South Carolina is 2-0 entering Wednesday’s home game vs. Presbyterian in Columbia, S.C.
But Gamecocks coach Lamont Paris knows it’s going to take a lot more than what his team put on the court Sunday to keep winning.
South Carolina rallied from an 11-point deficit with 3:50 left in regulation to beat Southern Miss 83-79 in overtime and avoid what would have been a bad loss for its resume.
Paris is focusing on the positives that he hopes his team can learn from a close call while still getting the benefits of a win.
“You could never script this in a way that your team could learn more from it,” Paris said. “I thought it was perfect for every single person except for the coach.”
The Gamecocks have Ohio State transfer guard Meechie Johnson to thank for coming to their rescue late. He scored 16 of his career-high 33 points in the final five minutes of regulation — including a pair of game-tying free throws with 5 seconds left — and three more in overtime to secure the victory.
In the first two games of his second tenure at South Carolina, Johnson is averaging a team-high 23.5 points and 3.5 assists while shooting 47.4% from 3-point range (9 of 19).
Johnson may need to deliver another strong performance to keep South Carolina unbeaten when the Blue Hose (3-1) head to town on a three-game winning streak.
Most recently, Presbyterian rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to win 63-61 at Georgia State on Monday night. Junior guard Carl Parrish delivered 22 points in the win, including five 3-pointers. Early this season, he has doubled his scoring average from 6.9 points per game last year to 14.3.
“(Parrish has) been here two years, he’s developed, he’s worked really, really hard,” Presbyterian coach Quinton Ferrell said. “I think he’s settling into this new role, which is a big role for him for the first time in his career.”
Jonah Pierce leads Presbyterian in scoring (15.3) and rebounding (10.5).
The Blue Hose have some previous experience beating a Southeastern Conference opponent, winning their 2023-24 season opener at Vanderbilt, 68-62.
