COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Sindarius Thornwell scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half and Duane Notice hit a foul shot with 3:11 left that put South Carolina ahead for good in a 63-57 victory over Mississippi State on Tuesday night.
Notice added his only basket, a 3-pointer with 2:12 to go, that extended the lead for the Gamecocks (22-8, 12-5 SEC) who won the second-most Southeastern Conference games in their history and clinched one of the top four seeds for next week's league tournament.
Not that it was easy.
Mississippi State (14-15, 5-12), playing without injured leading scorer Quinndary Weatherspoon, erased a 10-point deficit midway through the half and took a 52-50 lead on Tyson Carter's 3-pointer with 4:29 to go.