COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina’s Duane Notice is steadily gaining attention for his skills at the point. Then again, the freshman had little choice with the problems that developed at that spot.
Notice, the 6-foot-2 freshman, has filled in nicely in place of injured Tyrone Johnson and off-to-the-NFL Bruce Ellington. On Wednesday, Notice scored a career-high 19 points to help South Carolina end its 0-6 Southeastern Conference start with an 80-52 victory over Texas A&M on Wednesday night.
Notice figured to see time at shooting guard, where he’s much more comfortable, until the Gamecocks lost Johnson to a fractured foot and senior Ellington to the NFL draft. That left coach Frank Martin needing Notice’s ball handling and leadership to blossom in a hurry.
“The learning curve has been tremendous,” Notice said. “I couldn’t tell the future - that Bruce would go to the NFL or that Ty would get injured. Even though it’s not my natural position, it’s what I have to do for the team to help us win.”
The Gamecocks (8-12, 1-6) hadn’t done much of that the past few weeks. Their last victory before this was Jan. 3 against South Carolina State and they were on the verge of tagging Martin with his longest losing streak as a college head coach.
But South Carolina came out fast, built a 10-point lead in the first six minutes and rarely looked back.
Sindarius Thornwell, another freshman, had 19 points while Brenton Williams had 18 points off four 3-pointers.
“It does feel good,” said Williams, the team’s lone senior. “We knew it was coming eventually.”
Jamal Jones and Shawn Smith had nine points apiece for Texas A&M, which has lost four straight since defeating South Carolina 75-67 on Jan. 15.
Johnson was lost in that contest when an official accidently stepped on his foot. He had surgery days later and comes to games on crutches. Ellington’s steady hand was expected to spend plenty of time directing the games, but the two-sport standout - Ellington led the football Gamecocks in receiving this season - gave up his senior seasons in both sports to train for May’s NFL draft.
Martin says Notice has worked to quicken the transition and become a more instinctive leader. Notice was as vocal and focused as he’d been all year in practice this week, the coach said. “He played like a point guard tonight,” Martin said.
The Gamecocks came into this one struggling at nearly all aspects of the game. They were last in SEC rebounding and near the bottom in league offense and defense. They had tied the school worst with an 0-6 start and the six-game losing streak matched the longest ever in Martin’s seven seasons as a head coach.
Texas A&M started the second half with a 13-5 run to cut the Gamecocks’ 20-point halftime lead to 46-34. It had the chance to cut further into the lead, but Shawn Smith missed a layup and Notice followed with a three-point play. The Aggies made it 50-37 on Fabyon Harris’ 3-pointer, then Notice connected on a second three-point play as part of a 17-4 South Carolina run over the next seven minutes that locked up the game.
“That was the story of the game, really,” Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. “Their guards out-physicaled us and made plays at the rim that we didn’t make.”
The Aggies were cold and mistake prone in the opening half. They shot 33 percent (7 of 21) and committed 10 turnovers. They also got outmuscled under the boards by the Gamecocks, 20-11.
Texas A&M got in Tuesday before the brunt of the southern snowstorm reached the state’s capital city. The effects, though, were seen at Colonial Life Arena where there were no cheerleaders or pep band since the South Carolina campus was closed because of icy roads.
The weather didn’t stop Gamecock football coach Steve Spurrier from attending. He sat for a time with Texas A&M athletic director Eric Hyman, who held the same job at South Carolina until leaving for the Aggies in the summer of 2012.
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