Thornwell scores 26 points in loss
The South Carolina men’s basketball team hoped to pick up its first conference win when it traveled to Athens, Ga., Wednesday night to take on the Georgia Bulldogs.
But the Gamecocks found themselves on the wrong end of a blowout against the Bulldogs, falling 97-76.
South Carolina gave up the lead in the third minute of the game and didn’t lead again for the rest of the night. The 21-point defeat comes after South Carolina (7-11, 0-5 SEC) lost its previous three SEC contests by an average of just four points.
Four Gamecocks scored in double digits on the night, with freshman guard Sindarius Thornwell leading the way with a career-high 26 points. Wednesday’s game is the second in a row in which Thornwell has scored more than 20.
Senior Brenton Williams and freshmen Duane Notice and Jaylen Shaw joined Thornwell in double figures, turning in 18, 14 and 12, respectively.
South Carolina ran into trouble on the glass again, getting outrebounded by the Bulldogs 39-27 on the night. Sophomores Laimonas Chatkevicius and Michael Carrera shared the team lead with six boards apiece.
Georgia was paced by forward Nemanja Djurisic’s 22 points. He was one of five Bulldogs to score at least 10 points in the contest.
Still in pursuit of their first SEC victory, the Gamecocks will head to Columbia, Mo., Saturday to face the Missouri Tigers.