Gamecocks Set For Thursday Exhibition Versus Benedict

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina hosts Benedict on Thursday evening at Colonial Life Arena in its lone exhibition contest of the 2021-22 season.  Admission is free for the matchup, which is set for a 7 p.m. ET tipoff, with arena doors opening one hour prior to tipoff.  A live audio feed will be available for free via the official website of Gamecock Athletics, GamecocksOnline.com, and also on the Official Gamecocks App.

GAME INFORMATION
ARENA: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
LISTEN: Free via GamecocksOnline.com and the Official Gamecocks App
  PLAY-BY-PLAY: Derek Scott
  ANALYST: Casey Manning
TICKETS: Free Admission
LIVE STATS: GamecocksOnline.com

PARKING
Parking for Thursday’s exhibition will be available for $10 per vehicle in Colonial Life Arena parking lots.  A shuttle will also be available from the Pendleton Street Garage on campus.  For $10 fans will be able to park in the Garage and ride the shuttle to and from Colonial Life Arena.  Shuttle service will begin at 5 p.m.

TIPOFF NOTABLES
> The meeting between the Gamecocks and Tigers is the first since the 2014-15 campaign when Carolina posted a 92-47 win over Benedict in exhibition play.  Then-senior guard Ty Johnson led all scorers in that contest with 23 points, while he also dished out six assists for the Gamecocks.
> South Carolina returns three of its top five scorers from a season ago, including senior forward Keyshawn Bryant (14.4 ppg), junior guard Jermaine Couisnard (10.1 ppg) and junior forward Wildens Leveque (6.1 ppg). 
> The Gamecocks welcome nine newcomers to the team this season, including a trio of freshmen in Devin Carter, Ta’Quan Woodley and Jacobi Wright.  Six transfers are also set for their first season at Carolina in Chico Carter Jr. (Murray State), Josh Gray (LSU), Brandon Martin (USC Upstate), James Reese V (North Texas), Erik Stevenson (Washington) and AJ Wilson (George Mason).
> Senior forward Tahj Green is Benedict’s top returning scorer from last season when he averaged 17.1 points per outing.  He is also the team’s top returning rebounder after collecting 10.4 per contest last season, and senior guard Tim Bing Jr., is the top returning assist maker, averaging 3.8 per game in 2020-21.

BY THE NUMBERS
3,018 – South Carolina’s six incoming transfer student-athletes have combined to score 3,018 points during their college careers, led by Erik Stevenson’s 826 career points. 
77 – Senior forward Keyshawn Bryant, who earned Preseason All-SEC Second-Team honors from the league coaches last week, has 77 career dunks.  Bryant is Carolina’s top returning scorer (14.4 ppg) and rebounder (5.4 rpg) from last season.
211 – AJ Wilson saw action in 114 games during his career at George Mason.  As a junior, Wilson set GMU’s all-time record for blocks in a single season with 92, and he concluded his career as the school’s all-time record holder in the category with 211 blocks. 
87.3% – James Reese enters action this season having hit 62 of his 71 career attempts at the foul line, 87.3 percent.  Reese was 15-of-16 (93.8%) at the line as a freshman at Buffalo, 23-of-24 (95.8%) as a junior at North Texas, and he was 24-of-31 (77.4%) at the free throw line for the Mean Green last season.
3.2 – Junior guard Jermaine Couisnard is Carolina’s top returning assist maker after averaging 3.2 per game last season.  For his career, Couisnard has 28 games with three or more assists, including his career high of 10, which he set in a home win over Mississippi State on March 3, 2020.

COMING UP NEXT
> South Carolina officially begins the 2021-22 season next Tuesday, Nov. 9, when it hosts USC Upstate in a 7 p.m. meeting at Colonial Life Arena.  Dave Weinstein (play-by-play) and John Williams (analyst) will have the call for the SEC Network+ broadcast.