Jan. 10, 2009

Recap | Final Stats | Quotes

–Tonight’s win was South Carolina’s first in a Southeastern Conference opener since the 2003 season when the Gamecocks defeated Mississippi 55-49. The Gamecocks improve to 6-12 all-time in SEC openers, 7-11 in SEC home openers.

–The 12-point final margin gave the Gamecocks their first double-digit win in SEC play since defeating Mississippi 76-63 on Feb. 24, 2007, in Columbia.

–South Carolina has now won two straight over Auburn; Mississippi and Arkansas are the only other SEC schools against which the Gamecocks own consecutive victories.

–Head coach Darrin Horn joins Eddie Fogler as the only two South Carolina coaches to win their Southeastern Conference debuts. Fogler led the Gamecocks to an 82-66 victory over Alabama on Jan. 5, 1994.

–After missing the first 13 games of the season, sophomore forward Sam Muldrow made his first appearance of the season tonight. He played 10 minutes and promptly matched a career high with two steals.

–South Carolina forced Auburn into a season-high 24 turnovers with 13 of those coming by way of Gamecock steals. Dominique Archie and Devan Downey led the thievery with three steals apiece while Brandis Raley-Ross, Mike Holmes and Sam Muldrow had two each.

–Zam Fredrick set a season high with 27 points in the contest on 9-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-10 from three-point range, setting a season high in three-pointers made and equaling a career best in three-point attempts. The senior, who was honored in a pre-game ceremony after scoring his 1,000th career point Monday against Wofford, also went 5-for-5 at the free throw line and added an assist and two rebounds.

–For the first time all season, South Carolina did not have at least three players in double-digits as Zam Fredrick was the only Gamecock to score 10 points or more. Devan Downey, who had scored in double-digits for 15 straight games, finished one shy of extending the streak with nine points. Downey contributed three steals and two assists in the winning effort.