National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
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

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