KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Hassani Gravett tapped the basketball into his right palm and pushed forward. The South Carolina junior point guard, in his 15th start of the season, aimed his pass to a teammate of significantly less experience.
Ibrahim Famouke Doumbia is a little-used freshman forward from Bamako, Mali. He played five minutes Tuesday in USC’s 70-67 loss to No. 18 Tennessee. With 29 seconds in the first half, Doumbia collected Gravett’s three-quarters-court delivery and dunked with two hands.
Game No. 26 of USC’s trying season was an interesting one. South Carolina (13-13, 4-9 SEC) has now lost six in row for the first time since Frank Martin’s second season, but you couldn’t blame the coach for exhausting his resources.