Gamecocks storm to 65 in second half, oust Blue Devils
GREENVILLE, S.C. — South Carolina is heading to Madison Square Garden — and not for the NIT.
A Gamecocks program known largely — and mocked often by some — for its back-to-back NIT championships in 2005 and 2006 is heading to the nation’s most famous arena as part of the NCAA’s Sweet 16. They are making their first appearance in the regional semifinals since the bracket expanded after an 88-81 victory Sunday night over No. 2 seed Duke in the East Regional.
And Sindarius Thornwell says he believes bigger things are ahead.
“We’re not satisfied,” Thornwell said. “We’re in it, so why not win it?”
The Gamecocks (24-10) seem capable of anything after this one.
Thornwell had 24 points, Chris Silva scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, and Duane Notice had 17 points, 14 in
a 65-point second half, as South Carolina rallied from 10 points down for a second straight NCAA victory.
The 65 points were the most given up in a half by a Mike Krzyzewski-coached Duke team.
The Gamecocks shook off 20 percent shooting in the first half for the win.
“I told the guys at halftime someone’s got to have the courage and make shots,” South Carolina coach Frank Martin said.
When the horn sounded, South Carolina players, coaches and staff rushed to the fans at Bon Secours Wellness Arena to celebrate — a crowd that included Texans Pro Bowl defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, a former Gamecock.
The Gamecocks had not won an NCAA Tournament game in 44 years coming into the weekend. Next up is the East Regional, where South Carolina takes on third-seeded Baylor, an 82-78 winner over Southern Cal.
Duke (28-9) was attempting to reach the Round of 16 for the sixth time in eight seasons. The Blue Devils, however, 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.
It was hard to call this anything other than a home game for South Carolina, whose campus is two hours east and whose fans filled the arena. Kennard said his team has been in difficult environments before “and we’ve won games like that. Their team, they fed off the crowd, I think, and it gave them a little energy.”
The Blue Devils made five of their eight 3-point attempts in the first half yet only five of 19 after the break. They tied a season high with 18 turnovers against the relentless Gamecocks attack.
Silva added 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double this season.
Grayson Allen led Duke with 20 points.
Krzyzewski said South Carolina’s physical nature wore down his team in the second half.
“That’s the most physical team we’ve faced all year,” Krzyzewski said.
Even as South Carolina got in front, Duke believed it could mount a comeback like the several it pulled off last week to become the first ACC champion to win four games on the way to a conference tournament title.
“We’ve done it before. We thought we could,” Matt Jones said. “The shots just didn’t fall today. We couldn’t find enough energy to muster up that late push.”