Early second-half spurt propels South Carolina past Kentucky Wesleyan 69-59 in an exhibition game on Thursday night at Colonial Life Arena.
South Carolina had three players in double figures, led by Anthony Gill with 14 points. Malik Cooke and R.J. Slawson added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Gill had 10 of his 14 points in the first half and added six rebounds in the win. Damontre Harris added a game-high five blocks on the defensive end.
The Gamecocks were 10-for-19 from behind the arc (52.6 percent) after starting the game 4-for-6 (66.7 percent). Freshman guard Damien Leonard scored all nine of his points from behind the three-point line for South Carolina.
In what was expected to be a tune-up game for South Carolina against Kentucky Wesleyan, ended up being a test instead.
Kentucky Wesleyan, who has won eight Division II national championships -- the most by any D-II school -- led by as many as seven points (16-9) after a 3-pointer from Kreig Oxley in the first half.
The Panthers took advantage of turnovers early on, forcing the Gamecocks to turn the ball over eight times in the first half alone.
South Carolina found their tempo down the stretch of the first half, getting back-to-back three-point baskets from Leonard and Slawson to cut the lead down to two at 19-17.
Gill hit a 3-pointer for the Gamecocks to tie the game at 21-21 with 3:35 remaining in the first. However, Kentucky Wesleyan regained the lead seconds later on a three-point jumper by Marseilles Stewart.
Kentucky Wesleyan went on a 7-0 run before the Gamecocks would score again off a basket for three by Brenton Williams.
The Panthers looked to be heading into the half with the lead, but South Carolina's Cooke hit a buzzer-beater from behind the arc to give the Gamecocks a 33-32 lead at the break.
After struggling in the first half, South Carolina started the second half on a 7-0 run that included the second of two three-point baskets from Slawson.
South Carolina would extend its lead to 50-38 getting three-pointers from Eric Smith, Leonard and Williams.
Kentucky Wesleyan would try to rally late with a three-point bucket from Luke Shelly with 7:45 to go in regulation to make the score 59-48. But the rally wasn't enough as South Carolina would score six unanswered points after the Shelly basket, before jumping out to a 15 point lead in the final four minutes of the game.
Kentucky Wesleyan's Anthony Young finished the game with 12 points and seven rebounds before leaving the contest with what appeared to be a knee injury. Dominique Dawson had 10 points in the loss.
The Gamecocks will host Western Carolina on November 11 in the opening game of the 2011-2012 season campaign. The Panthers will travel to preseason No.10 Pittsburgh for an exhibition game on Monday.
David Pickett - David is a contributing writer covering professional and college sports, including baseball, basketball, football and the Olympics.
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