its home opener at Colonial Life Arena on Thursday.  The matchup will be broadcast on the SEC Network.