Saturday, February 27
Athens, Ga.
1:00 PM
University of Georgia
14-10,7-10SEC
70
vs
91
South Carolina
6-12,4-10SEC
1
2
F
South Carolina
41
50
91
Georgia
29
41
70
Georgia Falls to South Carolina, 91-70
February 27, 2021 | Men's Basketball
ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia men's basketball team fell to South Carolina, 91-70, Saturday afternoon before 1,638 fans on Senior Day at Stegeman Coliseum.
Graduate P.J. Horne led Georgia (14-10, 7-10) in scoring with 17 points, including a 4-for-7 performance from beyond the arc. Fellow graduate Justin Kier tallied 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting with seven rebounds, while graduate Andrew Garcia and sophomore Toumani Camara each pitched in 10 points. Camara nearly earned a double-double with a team-leading nine rebounds. Overall, the Bulldogs shot 36.7 percent for the game.
"I would say it starts with me, to be honest with you," said head coach Tom Crean following the game. "They wanted to fight, and we didn't, so I did a poor job of having our guys completely understand what this game was going to entail because we never locked into the fight."
South Carolina (6-12, 4-10) used the inside game to quickly post an early 10-2 lead, but Georgia soon tied the score thanks to a pair of Kier 3-pointers. As the midpoint of the first half approached, both teams remained within three points of each other, with the Bulldogs finding success in transition. The Gamecocks then took advantage of a six-minute Bulldog scoring drought with 13 unanswered points, building a 28-17 lead by the six-minute mark.
Horne finally broke the dry spell with a triple, but the Gamecocks continued to extend their lead with sophomore guard Jermaine Cousinard dropping 10 consecutive points. The final two minutes of the half turned into a back-and-forth affair, with Georgia countering Cousinard on the fast break. On the final possession, sophomore Sahvir Wheeler's driving attempt rimmed out and the Bulldogs headed to the locker room trailing, 41-29.
Georgia's second half opened with a bang as Horne connected on a pair of threes, cutting the South Carolina lead to six. Trailing by 10, Garcia singlehandedly put the Bulldogs back in the game with six straight points, reaching the 1,000-point mark for his career during the run. However, as they had before, the Gamecocks parlayed their solid shooting into a 14-point lead at the halfway point.
The South Carolina lead eventually grew to 23 points as the Gamecocks connected on six of seven field goal attempts during one stretch. The Bulldogs made matters worse for themselves with eight turnovers in the second half, keeping them squarely behind for the remainder of the contest.
Georgia remains home next weekend for its regular season finale against No. 6 Alabama (18-6, 13-2 SEC) on Saturday, March 6 at Stegeman Coliseum. The meeting with the Crimson Tide is set for a 2 p.m. tip time and will be broadcast on CBS.
Coach Crean
Georgia head coach Tom Crean
On today's game against South Carolina…
"I would say it starts with me, to be honest with you. They wanted to fight and we didn't, so I did a poor job of having our guys completely 100 percent understand what this game was going to entail because we never locked into the fight. They were aggressive, they started in zone. In all honesty, when nobody plays well, when nobody leads their teammates, and when nobody's really willing to go through a cut, get hit, go up strong through the contact, that falls back on me. It really does. I've got to do a way better job, put the blinders on. It wasn't because of practice, it wasn't because of preparation, it wasn't because of fatigue. But when no one's in the fight, that falls back to the head coach, and that's where I'm at."
On if South Carolina is a poor matchup…
"It could be because we haven't had success with them. They brought their best. Trae Hannibal, they left home from Mississippi State, and today he comes in, he pushed the right buttons with his team. There's probably some truth to that. That doesn't have anything to do with not cutting and standing, and not cutting through the lane and taking the hit and going through it. That's how we play, and we didn't do that today. We did not cut and move the team the way we needed to move it, and our passing was not maybe one or two dribbles too late occasionally. It was one or two dribbles late a lot, and so, the movement just wasn't there. When you see we're not getting that, that's when we have to try to go inside even more. There were times where we didn't finish—I'm not sure how many layups we missed. Like I said, I did a poor job of them understanding how a level of fight and toughness was going to be needed in this. We've been pretty good with this, as of late, but we weren't today."
On how to get the offense going when Sahvir Wheeler is struggling…
"The ball didn't move well enough tonight, and we didn't have enough cutting. A lot of times, when you don't want to go through the fight you settle for jump shots, and that's some of what we did tonight. Our spirit got zapped early on. Our immaturity came out, to be honest with you, with the officiating, we have to be beyond that, but aren't, so like I said, I did a poor job because we aren't beyond not getting frustrated about lack of calls or physical play, and we didn't cut through it and embrace the contact that goes into this. That's kind of what the day was like for us."
On the inconsistency of his team…
"Yeah probably, I would say that you're right. I would say that when you can get through that and eventually the experience that you go through in these hard-fought games have to come out no matter what. That doesn't mean that you're going to win, but it means that it has to come out no matter what. We didn't have that tonight."
On how frustrating it is that his team's performance did not match the stats they were posting...
"Well, that is when we have to create a game when we are getting fouled. When we are not cutting as well and when we are quiet and not making jump shots as Justin [Kier] and P.J. [Horne] did. But as I am looking at it, they are the only ones who made threes. It is important, I mean it is important. We have to manufacture points, so we can get our defense set. The quieter we get the more we get fouled. When we are playing aggressively and there is leadership, and the spirit is strong. But, when there is not it is a little different and you have to manufacture points the best way you can."
On if he feels like the three graduate transfers stepped up on Senior Night...
"Yeah, you know what when you lose, I am just not there. I mean I am proud of those three, it was Senior Day. They did a good job. I am not big on the whole accolades for losing. They did a good job, and I am glad we have them. But, we lost the game."
On how he plays his part for the team…
"I did not say that, I did not say that the immaturity with the calls, the less cutting and less ball movement was because of the physical play. That is what it was. I got a week to figure it out. Like I said, I will put my blinders on, and we will work at figuring it out."
On K.D Johnson…
"[K.D. Johnson] standing there is not part of the game plan. Him driving low and close option, being ready to shoot the ball was part of the game plan. That is part of how we play, and we didn't get that today."
On the lack of offense effecting the defense…
"I don't know, probably. Nothing got us our spirit and fight where it needed to be. So, I am sure that is part of the equation."
On the senior day videos…
"Our staff deserves the credit for that, not me. Heather McCormick, John Bateman, people who put the films together."
#24 P.J. Horne | Graduate
On his overall assessment of South Carolina after two big losses to them…
"We came to play, but we didn't play hard enough. We need to come together collectively to try and get the next one."
On the inconsistency from game to game…
"Our energy level in the games we win really never drops. We always stay collected, and I feel like tonight we got out-toughed, they out-toughed us tonight and it got us quiet. We need to know how to fight through adversity better and get to the next play."
On if something specific about South Carolina that is a bad matchup for the team...
"I don't know about that; I just feel like we didn't come to play today. We came and were out there, but we didn't try to the best of our ability to win that game."
On what the issue was offensively today…
"I feel like our defense led to us moving the ball slowly on offense and being stagnant. We've got to correct things on the defensive end so that we can move to the offensive end and compete on the offensive end."
On how frustrating the inconsistency is…
"It's very frustrating. Hopefully, next week we get it corrected."
On what specifically was the trouble on defense and South Carolina's zone defense…
"It caused us some trouble. We didn't come out to play the game we are used to playing and the game that we play to win. We didn't come out as that team; we came out as a team that just wanted to get through it. We have to be able to come together collectively and be consistent as the team that we've been against previous opponents that we've beaten."
On what the lack of energy can be attributed to…
"We have to keep our heads and make sure that everyone is on the same page, doing the same things, and worrying about the same things. When it comes to any sport, you have to be able to think and act on the fly. You can't think of past plays down the road, that play is over with, you've got to move on to the next play and that's our biggest thing right now."
On what went well for him today personally…
"Just being in the right place at the right time, being ready to play and shoot. Other than that, just playing my game."
#5 Justin Kier | Graduate
On being a bad match-up with South Carolina…
"I don't believe we played very well today. I think we have somethings to fix—me included. I think they are a great team and executed their game plan well and we ended a foot behind today, and that is what the result was too."
On Wheeler's poor offensive performance…
"We got to step up. He's going to have the ball in his hands, so if he's not playing very well then, we have to step up—especially on the defensive end. We can't let officiating and missed shots affect your defensive performance. I think as a group we did that tonight; no one can control the officials, so we have to let them do their job and just play hard and come out and do what we can do. I think everyone has to step up. Even if he is shooting bad, he is still a part of the game, so we have to continue to grow in that area.
On how the defensive struggle effected offensive performance…
"I think it did. I think it controlled our offensive performance and it hurt us on defense—rotations and being a step to late. That's something you can't do against a great team. You do that against a great team, you get beat. We are going to have to get better this week. We have to get better for Alabama because we all know what they can bring. We played poorly on defense and that is not something we want. We have to get in the gym and [have] to become a better team and become closer for this next win."
On why they struggled against South Carolina after beating LSU and Missouri…
"I don't think there is an excuse for losing to a team bad unless you are just didn't play good against them both. Like I said, we have a lot of stuff to work at this week. I know we are going to attack it. I know we are down right now, but it will be a positive for it this week for sure. This one sucks but we can't stick in the past so we will get back to work."
On failing to capitalize on free throws…
"Yeah, with them hitting a lot of threes, they hit 10, we hit seven—crucial threes in the second half as well. They executed really well on offense. Our defense was very great. Shout out to Coach McClain and the coaching staff. Us, as players, just did not execute today. I think we cut it to six coming out of the half, and they got that lead back. We kind of got on our heels and they continued to drive. Yeah, it's kind of hard when you're down that much, you just have to come in and be focused. I think focus is our key, knowing what we got to do defensively to get the job done, and we didn't do that today."
On the senior-day family tribute…
"It's very special, and I appreciate everyone at Georgia who put that together—who spoke with my family to get that video because I didn't know about it. It really sucks to end it with a loss, but I've been really appreciative of everyone here who welcomed me into their arms and it makes me happy and gave me a little joy seeing that. But, I wish a win would have come after it, but I am really appreciative and thank everybody who had something to do with that."
On the recent team success and how frustrating this loss is and how they will bounce back…
"We got to find a way to be consistent. I feel like we have great wins, and we have bad losses. We get on a roll and then that roll stops. I think that is our next step—to continue down that road. We don't have to take a step back. That is the challenge Coach [Crean] wants and what we want as players. That is the biggest thing for me—individual performances and just as a team we have to win. We can't win and lose and win and lose. Good teams lose to bad teams, you know it kind of hurts you. [We] got to be consistent and finish the year strong and finish out this regular season strong and go into the SEC tournament with high hopes."
South Carolina head coach Frank Martin
Opening Statement
"I'm really happy for our guys. It's been, obviously, a hard month of February, and a hard year. I felt their spirit in practice yesterday was good, as good as I've seen in a while, and we went out any played that way today. We created a presence at the rim, offensively and defensively, early in the game that gave us confidence. Then AJ Lawson, although he didn't score in the first was phenomenal on his defense of Sahvir Wheeler, and the guys behind them did their jobs, too. So, I'm just really happy for our guys. Contrary to maybe popular belief sometimes, we have established a mindset of winning in our locker room, and it took a long time to build that – that wasn't there when I got here. Our guys believed that we should win, and when we don't, it really hurts them. We finished the month with a win, played pretty well, and we have to be positive about tomorrow and have a pretty good workout, while staying in a positive place as we move forward."
On what this result says about his team…
"That [the spirit] is why I was excited about the team this year. It's not like we have thrown in the towel. It's been a hard year for everybody, not just us in basketball, for everybody. A lot of us have had personal ugliness, so it's made it hard for all of our spirits to stay strong. I'm not going to keep regurgitating what we went through in December and the first half of January, it is what it is. We played some really good teams. We beat Florida at Florida; four of those five games were against teams in the top-10 in the country defensively. We just couldn't score, and then we lost our fight a little bit the last couple of games. That's what was disappointing to me, that losing our fight, which is something that we never do around here. But like I said, the spirit was good yesterday, I felt it. The vibe was really good in the locker room before the game. Then the way we started the game – when was the last time we through a ball on the post and scored. That's how we started the game. We all have something that we enjoy and we do. I love watching guys post up, catch it, and score. It makes me feel better. It puts me in a better place as I'm coaching basketball, and that's the way we started. It gave everybody confidence."
On Trae Hannibal's performance…
"I'm really proud of him. He's a really good kid and a really good player. This year has just been—I don't know how to explain it to you. Everybody just wants to react like he committed some crazy thing, and Franks hates him, and that's the world we live in today. Sometimes, letting somebody take a deep breath and catch their breath when they are going through a difficult moment, an emotionally difficult moment, and being in peaceful place – it's what you have to do. That's all I did. He wants to win. Trae is a really good kid, and like I said, he's a really good player, and what happened was that he was really good defensively today. You didn't see him come up with a lot that he went after the ball. He went after the loose balls because he was in the right place. Then late in the second half, we scored at the rim and we made jump shots, which opens that paint up. Now, he drives, and he is really good at driving people, and he played strong, disciplined, and aggressive. I'm really happy for him.
On the team's defensive display…
"There's a play where we didn't come up with the ball, but we created a loose ball in the first half. We fought and fought and fought, and Justin [Minaya] goes air-born into their bench going after a ball. When's the last time we did that? We have not done that in forever. That's the spirit and effort I'm talking about. And the other part of the game where that defense you're talking about showed its head was when they came out of the half down, at home, and they are playing very well, coming into this game and scoring. They got it to five, and after the year we've had, our guys might've hung their head. They could've said, 'Here we go again.' Instead, we locked in defensively and came up with four consecutive steals that become four open court baskets—and that was game. We popped the game back open and protected that lead the rest of the way. A big part of what I believe in is defense and spirit. You've got to have those two things, or I'm not at peace with what I'm doing. We've showed it. This team had it last year. Unfortunately, this year the parts just haven't worked as well sometimes for whatever reasons. But, we did it today."
On whether it was nice to get some fast break opportunities…
"Yes, absolutely. It's because we've been practicing for a month now, and we get to work on some things that we didn't get to work on in seven weeks. I get the fact that some people look at this as a disappointing season, are you kidding me? After what our team has been through, there is nothing disappointing about what we're doing. On the contrary, anybody that watches these kids should be excited that in the middle of conference play, after not practicing for seven weeks, that these kids continue to grow and find results. Look at Keyshawn Bryant. This is why I coach. I don't coach for wins and losses. Never have, never will. Keyshawn Bryant used to not say a word. He's become our team leader in the last two weeks. His positivity, his voice, his guidance has given me a voice to follow now. Now all of a sudden, other guys are starting to play with that same kind of discipline and energy and positivity. So, now I get to coach basketball instead of being a psychologist. This is why I coach. Everyone thinks that coaching is about winning or losing games, no, that's what you guys judge me on. I don't worry about that. I worry about why I coach, which is to see guys grow as people."
On how nice it was to see Jermaine Couisnard have the game he had…
"It's all Keyshawn [Bryant]. They're boys. Those two guys are together all the time. Keyshawn's positivity and challenging Jermaine has made him come off that injury and play better. I told you the other day, whoever we played last, Mississippi State, Jermaine had just practiced one time, just once after not practicing for 11 days and he didn't play well. Keyshawn becoming who he is becoming—it used to be all Jermaine and nobody really helped him from that standpoint, from a voice. Not all of a sudden he sees somebody else do it, every once and a while it's nice to have a teammate who can put his arm around you and say, 'Hey man, you can take the day today, I got you.' Now, it builds that kind of energy. I'm really happy for those guys because they're good dudes and they frustrate me, my children frustrate me. It's part of life. They're good dudes and their hearts are in the right place and they've tried to manage a difficult year and stood up really tall today, and I'm really proud of them for that."
On how satisfying it was to have a game where his team physically dominated…
"That's the one thing, again, that's bothered me the most for the last month is that we haven't played with that personality. We played whoever we played the first game, Liberty [University]. We didn't play with that. Then we came back the next game against Tulsa, and we controlled the game from that physicality. Then we went to Houston, and we controlled the game with that physicality against one of the physical teams in the country for the first 25-27 minutes of the game. Then, we came a part at the seams and then we got shut down. Here's the other problem. That physicality was created in November and December and we're trying to create it while we're trying to play league games. Some of the stuff I try to do in practice, which is not barbaric prehistoric, some of the drills that we do and some of the things that we demand, we just spent seven weeks without working out. So, they're not in great shape, and now I'm going to practice them for two-and-a-half, 2:40, and do all those taxing things? We won't have a chance to win. For me, I see my team play with that spring. There was a play in the first half, right when we're creating that separation where it was loose ball, loose ball and then their guy was going after a loose ball and I don't know how Keyshawn [Bryant] came up with the ball, he kind of dove over the guy, beat him to the ball and threw it and we made a layup on the other side. Those plays give your team life man. That's what we've been missing that. No surprise, and all of a sudden our jump shot goes in today. It's funny how that works."
On Tre-Vaughn Minnott and how he has developed…
"He gives us a presence at the rim. He blocks shots, when you pass it to him, he catches it, he doesn't trip on his feet. They called him for an offensive foul on one play, and it's going to happen, but when's the last time you saw us post up and someone threw it in there. Our players have confidence in him that he knows what he's doing in there. He's practiced with us for a month now just like everyone else. He showed up on Jan. 6, he didn't get to practice until Jan. 16. He challenge right now is he's got to get in shape. He's in better shape than he was six-weeks ago, but he's still not like, playing Georgia, which is a track team. Which makes him change ends of the court, makes it very hard. When Georgia was playing the five guards, not five guards, but P.J. Horne at center who is a 3-point shooter, we were in zone and it made it really hard. Georgia got a feel for what we were doing, and it made it hard for him to cover the corner so then I took him out and the other guys played so well I just ran with them. You know, I've been frustrated with Wildens [Leveque], he actually scored today at the rim in the second half, Jermaine [Couisnard], Trae Hannibal, Jayln [McCreary] didn't play well early then played well defensively in the second half. Everyone contributed but Tre-Vaughn gave us that personality early."
On beating Georgia 10-straight times…
"Maybe some people in Columbia won't tell me that in 2016 we couldn't beat Georgia because I've heard that over and over that we lost to them three times that year. Nobody ever want to say the part that three losses, Michael Carrera threw his groin in the first game and then he didn't play in the conference tournament. He was our All-League Player, our best player. We didn't get it done that year, and I'm not going to sit and brag about beating somebody 10 times because it's hard to beat somebody one time. We're just fortunate but our approach has always been one day at a time."
#5 Jermaine Couisnard | Sophomore | Guard
On his individual performance…
"I give a lot of credit to my teammates. They were the ones that kept me lifted through all of the things that I was going through. They told me to keep playing with confidence and keep shooting the ball—do not lose your confidence and keep on being who I am."
On the team's spirit before the game…
"Just playing with confidence and helping each other. Just believing in each other, believing that they can do things that they feel like they cannot. Just everybody playing with high spirits and confidence, and we came out with the outcome."
On regaining his confidence…
"It was hard, but that is what you have teammates for. Whenever one person is playing bad, somebody picks him up, so that is all it was, so give credit to those guys."
On building confidence before the SEC tournament…
"We have to learn from this win, just build from this win. Find out the good things that we did and keep on doing it every game that we can as well as correct the little errors that we messed up today."
On South Carolina's backcourt performance…
"Just playing together, just feeding off of each other, he has a high motor, and that was what I was feeding off of. He [Trae Hannibal] kept getting in my ear, just telling me to keep going, just keep being aggressive, and I just kept being aggressive, and that led to what it led to."
On the spark that he provided in the beginning…
"We were up 8-2 or 10-2 when I came in. I was just trying to come off of the bench and build on top of that and just play defensive, and that is what it came to."
Graduate P.J. Horne led Georgia (14-10, 7-10) in scoring with 17 points, including a 4-for-7 performance from beyond the arc. Fellow graduate Justin Kier tallied 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting with seven rebounds, while graduate Andrew Garcia and sophomore Toumani Camara each pitched in 10 points. Camara nearly earned a double-double with a team-leading nine rebounds. Overall, the Bulldogs shot 36.7 percent for the game.
"I would say it starts with me, to be honest with you," said head coach Tom Crean following the game. "They wanted to fight, and we didn't, so I did a poor job of having our guys completely understand what this game was going to entail because we never locked into the fight."
South Carolina (6-12, 4-10) used the inside game to quickly post an early 10-2 lead, but Georgia soon tied the score thanks to a pair of Kier 3-pointers. As the midpoint of the first half approached, both teams remained within three points of each other, with the Bulldogs finding success in transition. The Gamecocks then took advantage of a six-minute Bulldog scoring drought with 13 unanswered points, building a 28-17 lead by the six-minute mark.
Horne finally broke the dry spell with a triple, but the Gamecocks continued to extend their lead with sophomore guard Jermaine Cousinard dropping 10 consecutive points. The final two minutes of the half turned into a back-and-forth affair, with Georgia countering Cousinard on the fast break. On the final possession, sophomore Sahvir Wheeler's driving attempt rimmed out and the Bulldogs headed to the locker room trailing, 41-29.
Georgia's second half opened with a bang as Horne connected on a pair of threes, cutting the South Carolina lead to six. Trailing by 10, Garcia singlehandedly put the Bulldogs back in the game with six straight points, reaching the 1,000-point mark for his career during the run. However, as they had before, the Gamecocks parlayed their solid shooting into a 14-point lead at the halfway point.
The South Carolina lead eventually grew to 23 points as the Gamecocks connected on six of seven field goal attempts during one stretch. The Bulldogs made matters worse for themselves with eight turnovers in the second half, keeping them squarely behind for the remainder of the contest.
Georgia remains home next weekend for its regular season finale against No. 6 Alabama (18-6, 13-2 SEC) on Saturday, March 6 at Stegeman Coliseum. The meeting with the Crimson Tide is set for a 2 p.m. tip time and will be broadcast on CBS.
POSTGAME VIDEOS
Coach Crean
Georgia head coach Tom Crean
On today's game against South Carolina…
"I would say it starts with me, to be honest with you. They wanted to fight and we didn't, so I did a poor job of having our guys completely 100 percent understand what this game was going to entail because we never locked into the fight. They were aggressive, they started in zone. In all honesty, when nobody plays well, when nobody leads their teammates, and when nobody's really willing to go through a cut, get hit, go up strong through the contact, that falls back on me. It really does. I've got to do a way better job, put the blinders on. It wasn't because of practice, it wasn't because of preparation, it wasn't because of fatigue. But when no one's in the fight, that falls back to the head coach, and that's where I'm at."
On if South Carolina is a poor matchup…
"It could be because we haven't had success with them. They brought their best. Trae Hannibal, they left home from Mississippi State, and today he comes in, he pushed the right buttons with his team. There's probably some truth to that. That doesn't have anything to do with not cutting and standing, and not cutting through the lane and taking the hit and going through it. That's how we play, and we didn't do that today. We did not cut and move the team the way we needed to move it, and our passing was not maybe one or two dribbles too late occasionally. It was one or two dribbles late a lot, and so, the movement just wasn't there. When you see we're not getting that, that's when we have to try to go inside even more. There were times where we didn't finish—I'm not sure how many layups we missed. Like I said, I did a poor job of them understanding how a level of fight and toughness was going to be needed in this. We've been pretty good with this, as of late, but we weren't today."
On how to get the offense going when Sahvir Wheeler is struggling…
"The ball didn't move well enough tonight, and we didn't have enough cutting. A lot of times, when you don't want to go through the fight you settle for jump shots, and that's some of what we did tonight. Our spirit got zapped early on. Our immaturity came out, to be honest with you, with the officiating, we have to be beyond that, but aren't, so like I said, I did a poor job because we aren't beyond not getting frustrated about lack of calls or physical play, and we didn't cut through it and embrace the contact that goes into this. That's kind of what the day was like for us."
On the inconsistency of his team…
"Yeah probably, I would say that you're right. I would say that when you can get through that and eventually the experience that you go through in these hard-fought games have to come out no matter what. That doesn't mean that you're going to win, but it means that it has to come out no matter what. We didn't have that tonight."
On how frustrating it is that his team's performance did not match the stats they were posting...
"Well, that is when we have to create a game when we are getting fouled. When we are not cutting as well and when we are quiet and not making jump shots as Justin [Kier] and P.J. [Horne] did. But as I am looking at it, they are the only ones who made threes. It is important, I mean it is important. We have to manufacture points, so we can get our defense set. The quieter we get the more we get fouled. When we are playing aggressively and there is leadership, and the spirit is strong. But, when there is not it is a little different and you have to manufacture points the best way you can."
On if he feels like the three graduate transfers stepped up on Senior Night...
"Yeah, you know what when you lose, I am just not there. I mean I am proud of those three, it was Senior Day. They did a good job. I am not big on the whole accolades for losing. They did a good job, and I am glad we have them. But, we lost the game."
On how he plays his part for the team…
"I did not say that, I did not say that the immaturity with the calls, the less cutting and less ball movement was because of the physical play. That is what it was. I got a week to figure it out. Like I said, I will put my blinders on, and we will work at figuring it out."
On K.D Johnson…
"[K.D. Johnson] standing there is not part of the game plan. Him driving low and close option, being ready to shoot the ball was part of the game plan. That is part of how we play, and we didn't get that today."
On the lack of offense effecting the defense…
"I don't know, probably. Nothing got us our spirit and fight where it needed to be. So, I am sure that is part of the equation."
On the senior day videos…
"Our staff deserves the credit for that, not me. Heather McCormick, John Bateman, people who put the films together."
#24 P.J. Horne | Graduate
On his overall assessment of South Carolina after two big losses to them…
"We came to play, but we didn't play hard enough. We need to come together collectively to try and get the next one."
On the inconsistency from game to game…
"Our energy level in the games we win really never drops. We always stay collected, and I feel like tonight we got out-toughed, they out-toughed us tonight and it got us quiet. We need to know how to fight through adversity better and get to the next play."
On if something specific about South Carolina that is a bad matchup for the team...
"I don't know about that; I just feel like we didn't come to play today. We came and were out there, but we didn't try to the best of our ability to win that game."
On what the issue was offensively today…
"I feel like our defense led to us moving the ball slowly on offense and being stagnant. We've got to correct things on the defensive end so that we can move to the offensive end and compete on the offensive end."
On how frustrating the inconsistency is…
"It's very frustrating. Hopefully, next week we get it corrected."
On what specifically was the trouble on defense and South Carolina's zone defense…
"It caused us some trouble. We didn't come out to play the game we are used to playing and the game that we play to win. We didn't come out as that team; we came out as a team that just wanted to get through it. We have to be able to come together collectively and be consistent as the team that we've been against previous opponents that we've beaten."
On what the lack of energy can be attributed to…
"We have to keep our heads and make sure that everyone is on the same page, doing the same things, and worrying about the same things. When it comes to any sport, you have to be able to think and act on the fly. You can't think of past plays down the road, that play is over with, you've got to move on to the next play and that's our biggest thing right now."
On what went well for him today personally…
"Just being in the right place at the right time, being ready to play and shoot. Other than that, just playing my game."
#5 Justin Kier | Graduate
On being a bad match-up with South Carolina…
"I don't believe we played very well today. I think we have somethings to fix—me included. I think they are a great team and executed their game plan well and we ended a foot behind today, and that is what the result was too."
On Wheeler's poor offensive performance…
"We got to step up. He's going to have the ball in his hands, so if he's not playing very well then, we have to step up—especially on the defensive end. We can't let officiating and missed shots affect your defensive performance. I think as a group we did that tonight; no one can control the officials, so we have to let them do their job and just play hard and come out and do what we can do. I think everyone has to step up. Even if he is shooting bad, he is still a part of the game, so we have to continue to grow in that area.
On how the defensive struggle effected offensive performance…
"I think it did. I think it controlled our offensive performance and it hurt us on defense—rotations and being a step to late. That's something you can't do against a great team. You do that against a great team, you get beat. We are going to have to get better this week. We have to get better for Alabama because we all know what they can bring. We played poorly on defense and that is not something we want. We have to get in the gym and [have] to become a better team and become closer for this next win."
On why they struggled against South Carolina after beating LSU and Missouri…
"I don't think there is an excuse for losing to a team bad unless you are just didn't play good against them both. Like I said, we have a lot of stuff to work at this week. I know we are going to attack it. I know we are down right now, but it will be a positive for it this week for sure. This one sucks but we can't stick in the past so we will get back to work."
On failing to capitalize on free throws…
"Yeah, with them hitting a lot of threes, they hit 10, we hit seven—crucial threes in the second half as well. They executed really well on offense. Our defense was very great. Shout out to Coach McClain and the coaching staff. Us, as players, just did not execute today. I think we cut it to six coming out of the half, and they got that lead back. We kind of got on our heels and they continued to drive. Yeah, it's kind of hard when you're down that much, you just have to come in and be focused. I think focus is our key, knowing what we got to do defensively to get the job done, and we didn't do that today."
On the senior-day family tribute…
"It's very special, and I appreciate everyone at Georgia who put that together—who spoke with my family to get that video because I didn't know about it. It really sucks to end it with a loss, but I've been really appreciative of everyone here who welcomed me into their arms and it makes me happy and gave me a little joy seeing that. But, I wish a win would have come after it, but I am really appreciative and thank everybody who had something to do with that."
On the recent team success and how frustrating this loss is and how they will bounce back…
"We got to find a way to be consistent. I feel like we have great wins, and we have bad losses. We get on a roll and then that roll stops. I think that is our next step—to continue down that road. We don't have to take a step back. That is the challenge Coach [Crean] wants and what we want as players. That is the biggest thing for me—individual performances and just as a team we have to win. We can't win and lose and win and lose. Good teams lose to bad teams, you know it kind of hurts you. [We] got to be consistent and finish the year strong and finish out this regular season strong and go into the SEC tournament with high hopes."
South Carolina head coach Frank Martin
Opening Statement
"I'm really happy for our guys. It's been, obviously, a hard month of February, and a hard year. I felt their spirit in practice yesterday was good, as good as I've seen in a while, and we went out any played that way today. We created a presence at the rim, offensively and defensively, early in the game that gave us confidence. Then AJ Lawson, although he didn't score in the first was phenomenal on his defense of Sahvir Wheeler, and the guys behind them did their jobs, too. So, I'm just really happy for our guys. Contrary to maybe popular belief sometimes, we have established a mindset of winning in our locker room, and it took a long time to build that – that wasn't there when I got here. Our guys believed that we should win, and when we don't, it really hurts them. We finished the month with a win, played pretty well, and we have to be positive about tomorrow and have a pretty good workout, while staying in a positive place as we move forward."
On what this result says about his team…
"That [the spirit] is why I was excited about the team this year. It's not like we have thrown in the towel. It's been a hard year for everybody, not just us in basketball, for everybody. A lot of us have had personal ugliness, so it's made it hard for all of our spirits to stay strong. I'm not going to keep regurgitating what we went through in December and the first half of January, it is what it is. We played some really good teams. We beat Florida at Florida; four of those five games were against teams in the top-10 in the country defensively. We just couldn't score, and then we lost our fight a little bit the last couple of games. That's what was disappointing to me, that losing our fight, which is something that we never do around here. But like I said, the spirit was good yesterday, I felt it. The vibe was really good in the locker room before the game. Then the way we started the game – when was the last time we through a ball on the post and scored. That's how we started the game. We all have something that we enjoy and we do. I love watching guys post up, catch it, and score. It makes me feel better. It puts me in a better place as I'm coaching basketball, and that's the way we started. It gave everybody confidence."
On Trae Hannibal's performance…
"I'm really proud of him. He's a really good kid and a really good player. This year has just been—I don't know how to explain it to you. Everybody just wants to react like he committed some crazy thing, and Franks hates him, and that's the world we live in today. Sometimes, letting somebody take a deep breath and catch their breath when they are going through a difficult moment, an emotionally difficult moment, and being in peaceful place – it's what you have to do. That's all I did. He wants to win. Trae is a really good kid, and like I said, he's a really good player, and what happened was that he was really good defensively today. You didn't see him come up with a lot that he went after the ball. He went after the loose balls because he was in the right place. Then late in the second half, we scored at the rim and we made jump shots, which opens that paint up. Now, he drives, and he is really good at driving people, and he played strong, disciplined, and aggressive. I'm really happy for him.
On the team's defensive display…
"There's a play where we didn't come up with the ball, but we created a loose ball in the first half. We fought and fought and fought, and Justin [Minaya] goes air-born into their bench going after a ball. When's the last time we did that? We have not done that in forever. That's the spirit and effort I'm talking about. And the other part of the game where that defense you're talking about showed its head was when they came out of the half down, at home, and they are playing very well, coming into this game and scoring. They got it to five, and after the year we've had, our guys might've hung their head. They could've said, 'Here we go again.' Instead, we locked in defensively and came up with four consecutive steals that become four open court baskets—and that was game. We popped the game back open and protected that lead the rest of the way. A big part of what I believe in is defense and spirit. You've got to have those two things, or I'm not at peace with what I'm doing. We've showed it. This team had it last year. Unfortunately, this year the parts just haven't worked as well sometimes for whatever reasons. But, we did it today."
On whether it was nice to get some fast break opportunities…
"Yes, absolutely. It's because we've been practicing for a month now, and we get to work on some things that we didn't get to work on in seven weeks. I get the fact that some people look at this as a disappointing season, are you kidding me? After what our team has been through, there is nothing disappointing about what we're doing. On the contrary, anybody that watches these kids should be excited that in the middle of conference play, after not practicing for seven weeks, that these kids continue to grow and find results. Look at Keyshawn Bryant. This is why I coach. I don't coach for wins and losses. Never have, never will. Keyshawn Bryant used to not say a word. He's become our team leader in the last two weeks. His positivity, his voice, his guidance has given me a voice to follow now. Now all of a sudden, other guys are starting to play with that same kind of discipline and energy and positivity. So, now I get to coach basketball instead of being a psychologist. This is why I coach. Everyone thinks that coaching is about winning or losing games, no, that's what you guys judge me on. I don't worry about that. I worry about why I coach, which is to see guys grow as people."
On how nice it was to see Jermaine Couisnard have the game he had…
"It's all Keyshawn [Bryant]. They're boys. Those two guys are together all the time. Keyshawn's positivity and challenging Jermaine has made him come off that injury and play better. I told you the other day, whoever we played last, Mississippi State, Jermaine had just practiced one time, just once after not practicing for 11 days and he didn't play well. Keyshawn becoming who he is becoming—it used to be all Jermaine and nobody really helped him from that standpoint, from a voice. Not all of a sudden he sees somebody else do it, every once and a while it's nice to have a teammate who can put his arm around you and say, 'Hey man, you can take the day today, I got you.' Now, it builds that kind of energy. I'm really happy for those guys because they're good dudes and they frustrate me, my children frustrate me. It's part of life. They're good dudes and their hearts are in the right place and they've tried to manage a difficult year and stood up really tall today, and I'm really proud of them for that."
On how satisfying it was to have a game where his team physically dominated…
"That's the one thing, again, that's bothered me the most for the last month is that we haven't played with that personality. We played whoever we played the first game, Liberty [University]. We didn't play with that. Then we came back the next game against Tulsa, and we controlled the game from that physicality. Then we went to Houston, and we controlled the game with that physicality against one of the physical teams in the country for the first 25-27 minutes of the game. Then, we came a part at the seams and then we got shut down. Here's the other problem. That physicality was created in November and December and we're trying to create it while we're trying to play league games. Some of the stuff I try to do in practice, which is not barbaric prehistoric, some of the drills that we do and some of the things that we demand, we just spent seven weeks without working out. So, they're not in great shape, and now I'm going to practice them for two-and-a-half, 2:40, and do all those taxing things? We won't have a chance to win. For me, I see my team play with that spring. There was a play in the first half, right when we're creating that separation where it was loose ball, loose ball and then their guy was going after a loose ball and I don't know how Keyshawn [Bryant] came up with the ball, he kind of dove over the guy, beat him to the ball and threw it and we made a layup on the other side. Those plays give your team life man. That's what we've been missing that. No surprise, and all of a sudden our jump shot goes in today. It's funny how that works."
On Tre-Vaughn Minnott and how he has developed…
"He gives us a presence at the rim. He blocks shots, when you pass it to him, he catches it, he doesn't trip on his feet. They called him for an offensive foul on one play, and it's going to happen, but when's the last time you saw us post up and someone threw it in there. Our players have confidence in him that he knows what he's doing in there. He's practiced with us for a month now just like everyone else. He showed up on Jan. 6, he didn't get to practice until Jan. 16. He challenge right now is he's got to get in shape. He's in better shape than he was six-weeks ago, but he's still not like, playing Georgia, which is a track team. Which makes him change ends of the court, makes it very hard. When Georgia was playing the five guards, not five guards, but P.J. Horne at center who is a 3-point shooter, we were in zone and it made it really hard. Georgia got a feel for what we were doing, and it made it hard for him to cover the corner so then I took him out and the other guys played so well I just ran with them. You know, I've been frustrated with Wildens [Leveque], he actually scored today at the rim in the second half, Jermaine [Couisnard], Trae Hannibal, Jayln [McCreary] didn't play well early then played well defensively in the second half. Everyone contributed but Tre-Vaughn gave us that personality early."
On beating Georgia 10-straight times…
"Maybe some people in Columbia won't tell me that in 2016 we couldn't beat Georgia because I've heard that over and over that we lost to them three times that year. Nobody ever want to say the part that three losses, Michael Carrera threw his groin in the first game and then he didn't play in the conference tournament. He was our All-League Player, our best player. We didn't get it done that year, and I'm not going to sit and brag about beating somebody 10 times because it's hard to beat somebody one time. We're just fortunate but our approach has always been one day at a time."
#5 Jermaine Couisnard | Sophomore | Guard
On his individual performance…
"I give a lot of credit to my teammates. They were the ones that kept me lifted through all of the things that I was going through. They told me to keep playing with confidence and keep shooting the ball—do not lose your confidence and keep on being who I am."
On the team's spirit before the game…
"Just playing with confidence and helping each other. Just believing in each other, believing that they can do things that they feel like they cannot. Just everybody playing with high spirits and confidence, and we came out with the outcome."
On regaining his confidence…
"It was hard, but that is what you have teammates for. Whenever one person is playing bad, somebody picks him up, so that is all it was, so give credit to those guys."
On building confidence before the SEC tournament…
"We have to learn from this win, just build from this win. Find out the good things that we did and keep on doing it every game that we can as well as correct the little errors that we messed up today."
On South Carolina's backcourt performance…
"Just playing together, just feeding off of each other, he has a high motor, and that was what I was feeding off of. He [Trae Hannibal] kept getting in my ear, just telling me to keep going, just keep being aggressive, and I just kept being aggressive, and that led to what it led to."
On the spark that he provided in the beginning…
"We were up 8-2 or 10-2 when I came in. I was just trying to come off of the bench and build on top of that and just play defensive, and that is what it came to."
Team Stats
USC
UGa
FG%
.536
.367
3FG%
.435
.333
FT%
.538
.704
RB
38
39
TO
14
19
STL
15
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Basketball
/ Men's Basketball
/ Men's Basketball
/ Men's Basketball
/ Men's Basketball
/ Men's Basketball
Georgia Men's Basketball Media Availability - Marcus "Smurf" Millender
Monday, September 22
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Monday, September 22
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Monday, September 15
Georgia Basketball - Dylan James - Media Availability
Monday, September 15
