KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 19 (UPI) -- Rodney Carney had six three-pointers and a career-high 26 points Friday to give Memphis a 59-43 NCAA Tournament win over South Carolina.
A 6-7 sophomore, Carney averaged 12.7 points this season. He surpassed that with 13 points in the first 14 minutes as the Tigers raced to a 27-15 lead and costed the rest of the way.
"He played like Michael Jordan in practice all week and that's the way he played today," Memphis Coach John Calipari said. "He was really great."
"It's great to have a game like this in the NCAA Tournament," said Carney, who was 10 of 17 from the floor and also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Memphis (22-7) earned its first NCAA Tournament win since 1995 and will meet second-seeded Oklahoma State in the second round.
South Carolina (23-11) was eliminated in the first round for the fifth straight time dating to 1974.
The Gamecocks made just two three-pointers in 11 attempts compared with nine from beyond the arc for Memphis.
