DUKE TOPPLED
Baylor turns away challenge by Southern California
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Sindarius Thornwell had 24 points, Chris Silva scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half and seventh-seeded South Carolina stunned No. 2 seed Duke 88-81 on Sunday night to advance to its first Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament’s expanded bracket.
The Gamecocks (24-10) trailed by 10 points early in the second half after one of its coldest shooting stretches of the season to start. But behind Thornwell’s outside shooting and Silva’s dominance underneath, South Carolina rallied to win two NCAA games for the first time in 44 years.
The Gamecocks rushed to their fans when things were over, celebrating one of the biggest wins in program history.
Next up is the East Regional at Madison Square Garden where the Gamecocks will face third-seeded Baylor, an 82-78 winner over Southern Cal earlier Sunday.
Duke (28-9) was attempting to reach the round of 16 for the sixth time in eight seasons. The Blue Devils, though, could not surmount South Carolina’s stifling defense. Leading scorer Luke Kennard had his second straight subpar shooting game, finishing 1 of 6 for 11 points before fouling out.
The Blue Devils made five of their eight 3-point attempts in the first half, yet only 5 of 19 after the break. They tied a season high with 18 turnovers against the relentless Gamecocks attack.
Duane Notice had 17 points for South Carolina, 14 in the second half. Silva added 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double this season.
Grayson Allen led Duke with 20 points.
It sounded like typical coach hyperbole when Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski said the Gamecocks
would be the best defensive team his club has faced this season. That proved out in the first half as the Blue Devils were continually disrupted by South Carolina’s pressure and coughed the ball up 13 times after averaging only 11 turnovers a game this season.
The Blue Devils did not make a basket after Matt Jones’ 3-pointer with 5:38 to play, their only points coming on Allen’s foul shots in the final minute before the break.
Duke did its share to thwart the Gamecocks on defense, too, holding South Carolina to 7-of35 shooting the first 20 minutes. The Gamecocks missed 20 of their last 22 shots to fall behind 30-23 at the break. No. 3 BAYLOR 82, No. 11 USC
78: In Tulsa, Okla., Johnathan Motley had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Manu Lecomte scored all 12 of his points in the final 5 minutes, and Baylor defeated USC.
The Trojans had rallied from second-half deficits to win their first two NCAA Tournament games , but Lecomte was the spark that held the Trojans at bay. The point guard from Belgium didn’t score until a four-point play that gave the Bears a 69-67 lead with 4:40 remaining. It started his run of eight points in 45 seconds, and third-seeded Baylor never trailed again.
“I just had to pick it up,” Lecomte said. “I was struggling a little bit in the first half and I just had to pick it up. My teammates and my coaches did a great job. They kept believing in me, they kept me in the game, they trusted me with the ball in my hands, and I just had to go out there and make plays.”
Terry Maston scored 19 points and King McClure added 17 and for the Bears (27-7), who advance to play seventhseeded South Carolina, which beat second-seeded Duke, in the Sweet 16 in New York.
Motley fouled out with 1:39 remaining and the game still in doubt.