South Carolina Earns 81-49 Victory Over Holy Cross

Nov. 13, 2016

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina (2-0) picked up its second win of the season Sunday night at Colonial Life Arena after an 81-49 victory versus Holy Cross (0-1). The Gamecock defense limited the Crusaders to just 17 second half points and 30 percent shooting (6-20) from the field in the half. Carolina senior guard Sindarius Thornwell had 20 points to lead all scorers.

After trailing 4-3 early in the game, Carolina went on a 9-0 run after a put-back dunk by sophomore Chris Silva that put the Gamecocks up 12-4. Senior guard Justin McKie extended the early lead to 10 after a transition layup put Carolina ahead 18-8 with 11:56 to go in the first half. McKie’s layup forced Crusader Head Coach Bill Carmody to take a timeout after his team started the game 2-for-11 from the field (18.1 percent).

After the timeout, freshman guard Rakym Felder hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Gamecocks up 24-13. Carolina started the game on fire from the field, hitting 10-of-14 shots, good for 71.4 percent.

Holy Cross cut the lead to five at the 7:08 mark, but Thornwell answered with a post up bucket from the left block to put the Gamecocks up 33-26. Senior guard Duane Notice then hit a 3 on the team’s next possession, putting Carolina up 10, 36-26, with 3:03 left in the opening half.

Senior guard PJ Dozier hit his third 3 of the first half from the left wing with 1:29 left to put the Gamecocks up 15. Holy Cross answered with a 3-point bucket of its own. The teams exchanged 3s again on their next possessions, as Thornwell hit from deep for Carolina and Robert Champion, the Crusaders’ leading scorer from a year ago, hit one for Holy Cross. Champion’s 3 cut the deficit to 12 just before the half with Carolina leading 44-32.

Thornwell led all scorers at the break with 14. Dozier was the second-leading scorer on the stat sheet with 13 first-half points for the Gamecocks. Notice had four assists to lead all players. Carolina shot 58.3 percent in the opening period, including going 8-of-13 from deep. Champion, and forward Malachi Alexander, each scored 12 points for the Crusaders to account for 24 of the team’s 32 first-half points.

Carolina picked up right where it left off in the second half as Thornwell hit a 3 at the 15:03 mark to give the Gamecocks a 16-point lead, 53-37. McKie tallied his eighth point with just under 12 minutes to play with a high floater in the lane, which put Carolina up by 20, 59-39.

The Gamecocks defense remained locked in during half two. Holy Cross started the second half 4-for-13, just 30.8 percent from the field. Carolina’s hot shooting continued on the offensive end, as it started the second half 8-of-16 (50 percent).

Thornwell hit his fourth 3 of the game with 8:34 left to put the Gamecocks up 66-42. He finshed the night 4-for-6 from behind the arc. McKie joined Thornwell in double figures, scoring his 10th point of the night with 3:08 left after stealing the ball and taking it coast-to-coast for the lay in to give Carolina a 74-47 lead late in the game.

KEY STATS

South Carolina made a season high 12 3-pointers in the game and shot at least 50 percent from the field for the second-consecutive game.

NOTABLE

• South Carolina hit 10 or more 3s for the first time since February 6, 2016, on the road at Texas A&M when the Gamecocks also hit 12.
• The Gamecocks won by 30 or more points for the first time in nearly two years. The team’s last 30-point victory was a 37-point rout vs. North Carolina A&T on December 30, 2014 in Columbia.
• The win was Carolina’s first over a Patriot League opponent since a 73-40 win over Navy on Nov. 21, 2003 in Columbia.
• Freshman Rakym Felder made his South Carolina debut Sunday evening, logging eight points and four assists.
• McKie led all bench scorers with 10 points and 22 minutes.

UP NEXT

South Carolina continues its stretch of three games in five days to open the 2016-17 campaign when it hosts Monmouth on Tuesday evening. The meeting matches two of the top four seeds from last season’s Postseason NIT. The matchup will be broadcast on SEC Network + and will tip at 6:30 p.m. ET.

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