South Carolina goes to 7-0 with 81-63 win over South Florida
South Carolina beat South Florida 81-63 on Saturday, posting a 19-0 run in the game’s first three minutes and fighting off a second-half comeback.
The Bulls had a 17-2 run in the first 10 minutes of the second half but USC still led by 25 points, down from 36 with 17:45 to play. As turnovers mounted and the Gamecocks began to miss, USF began working inside and scoring on high-percentage shots.
The deficit was cut to 13 but the Gamecocks found a response. When Chris Silva dunked over Jaleel Cousins, the threat was over.
The Gamecocks (8-0) matched their best start since 2003-04, the last time they advanced to the NCAA Tournament. USC hasn’t been 9-0 since 1970-71, when it won its only ACC championship. USF fell to 2-7.
Sindarius Thornwell scored the Gamecocks’ first five points and fueled their run after the Bulls made it 5-2 on a Jahmal McMurray jumper. South Carolina could hardly miss from the field while South Carolina missed 10 straight shots.
By the time Roddy Peters finally broke the run with a jumper, the Gamecocks led 24-4. South Carolina were up 53-22 at halftime.
The Bulls were helped in their comeback by controlling the glass. USF had 20 offensive rebounds while the Gamecocks had six.
Michael Carrera led the Gamecocks with 19 points while Thornwell (15), P.J. Dozier (12) and Duane Notice (15) joined him in double figures.
Cousins and Nehemias Morillo had 13 points each for USF.
TIP-INS
The game was a matchup between the only two Hispanic-American head coaches in Division I college basketball. That was a big reason why Frank Martin and Orlando Antigua scheduled the game, and ESPN’s Pedro Gomez was on hand to interview each coach. … Martin was a JV assistant to Sergio Rouco at Miami Senior High School in 1985. Rouco is now a USF assistant. … South Carolina is the only Division I school in the country with unbeaten men’s and women’s teams. The No. 2 Gamecocks women’s team hosts No. 14 Duke on Sunday.
UP NEXT
South Florida hosts NC State on Dec. 13.
South Carolina host Drexel on Dec. 15.
This story was originally published December 5, 2015 at 10:24 PM with the headline "South Carolina goes to 7-0 with 81-63 win over South Florida."