Couisnard, Carter lead South Carolina past WKU, 75-64

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Jermaine Couisnard hit a clutch 3-pointer to blunt a Western Kentucky rally, finishing with 16 points, and South Carolina held off the Hilltoppers 75-64 in the consolation game of the inaugural Asheville Championship on Sunday.

Devin Carter also scored 16 for the Gamecocks (2-1) and James Reese scored 14 points, draining four 3-pointers.

Carter, who finished 8-of-8 at the line, made six-straight free throws and Erik Stevenson added a drive off a steal and a 3-pointer as South Carolina broke open a three-point game with an 11-1 run at the midpoint of the second half.

Western Kentucky (1-2) never led after halftime but kept whittling South Carolina’s leads down to one possession. After the surge by Carter and Stevenson eventually led to a 15-point Gamecocks advantage, the Hilltoppers scored eight in a row to trail 68-61 with 3:28 to go.

That’s when Couisnard rattled home a corner 3, sparking a 9-4 breakaway to get the lead back to 15.

South Carolina had its best showing of the young season from beyond the arc, making 9-of-27. The Gamecocks are 16-for-69 from deep in three games.

Josh Anderson scored 16 points to lead four Hilltoppers into double-figure scoring. Jairus Hamilton added 13 with three steals, Dayvion McKnight 11 with four steals and Jaylen Butz scored 10 with three steals.

South Carolina is 9-1 against Western Kentucky.

KEY STATS
> Carolina’s bench outscored WKU’s reserves 26-5. The Gamecocks also were plus-18 on the glass (46-28).

NOTABLES
> Freshman Devin Carter had a career-high 16 points. He was 8-for-8 at the free throw line and also had eight rebounds and a team-high four assists.
> Junior Wildens Leveque led the team with a season-high 11 rebounds.  
> Grad transfer James Reese V had 14 points and was 4-for-9 from downtown. Redshirt junior Jermaine Couisnard was 3-for-6 from deep scoring 16 points.
> Senior Brandon Martin scored his first points as a Gamecock with seven off the bench. He was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field.

UP NEXT
South Carolina opens a three-game home stand beginning Thursday when UAB and head coach Andy Kennedy visit Colonial Life Arena. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. (ET). Dave Weinstein (play-by-play) and John Williams (analyst) will be on the call for the SEC Network+ broadcast.

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