South Carolina sophomore Damontre Harris earned his first career double-double, but it wasn't enough to offset a cold first half from the field for the Gamecocks as South Carolina (8-8, 0-2 SEC) dropped a 67-57 decision to Vanderbilt (12-4, 2-0 SEC) Tuesday at Colonial Life Arena.
Harris tied his career high 10 rebounds to go with 11 points to earn his first double-double as a Gamecock. Classmate Bruce Ellington added a game-high and season-high 20 points. Senior Malik Cooke contributed nine points, and Anthony Gill put up eight points in the effort.
South Carolina was held to 5-of-26 from the field in the opening period, but rebounded to shoot 17-of-27 in the second half, a .629 clip.
It was a slow first half for both teams in a game that was nationally televised live on ESPNU. Midway through the period, the teams were deadlocked at 8-8 before the Commodores took a 14-4 run over the final 10 minutes to head into the break with a 22-12 lead, the first double-digit margin of the game for either team.
With the lead remaining constant to the start the second half, Vanderbilt hit four 3's in a row in a three-minute span to stretch the lead out to 46-25. The teams proceeded to rotate buckets as Vanderbilt pushed its lead to 67-43 before the Gamecocks went on an 14-0 run over the final four minutes of the game highlighted by three consecutive 3's courtesy of Ellington and Brian Richardson.
South Carolina returns home Saturday to take on Florida in an SEC contest that will air live on ESPN. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Colonial Life Arena.
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