Thornwell only Gamecock to break double-digits in defeat
Leading up to Saturday’s contest at Tennessee, men’s basketball coach Frank Martin was concerned that his young team would be outmatched by the Volunteers’ size and experience. And to his own chagrin, the coach was right.
South Carolina ran into a buzzsaw in Knoxville, Tenn. and would ultimately fall 72-53. The contest was all but decided by no later than halftime when the Gamecocks went to the locker room down by 23.
After drawing praise from Martin following last Wednesday’s game, freshman guard Sindarius Thornwell led South Carolina with 15 points to go with three rebounds and four assists. Senior guard Brenton Williams was the next closest to double-figures without reaching the mark, turning in nine points on the day.
Sophomore forward Mindaugus Kacinas again paced the Gamecocks on the boards with six rebounds in the game.
While Thornwell was the only South Carolina player to break double digits in the scoring category, three Volunteers turned in double-figure performances. Tennessee guard Jordan McRae turned in a game-high 24 points and forwards Jarnell Stokes and Jeronne Maymon scored 17 and 10, respectively. Ironically, Martin had expressed concern earlier in the week about each of the three Volunteers that scored over 10 points.
The loss drops the Gamecocks to 8-15 overall with a 1-9 mark in the SEC.
South Carolina will return to the court Wednesday night against Vanderbilt when the team opens up a two-game home stand.