Sindarius Thornwell started right where he left off for the Gamecocks as he provided an early spark on the offensive end and seemed to have all the answers that South Carolina needed in their 77-73 victory over Mississippi State Saturday night.
Thornwell scored South Carolina’s first 10 points of the night, as he connected on two shots from behind the arc, one deep two and an offensive rebound that he was able to lay back in. These first 2:57 of the game saw Thornwell make his first four shots while outscoring the entire Mississippi State team 10-2.
This phenomenal start was not just limited to the offensive end of the court, but also the defensive side. Just under seven minutes into the game, Thornwell drew a momentum-changing charge as the Rebels began to rally from his hot start. This charge was able to quiet the home crowd, and send Mississippi State’s leading scorer Quinndary Weatherspoon to the bench early with two fouls.
After scoring the Gamecocks first ten points and then 15 of their first 17, Thornwell would end the night with 28 points on 9-15 shooting from the field. He was aided greatly by his starting big men, with Chris Silva scoring 15 points and Maik Kotsar scoring 10.
Yet, late in the game with under one minute to play and South Carolina’s lead cut to five, South Carolina once again looked to their star to carry them to the finish line. And just as he has seemingly all season, Thornwell delivered, with a hard baseline drive past his defender where he was able to elevate and score, pushing the Gamecock’s lead to seven and inevitably putting the game out of reach.
Despite the win, the Gamecocks struggled to consistently slow the Rebels all night. Their defense, which ranks 6th in the country in field goal percentage defense and 16th in scoring defense, was not nearly as effective as it usually is.
Mississippi state was able to shoot 52.9 percent from the field, including 11-27 from three-point range. On the season, teams have shot on average of just over 38 percent from the field against South Carolina.
With the win, South Carolina is able to improve to 20-5 on the season and maintain tied at the top of the SEC standings with Kentucky and Florida for first place in the SEC.
The Gamecocks will take on Arkansas Wednesday as they continue their pursuit of SEC regular season champion.