Balanced attack leads S Carolina past N Florida

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Demetrius Henry and Ty Johnson scored 12 points apiece to lead South Carolina play North Florida 81-56 on Friday night in the season-opener for both teams.

Coach Frank Martin began his third season with a solid defensive effort, as his team limited North Florida to 34 percent shooting from the field. Martin, who stresses rebounding above steals and forcing turnovers, saw his team allow a scant six offensive boards on 53 North Florida shots.

South Carolina played all of its 11 available players and 10 scored.

North Florida was led by Dallas Moore, who scored 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.

Marcus Stroman, the only member of the latest South Carolina recruiting class to play due to injuries, had six points, six assists and two steals. Mindaugas Kacinas added nine points and 11 rebounds.

The Gamecocks broke through an early 1-3-1 zone defense to get their post game working, with Henry collecting his first six points on dunks. The Ospreys relaxed and bit and South Carolina was off and running, with its fast-break offense converting 15 North Florida turnovers into 16 points.

South Carolina's Ty Johnson exited the game for a brief time with what he and Martin called a finger sprain, or finger dislocation. He played the final 30 minutes with the last two fingers of his right hand taped together and said that he would be fine for the next game.