Nov. 18, 2003

Box Score?|? Quotes

By JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press Writer

COLUMBIA, S.C. –Tarence Kinsey scored a career-high 21 points and seven rebounds and Carlos Powell added 19 points and six boards as South Carolina beat Idaho 76-66 in the second round of the Guardians Classic on Tuesday night.

The Gamecocks (2-0) led nearly the entire game – the Vandals’ only lead came at 1-0 – but each time they put some distance between Idaho, the Vandals (1-1) clawed back in it.

South Carolina finally put the game away for good, answering a 7-0 Idaho run that cut the lead to 56-52 with just under eight minutes left with a 15-6 run of its own to lead 71-58 with a minute to go.

The Gamecocks move on to the semifinals of the tournament in Kansas City, Mo.

South Carolina’s 3-point shooting cooled off Tuesday – the Gamecocks were 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) compared to 12-of-26 in the opener. But their defense looked much better, forcing 21 turnovers, getting 10 steals and cutting out the easy baskets Gardner-Webb kept getting in Monday night’s 83-74 win.

Kerbrell Brown had 13 points and led the Gamecocks with nine rebounds. South Carolina shot 42.6 percent (29-of-68), while holding Idaho to 37.5 percent shooting (21-of-56).

Dwayne Williams led the Vandals with 16 points, hitting four of six 3-pointers. Tanoris Shepard and Armend Kahrimanovic each had 12 points for Idaho.

The Vandals’ long-distance shooting kept them in the game. They were 9-of-15 (60 percent) from behind the arc. In fact, Idaho hit just three more two-point field goals than 3-pointers.

South Carolina picked up its inside game Tuesday night, holding the Vandals to 20 points in the paint after allowing 48 points inside the night before. But the team still misses center Rolando Howell, who is serving a 10-game suspension. Idaho outrebounded the Gamecocks 41-36.

The Gamecocks looked like they might break it open early, leading 26-16 with eight minutes to go in the first half.

But Idaho would end the half on a 15-6 run to trail just 32-31 at the break. The Vandals’ outside game kept them in it. Idaho hit six of eight 3-pointers in the first half, with Dwayne Williams knocked down on all four of his attempts.

South Carolina had seven steals and forced 14 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, keeping the Colonial Center crowd of 4,892 into it. It was the smallest attendance ever for a Gamecock game in the 2-year-old arena.

The only other time the Vandals and Gamecocks played was in 1983. South Carolina won 56-54 in Columbia.