Columbia, S.C. ? South Carolina threw brick after brick at the charity stripe, and not because Kansas University has a stifling free-throw defense.

The Gamecocks made only eight of 19 at the foul line in Sunday’s 70-54 loss to the Jayhawks at the Colonial Center.

“A team like ours has to take advantage at the free-throw line,” said Dave Odom, now in his sixth season as South Carolina coach. “You’re certainly not going to win at this level going 8-of-19.”

If someone had told Odom before the game that the Gamecocks would attempt 14 more free throws than the Jayhawks – KU was 4-for-5 – he might have cartwheeled all the way to Charleston.

In rolling to a 10-2 record, South Carolina was shooting a respectable 68.2 percent at the foul line. On Sunday, it shot 42.1 percent.

“You have to make free throws,” Odom continued. “When you don’t do that, a team like Kansas will cash in, and they did. They know how to hurt you.”

At least a part of that big hurt was the obvious fact the Gamecocks were gassed during the last 13 or so minutes because of Odom’s thin bench.

“Fatigue became our Achilles heel in the second half, as I was afraid it would be,” Odom said.

No Gamecock had an emptier tank than Tre Kelley, the ‘Cocks’ senior point guard. Kelley sat out South Carolina’s last game because of a knee sprain, but returned Sunday and showed evidence of knee woes.

Weariness was another story. Kelley missed 13 of his 16 shots from the field.

“I didn’t play for a week, and it caught up with me toward the end,” Kelley said.

Kelly finished with 10 points and six assists, but was guilty of six turnovers.

“Maybe I had him out there too much, I don’t know,” Odom said. “Going 0-for-13 was atypical for him. In the last seven or eight minutes, he was fatigued so bad he couldn’t play defense.”

Meanwhile, the Jayhawks never let up.

“Kansas is a team endowed with really good talent,” Odom said. “They don’t panic, and that’s what you expect from a national-caliber team.”