NEW YORK — First, PJ Dozier stole the ball from Andrew White. Then Tyler Lydon turned it over immediately after corralling a defensive rebound. Then, John Gillon had it stolen from him, the first of his five first-half turnovers.

Three lost possessions. Twenty seconds. One foreshadowing stretch to open the game.

“This is about our offense,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. “Every time we lose a game, it’s really almost never about our defense. … We have a problem on offense.”

No. 18 Syracuse (4-1) fell for the first time this season, 64-50, to South Carolina (6-0) on Saturday afternoon at the Barclays Center. After steamrolling opponents in its first four contests by an average of 33.8 points, the Orange finally hit a road bump. SU turned the ball over 17 times and shot just 31.8 percent from the field.

After averaging 86.3 points per game, Syracuse’s offense was thwarted for the first time this season.

“We did not that great of a job of attacking (South Carolina),” sophomore guard Frank Howard said. “We were standing around a lot. And we got beat doing it.”

South Carolina pressed out on the Orange’s wings and dared SU to score inside. But Syracuse still hasn’t developed a low-post scoring option, Boeheim said, and the Gamecocks put the Orange in a predicament by denying passes. Bigs Tyler Roberson, Dajuan Coleman and Paschal Chukwu combined for five points in 53 minutes. Forward Taurean Thompson came off the bench but went 1-for-6 from the field and Boeheim said he was “a little excited.”

The Gamecocks’ defense also opened up driving lanes inside, but as a result of poor spacing, USC players still clogged up those areas.

“It was kind of confusing to learn that on the fly,” Gillon said.

After trailing by 11 at halftime, Tyler Lydon opened the second half with eight straight points. Syracuse fought its way back within four points with under 12 minutes to play. But immediately after, Maik Kotsar scored a layup.

After grabbing a key defensive rebound with SU trailing, 51-43, Lydon attempted a 3 that rolled around the rim and out. After White made a 3 to cut the deficit to five with 6:30 to play, Lydon missed a floater in the lane on the next offensive possession.

SU opportunities were answered by the Gamecocks as the Orange struggled to string points together.

Over the past two years, USC was 25-1 when leading at halftime. The Gamecocks once again kept the clamps down and improved that record by one as it held the Orange to 24 second-half points.

At times, Boeheim used a lineup of Gillon and Howard while bumping White down to the forward spot in order to generate more drives to the basket.

“Against pressure defense, that should be a lineup that works,” Boeheim said. “It partially worked for a little while but it really wasn’t the answer.”

Boeheim said he watched South Carolina’s 61-46 win over Michigan on Wednesday and was aware of what was coming. The Wolverines are one of the best offensive movement teams in the country, he said. The game plan was to move the ball and get penetration.

But simply knowing what was coming wasn’t good enough. Syracuse didn’t execute.

For the first time, the Orange faced a team that could match its offensive firepower with a pressuring defense. And for the first time, it suffered a loss.

“They just were good defensively today. We didn’t execute,” Gillon said. “It’s us. It’s us. We have to look in the mirror and we have to get better.”

Published on November 26, 2016 at 7:13 pm

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