Serving Notice: Second-half surge earns Gamecocks rivalry win

How’s that go? “If at first you don’t succeed ?”

South Carolina completed the rest of the phrase, and blasted Clemson out of Colonial Life Arena.

The Gamecocks beat their Upstate nemesis for the first time in three years on Friday, 68-45, giving coach Frank Martin his first win in the rivalry and improving USC’s win streak to four. The victory was keyed by one sizzling stretch in the second half, where something that hadn’t worked all night finally meshed together like the intertwined nylon under the rim.

“Coach always preaches to play inside-out,” guard Duane Notice said. “When we’re struggling from the field, our best bet is to attack the basket and get to the line. For me personally, I just want to keep shooting.”

The Gamecocks could get into that. Notice had 19 on Friday and has 78 in his last four games.

“We got tremendous balance right now,” Martin said. “I’m not into one guy. I’m into our team.”

Baffled by Clemson’s zone defense and trying to shoot over it as an 11-point first-half lead dissolved into a 21-8 Tigers run and halftime lead, USC couldn’t buy a 3-pointer. The Gamecocks missed six straight at one point in a stretch where eight of their 11 field-goal attempts were from long range, and after Martin’s halftime reminder to attack the zone, USC adjusted.

The Gamecocks had just eked back into the lead when it happened. Notice, who’d made the only two of 13 previous tries, drained a 3 for a nine-point cushion. The next possession saw Laimonas Chatkevicius, who nearly single-handedly took Clemson center Landry Nnoko out of the game, fed Notice for another 3. Holding onto a near-scoreless night and wanting a piece of candy, Sindarius Thornwell begged for the ball up top, got it, shot – and the Tigers were warming up the bus.

“I just felt like I had to get it and shoot it,” Notice said. “Sindarius hit a big 3; from there the emotion poured out.”

USC only made 7-of-22 3s for the game, but three were on three consecutive possessions to salt the game. The flustered Tigers, who were 3-0 against the SEC, went six minutes without scoring as USC opened a 28-point advantage.

The Tigers had 15 second-half points. Their bench, unused to having to play major minutes, couldn’t make up the difference, especially when starters Landry Nnoko (no points) and Rod Hall (two) were ineffective.

The Gamecocks shook off a cold-ending first half and got contributions from everybody. Chatkevicius had 12 and blocked three shots with two steals. Demetrius Henry had six early points, five rebounds and two blocks. Thornwell had six with seven boards while Michael Carrera, back after missing three games with a concussion, had six and six in just 10 minutes.

They claimed a foothold in a series that has been decidedly orange the past 20 years and gave Martin another elevated step. He admitted it’s been a rough two-and-a-half years, but the Gamecocks are starting to show what he’s always known was possible.

“I think our fans are a little freaked out,” Martin said. “They can’t believe we’re actually winning.

“Now we’re starting to see a home-court advantage. You’re starting to see a team that’s starting to believe.”

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CLEMSON (6-4)

Blossomgame 5-10 3-3 14, Hall 1-8 0-2 2, Grantham 3-8 0-0 7, Harrison 4-11 0-1 10, Nnoko 0-1 0-0 0, Rooks 0-3 0-0 0, Ajukwa 1-3 0-1 2, DeVoe 0-1 0-0 0, Roper 0-7 4-4 4, Smith 1-2 0-1 2, McGillan 0-0 0-0 0, Djitte 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 17-57 7-12 45.

SOUTH CAROLINA (6-3)

Thornwell 1-5 3-4 6, Johnson 1-4 2-2 4, Notice 7-15 0-0 19, Chatkevicius 6-8 0-0 12, Henry 3-4 2-2 8, Stroman 0-2 2-6 2, Theus Jr. 0-0 0-0 0, McKie 1-5 2-2 5, Carrera 2-3 2-2 6, Kacinas 2-4 2-2 6, Steele 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-50 15-20 68.

Halftime_Clemson 30-28. 3-Point Goals_Clemson 4-18 (Harrison 2-7, Blossomgame 1-1, Grantham 1-2, Hall 0-1, Ajukwa 0-1, DeVoe 0-1, Rooks 0-2, Roper 0-3), South Carolina 7-22 (Notice 5-9, McKie 1-4, Thornwell 1-4, Stroman 0-1, Henry 0-1, Chatkevicius 0-1, Johnson 0-2). Fouled Out_Djitte. Rebounds_Clemson 31 (Djitte 6), South Carolina 40 (Thornwell 7). Assists_Clemson 7 (Hall 3), South Carolina 17 (Johnson 9). Total Fouls_Clemson 20, South Carolina 14. Attendance_11,992.

This story was originally published December 19, 2014 at 8:46 PM with the headline "Serving Notice: Second-half surge earns Gamecocks rivalry win."