Mike Sharavjamts was one of four South Carolina players in double figures as the Gamecocks jumped out to an early big lead and coasted to an 81-61 win over Presbyterian Wednesday evening in Columbia, S.C.
Sharavjamts led the way with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Grant Polk added 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from 3-point range. Jordan Butler and Myles Stute tallied 11 apiece with a combined 12 rebounds (seven and five, respectively) to keep the Gamecocks (3-0) perfect on the season.
Jonah Pierce tallied 19 points and nine points for the Blue Hose (3-2). He was supplemented by 15 points and five boards from Carl Parrish.
In a game that was matched up statistically in a number of areas — both teams had 37 rebounds and 10 or fewer turnovers — shooting at the free throw line and from 3-point range were the difference in this result.
While Presbyterian shot very marginally better from the floor (42.4% to 42.1%), it was 0 for 8 from outside the arc and 11 for 20 (55%) from the charity stripe.
South Carolina made eight 3-pointers on 25 attempts for a 32% hit rate and made 25 of 32 free throws (78.1%).
From the start of Wednesday’s game, South Carolina put out a strong effort that made sure there wouldn’t be another scare like it had in Sunday’s overtime win over Southern Miss.
The Blue Hose made just 2 of their first 13 shots, as the Gamecocks opened up a 16-6 lead at the halfway point of the first half.
A 9-0 South Carolina run in the final minutes ballooned what was a 32-18 lead into a 41-22 halftime advantage. Pierce scored 12 of his points in the first half, but needed 15 shots to tally them.
Another Gamecocks run, this one 7-0, immediately out of halftime increased the lead to 26 points. It remained 20-plus points the rest of the way, with Presbyterian going on a 9-0 run in the closing minutes to bring the margin down from its peak of 34 points.
