National Basketball Association
South Carolina 71, Arkansas 69
When: 3:25 PM ET, Thursday, March 13, 2014
Where: Georgia Dome , Atlanta, Georgia
Officials:
# Patrick Adams, # James Barker, # Rob Groover
Attendance:
N/A
By SportsDirect Inc.
South Carolina 71, Arkansas 69: Sindarius Thornwell scored 17 points and the 13th-seeded Gamecocks charged into the SEC tournament quarterfinals with an upset of the No. 5 seed Razorbacks in Atlanta.
Laimonas Chatkevicius had 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench for South Carolina (14-19), which previously knocked off Auburn in the first round and will next meet No. 4 seed Tennessee on Friday. Duane Notice scored 11 points and Mindaugas Kacinas grabbed 10 rebounds as the Gamecocks won their second straight tourney game after a six-game skid in the annual event.
Coty Clarke led four players in double figures with 13 points for Arkansas (21-11), which was dealt a mammoth blow in its bid to earn an NCAA tournament at-large selection. Bobby Portis and Rashad Madden had 11 points apiece and Michael Qualls tallied 10 as the Razorbacks suffered their seventh straight tournament setback.
Anthlon Bell buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer before halftime to get Arkansas within 35-32 and the Razorbacks went ahead a little over two minutes into the second half, which saw several lead changes from that point on. Clarke drained a 3-pointer with three minutes left to put Arkansas up 67-66 and Qualls scored on the next possession to make it a three-point bulge.
However, the Razorbacks would not score again - missing their final four shots - and South Carolina was able to pull ahead at the line, despite making just 5-of-10 in the final two minutes. After Michael Carrera split a pair with three seconds left to cap the scoring, Madden's shot from just inside half court clanged off the rim.
GAME NOTEBOOK: South Carolina had a 40-24 rebounding advantage. ... The Gamecocks had made 25-of-31 free throws before their late swoon at the line. ... Arkansas C Moses Kingsley had seven points and four of his team's six blocked shots off the bench.
Top Game Performances
South Carolina |
|
Arkansas |
Sindarius Thornwell 17 |
Scoring |
Coty Clarke 13 |
Duane Notice 3 |
Assists |
Rashad Madden 4 |
Mindaugas Kacinas 10 |
Rebounds |
Coty Clarke 5 |
Laimonas Chatkevicius 8 |
Free Throws Made |
Rashad Madden 7 |
Sindarius Thornwell 2 |
Steals |
Coty Clarke 3 |
Laimonas Chatkevicius 1 |
Blocks |
Moses Kingsley 4 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
South Carolina
|
71 |
38.3 |
5-12 |
30-41 |
10 |
38 |
2 |
3 |
15 |
Arkansas
|
69 |
42.6 |
3-14 |
20-26 |
11 |
22 |
6 |
7 |
9 |