Western Kentucky (1-2) struggled offensively in their final game of the Asheville Championship, falling 75-64 to South Carolina (2-1) who claimed a third-place finish in the tournament while WKU finished last among the group.
The Hilltoppers are now 29-49 against SEC opponents and are 1-7 all-time against the Gamecocks. WKU head coach Rick Stansbury is now 0-1 all-time against South Carolina as the Hilltopper's head coach.
The 2021 Asheville Championship was the first tournament since 2017 that WKU didn't establish two wins as the Hilltoppers posted an 0-2 record over the weekend.
Fifth year guard Josh Anderson led WKU's offense in the loss with 16 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Senior forward Jairus Hamilton also chipped in with 13 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Graduate guard Camron Justice made his official return to the team after not playing since the 2019-20 season. Justice played for 17 minutes and was 1-6 from the field with only one made three-pointer.
Redshirt junior guard Jermaine Couisnard carried South Carolina's offense with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Graduate guard James Reese V had 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals.
The Hilltoppers were 38% (23-60) from the field, 25% (6-24) from three point range and 63% (12-19) from the free throw line.
WKU managed to control the ball more efficiently than their opponents as they had only 18 turnovers while South Carolina had 24.
Both teams put 23 points on the board off turnovers. The Hilltoppers had 17 steals compared to South Carolina's 12.
The Gamecocks were 46% (26-57) from the field, 33% (9-27) from the three-point range and 78% (14-18) from the free throw line. South Carolina won the rebound battle as they outrebounded WKU 46-28.
With South Carolina ahead 16-13 with 9:07 remaining in the first half, the Gamecocks would go on an 8-0 run over the next three-plus minutes to build a 24-13 lead.
Camron Justice made his first bucket of the night for WKU with forty-seconds left in the half, hitting a three-pointer to cut into the South Carolina lead, but the Gamecocks went into halftime with a 31-24 advantage.
At the break, WKU’s offense was led by Jairus Hamilton who had nine points and four rebounds. Josh Anderson had four points, three rebounds and one assist.
The Gamecocks were led by Reese V, who had nine points and three rebounds followed by Couisnard who had seven points, three rebounds and one assist.
WKU was 31% (9-29) from the field, 25% (3-12) and 33% (3-9) from the free throw line. The Hilltoppers were being outrebounded 25-17 by South Carolina but had only committed nine turnovers whereas the Gamecocks had 12 turnovers.
From the field, South Carolina was 43% (12-28), 33% (5-15) from three-point range and 40% (2-5) from the free throw line.
With 16:16 remaining, WKU was in the midst of a 6-0 run and tied things up at 35 a piece after two Dayvion McKnight free throws.
Nearly four minutes later, South Carolina would go on a 7-0 run to take a 49-39 advantage with 11:13 remaining in the game.
A jumper by Dayvion McKnight at the 4:18 mark would spark an 8-0 by Western Kentucky and inch closer to South Carolina at 68-61 with 3:28 remaining, but that's as close as the Hilltoppers would get.
South Carolina clinched the third-place finish in the Asheville Championship as WKU finished off the tournament 0-2.
The Hilltoppers will hit the road to face off against the No. 12 ranked Memphis Tigers this upcoming Friday night.
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