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South Carolina is off to an uneven start, but that hasn't obscured the steady rise of Collin Murray-Boyles.
The 6-foot-7 sophomore will be the player to watch when South Carolina (6-3) hosts South Carolina Upstate (4-8) Saturday afternoon in Columbia.
Murray-Boyles leads the Gamecocks in points (16.2), rebounds (9.4), steals (1.2) and blocks (1.1) per game.
As South Carolina struggled to a 75-68 victory over East Carolina on Saturday, Murray-Boyles carried the Gamecocks, making all 10 of his shots from the floor and finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
"He's been working on pivoting towards the basket and getting on balance and then making a strong move through some contact," South Carolina coach Lamont Paris said.
The Gamecocks have been highly dependent on Murray-Boyles. In the two games in which he has fouled out, South Carolina lost to Xavier and Indiana. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks are unbeaten in the six games in which he has collected at least eight rebounds.
"He's still growing and it's exciting to see," Paris said. "He's got phenomenal natural touch."
Also emerging lately have been Norfolk State transfer Jamarii Thomas, who had season highs of 22 points and seven assists against East Carolina, and Morris Ugusuk, who has hit 10 of 14 shots from 3-point range in the last three games.
South Carolina Upstate has been sparked by a pair of guards who each have won multiple Big South freshman of the week awards.
Carmelo Adkins had 31 points and 12 rebounds in wins last week over Division III Brevard and at Western Carolina, while Mister Dean leads the Spartans in points (15.7), rebounds (5.6) and steals (2.0) per game.
"He sparks runs because he'll make a dynamic dunk," Spartans coach Marty Richter said of Dean. "He brings energy with how he scores the basketball, in a hurry. He can score in bunches."
The Spartans enter on a high as the win over Western Carolina was Richter's first over a Division I team.
South Carolina Upstate is 1-8 all-time against South Carolina. This year, the Spartans are winless in four games against power conference schools. In an 85-80 loss a month ago at Wake Forest, however, they led for much of the second half.
--Field Level Media
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