South Florida loses to South Carolina in historic matchup
The South Carolina Gamecocks (8-0) held off a second half rally by USF and defeated the Bulls (2-7), 81-63.
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The South Carolina Gamecocks (8-0) held off a second half rally by USF and defeated the Bulls (2-7), 81-63.
What made this early season matchup more memorable for both teams is that it was the first meeting of two Hispanic-American head coaches in NCAA Division I college basketball history.
USF's Orlando Antigua and the Gamecocks' Frank Martin are the only Hispanic coaches currently coaching in D1 hoops.
Martin had pregame remarks about the historical significance of the meeting with The State newspaper:
Maybe 50 years from now, there will be more than two Hispanic-American coaches. Maybe there's six or seven. We need to bring a little bit of light to that.
In a post-game interview with ESPN"s Pedro Gomez for the SEC Network, Antigua commented about the importance of having national exposure for this game.
I think at this stage on TV and with both of our programs, you can show that we are prepared, our kids are playing hard and are working.
In Saturday's game, down 21 at the half the Bulls, tried to stage a comeback on the Gamecocks and went on a 17-2 rally, cutting South Carolina's 36-point lead to 13 points. But the Gamecocks, led by Sindarius Thornwell's 15 points and P.J. Dozier's 12 points countered the USF run.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Antigua remarked to the media that the Bulls could not put together a full game of basketball.
They gave the effort that we were supposed to play with and that I expect. Now we have to do that for 40 minutes. That was my point to them at the end of the game. 'You've shown you're capable against an undefeated team and we have to do a better job of doing that for 40 minutes. We have to push each other and challenge each other in practice to get better.
The 8-0 run for the Gamecocks is their best start of their basketball season since the 2003-04 season.
USF will host N.C. State in their next game at the Sun Dome on Sunday, December 13.
