No. 23 South Carolina was able to beat Auburn 98-69 Tuesday night behind their three point shooting and offensive firepower.
Stellar three-point shooting
After shooting just 25 percent from behind the arch against Kentucky, South Carolina came out firing. The Gamecocks surpassed their season average of 6.7 three-pointers per game by halftime with a total of 10 three-point field goals.
“We got guys on our team that have made shots for us in the past and will continue to make shots,” said Frank Martin on the early three-point shooting success. “We made some open threes early.”
The team shot an astonishing 62.5 percent from three over the first 20 minutes, going 10 of 16 during that time. In the final 12:46 of the first half, the Gamecocks made 10 field goals, nine of which were three pointers. Duane Notice connected on all four of his first half three-point attempts and ended the game six of nine from three, pouring in a game high 27 points.
The three-point barrage continued in the second half as the Gamecocks added five more three pointers to finish the night 15-26 and 57.7% from behind the arch.
Silva bounces back
Chris Silva made his presence felt early, scoring eight of the Gamecocks first 15 points of the night. The sophomore forward avoided picking up early fouls, something that has plagued him through his early college career. Keeping Silva on the floor has been vital for the Gamecocks’ first half success this season and has been a point of emphasis from Frank Martin over the course of the schedule.
Silva’s hot start pushed the Gamecocks to an early 15-8 advantage and prevented Auburn from ever holding a lead throughout the night. Silva picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half when the game was well in hand for the Gamecocks and finished with 16 points on the night.
Silva, along with the Gamecocks’ three seniors, Sindarius Thornwell, Duane Notice and Justin McKie, “were phenomenal over the last three days,” in helping the team recover from the loss at Kentucky said Martin. The play of all three guided the Gamecocks to the win.
Gamecocks tally season high point total
Fans reluctantly let out a soft boo as Hassani Gravett dribbled out the clock on the Gamecocks’ 98-69 win over the Auburn Tigers. Those fans desired to see the Gamecocks reach triple figures in the scoring column for the first time since 2007 when they posted 103 points against The Citadel.
“The goal is just to win the game, not to score the most points ever,” said Sindarius Thornwell. The 98 points is South Carolina’s highest point total of the season, besting the previous high of 92 points in a win over SC State in November.
Next Up
South Carolina travels to Columbia, Missouri, to face the Missouri Tigers at Mizzou Arena on Saturday night where the Gamecocks are looking to pick up their seventh conference win of the season.