Elijah Strong scored a team-high 15 points off the bench on Tuesday to help South Carolina earn an 87-58 victory over visiting Radford in Columbia, S.C.
Fellow reserve Eli Ellis added 14 points, while Mike Sharavjamts finished with a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double for South Carolina (4-0), which outrebounded Radford 40-26 en route to its largest margin of victory through four games. Kobe Knox chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.
Del Jones’ 16 points led Radford (2-4), which dropped its fourth straight game. Dennis Parker Jr. scored 10 points for the Highlanders, who had just six assists.
After holding a 15-point halftime lead, South Carolina’s margin ballooned to 50-26 on Sharavjamts’ consecutive 3-pointers.
With 9:10 remaining, South Carolina matched its largest lead to that point as Ellis’ offensive rebound and subsequent mid-range jumper extended the Gamecocks’ lead to 69-42.
Ellis’ jumper pushed the lead to 27 again at the 7:47 mark, giving South Carolina a 71-44 advantage.
Jones’ 3-pointer at the 3:09 mark ended a five-plus minute stretch for the Highlanders without a made field goal. Grant Polk’s layup with 1:13 left gave the Gamecocks their largest lead at 31, stamping a dominant performance.
After Nordin Kapic’s layup pushed South Carolina’s early lead to 7-0, Parker’s basket and Lukas Walls’ triple began Radford’s game-tying 7-0 spurt.
The Gamecocks’ edge grew to 10 as Strong’s consecutive baskets gave South Carolina a 26-16 lead at the 7:32 mark.
Jones’ knocked down a pair of free throws to trim the Highlanders’ deficit to seven before Strong continued his offensive effort with a pair of mid-range jumpers. Knox’s layup and Ellis’ jumper gave the Gamecocks a 40-25 halftime lead.
Strong’s 10 first-half points led South Carolina, which made just 2 of its 14 (14.3%) first-half 3-point attempts.
–Field Level Media
