Gamecocks handle late rally, trample South Florida 81-63

Perhaps it was inevitable.

South Carolina was playing so well that a letdown was sure to come, so when a 36-point second-half lead was trimmed to 13, shaking heads were equaled by nodding ones.

But the Gamecocks still won.

USC survived a South Florida rally to win 81-63 on Saturday, improving to 8-0 and matching their best start since the 2003-04 NCAA Tournament season. One more win matches another NCAA Tournament season – 1970-71, also USC’s lone ACC championship – but the Gamecocks will have to wait 10 days to get it.

“All we did at halftime was talk about playing the game the right way in the second half,” USC coach Frank Martin said. “Don’t take the game off, play the right way. We did the complete opposite.”

A first-half clinic had the Gamecocks leading by 20 points, aided by a 19-0 run. The Bulls (2-7) had no answers for USC’s relentless attacking of the rim and lengthy arms that kept knocking possessions into fast-break points.

Sindarius Thornwell had 11 early points and ended with 15, while Duane Notice continued to be one of the country’s best sixth men. P.J. Dozier was scoring early and USC could barely miss, taking a 31-point halftime lead.

“They threw a haymaker, punched us right in the mouth,” USF coach Orlando Antigua said. “We tucked our chin in and were looking for Mommy.”

The lead was sliced to 20, then 17, then 13 before Chris Silva ended the threat with a dunk.

“We started the game hot with the big run, and that’s really it,” Thornwell said. “All we tried to do was hold the lead and at the end of the day, win the game.”

TURNING POINT

The Bulls cut the deficit to 15 with 2:31 to play. Chris Silva dunked over Jaleel Cousins, but the message was worth much more than two points.

3 POINTS

Star of the game: Carrera continues to have a stellar senior year, scoring 19 points and leading the team with seven rebounds.

Play of the game: USC won the tip and the possession became a Thornwell three-point play. While the lead shrank, the Gamecocks’ initial burst had them ahead to stay.

Stat of the game: USF had 20 offensive rebounds. “Us guards didn’t help the bigs at all tonight. We got to do a better job of getting in there and rebounding,” Thornwell said.

FROM THE BASELINE

Escaped Wolf: Where’s Laimonas Chatkevicius? The senior center had been playing his best basketball before the past two games. “Laimonas’ got to figure out who he is,” Martin said. “I can’t make that choice for him.”

Take Notice: The junior guard continues to shine off the bench. His speed and shot selection leaves no gaps when USC has to make its first substitution.

UP NEXT

Who: South Carolina vs. Drexel

When: 7 p.m. Dec. 15

Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia

This story was originally published December 5, 2015 at 5:52 PM.