COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Jermaine Cousinard scored 14 points and made seven assists, Wildens Leveque also scored 14 points with eight rebounds and South Carolina defeated USC-Upstate 78-60 Tuesday night.
Bryson Mozone scored 20 points and Jalen Brazeale added 17 to lead USC-Upstate, which was outrebounded 52-34.
The Spartans made a run early. Mozone hit a 3-pointer, lifting USC-Upstate into a 6-4 lead, and added two more from distance as he and Jordan Gainey scored 16 points to fashion a 17-8 lead by 12:59 of the first half.
The lead lasted for less than two minutes as South Carolina reeled off the next 10 points, controlling the offensive glass to keep possession.
The larger, stronger Gamecocks were never in jeopardy the rest of the way. They scored 20 points off 20 Upstate turnovers and dominated the offensive glass, 17-3.
The Gamecocks are 84-30 in season openers, rebounding from last season's season-opening loss to Liberty.
Suspended: South Carolina senior forward Keyshawn Bryant — the Gamecocks top returning scorer and rebounder, averaging 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season — has been suspended for the first five games, men’s basketball coach Frank Martin said Monday. Martin said Bryant is suspended due to violations of the school’s athletic department policy but didn’t go into any further detail.
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