South Carolina matched a school record with 25 wins (1969-70) and earned its first postseason victory since it won the NIT Championship in 2006 with a 88-66 win over the High Point Panthers.
The Gamecocks were without five players Tuesday, as head coach Frank Martin suspended TeMarcus Blanton, Chris Silva, Eric Cobb, Marcus Stroman and Jamall Gregory just hours prior to tipoff.
"I think it will affect us a little, but for the most part, we still have all the key guys, we still have all the guys that play 30-plus minutes a night," junior guard Sindarius Thornwell said.
Martin said the players were suspended because of a conduct issue before the game.
The suspensions left South Carolina with a shortened rotation and forced Martin to play his starters extra minutes. This wasn’t an issue early on, as South Carolina jumped out to an 18-point lead midway through the first half.
As the half progressed, however, High Point’s depth and shooting overpowered the Gamecocks. The Panthers started a 23-12 run at the 6:44 mark and trimmed South Carolina’s lead to five points by halftime.
High Point shot 46.7 percent from three-point range in the first half with six of its seven makes coming in the final eight minutes of play. South Carolina, on the other hand, struggled with the outside shot late in the half, which allowed High Point to swarm Mindaugus Kacinas and Laimonas Chatkevicius inside.
The frontcourt duo combined for 23 points in the first half, but was double- and triple-teamed down the stretch, suffocating the Gamecocks offense.
South Carolina started the second half much like the first — in the paint. High Point responded with resiliency, but the momentum ultimately shifted in the Gamecocks favor after Sindarius Thornwell blocked a shot and took it coast-to-coast for a layup. That sequence started a 20-0 run by the Gamecocks to secure the victory.
Thornwell finished the game with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds and made four of his six three-point attempts.
Chatkevicius add 30 points, a career-high, on 15-16 shooting. The Gamecocks outscored High Point 58-10 in the paint.
The second round is scheduled for March 21 at Colonial Life Arena. South Carolina will play the winner of the Georgia Tech-Houston matchup Wednesday night.