Vanderbilt Commodores @ South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina captures snow-delayed win 65-59
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Sindarius Thornwell scored 19 points and South Carolina broke a five-game losing streak to Vanderbilt with a 65-59 victory Thursday in a game delayed a day by a winter storm.
The Gamecocks (9-15, 2-9) have only won twice in the Southeastern Conference, both times in games when the campus was closed because of snow in the South. The other victory was over Texas A&M on Jan. 29th, the day after winter weather snarled traffic and coated lawns.
Duane Notice's 3-pointer with 13:59 left put South Carolina ahead for good. Thornwell added a 3-pointer moments later to start a 17-5 run as the Gamecocks took control.
Brenton Williams added 14 points for South Carolina and Notice 10.
It was the second straight loss for Vanderbilt (13-10, 5-6).
Kyle Fuller led the Commodores with 20 points. Freshman center Damian Jones had 16 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high seven blocks for Vanderbilt.
The Gamecocks held Vanderbilt's top scorer, reigning SEC player of the week Rod Odom, to 3-of-9 shooting for 10 points, five fewer than his season's average.
South Carolina moved in front 58-45 on Brian Steele's fast-break finish with 3:58 to go. Vanderbilt put together a final charge with seven straight points to draw within 58-52 on Odom's 3-pointer.
But Thornwell added a foul shot and a bucket to restore the big margin and South Carolina closed things out.
The snow-delayed, mid-afternoon game brought a middle-school feel to the 18,000-seat arena. There was no pep band, dance squad or cheerleaders as campus was closed for a second day because of the winter storm. The squeak of sneakers at times was the most prominent sound as the 1,000-or-so fans watched the contest.
The game needed an afternoon start so Vanderbilt could return to Nashville -- the Commodores play Saturday afternoon at home -- without further weather complications.
Both coaches were antsy to get this started and their teams played that way early on. The action was end-to-end, but so were the misses: South Carolina opened 5-of-14 shooting with just one more field goal than Vanderbilt, which went 4 of 15.
The Gamecocks built a five-point lead early and never gave it up, although the Commodores closed the half with Fuller's driving layup with less than a second left in the half to head to the locker room down 28-27.
Notice, the Gamecocks freshman point guard, struggled in shooting while matched with Fuller a senior. Notice was 1 of 7, although he limited Fuller into a 3-of-11 showing from the field in the opening half.
Rod Odom was held to just two points off two shots from the field. Jones, the 6-foot-10 freshman center, picked up the team's slack with 11 points and four boards the first 20 minutes.
Vanderbilt was looking to rebound from its last game, a disappointing loss to Arkansas.
Game Information
Columbia, SC

Referee:Anthony Jordan
Referee:Ted Valentine
Referee:Mike Nance

2025-26 Standings
| Southeastern ConferenceSoutheastern Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 16-2 | - | 27-8 |
| Arkansas | 13-5 | 3 | 28-9 |
| Alabama | 13-5 | 3 | 25-10 |
| Vanderbilt | 11-7 | 5 | 27-9 |
| Tennessee | 11-7 | 5 | 25-12 |
| Texas A&M | 11-7 | 5 | 22-12 |
| Georgia | 10-8 | 6 | 22-11 |
| Kentucky | 10-8 | 6 | 22-14 |
| Missouri | 10-8 | 6 | 20-13 |
| Texas | 9-9 | 7 | 21-15 |
| Auburn | 7-11 | 9 | 22-16 |
| Oklahoma | 7-11 | 9 | 21-16 |
| Mississippi State | 5-13 | 11 | 13-19 |
| Ole Miss | 4-14 | 12 | 15-20 |
| South Carolina | 4-14 | 12 | 13-19 |
| LSU | 3-15 | 13 | 15-17 |
Men's College Basketball News

2026 NBA mock draft: Projecting all 60 picks in Rounds 1 and 2
2h

Morez Johnson Jr.'s NBA draft profile
7h

Yaxel Lendeborg's NBA draft profile
7h

