Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Duane Notice scored a career-high 23 points to lead the South Carolina Gamecocks past the Auburn Tigers, 74-56, in the first round of the SEC Tournament at the Georgia Dome.
Notice knocked down all four of his 3-point attempts and added eight rebounds for 13th-seeded South Carolina (13-19), which will play Arkansas in the second round on Thursday. Brenton Williams also drained four 3-pointers on his way to 16 points, Laimonas Chatkevicius logged 11 points and nine rebounds, Sindarius Thornwell netted 10 and Mindaugas Kacinas rounded out the balanced effort with eight points and 10 boards.
For 12th-seeded Auburn (13-19), Chris Denson and KT Harrell scored 14 and 13 points, respectively.
South Carolina carried a comfortable 38-26 lead into the halftime locker room by shooting 46.2 percent from the field in the first half, including 7-of-11 from beyond the arc. Auburn made good on only 36.4 percent of its tries from the floor in the first half.
The Gamecocks' advantage never dipped below double digits in the second half, as they shot 13-of-15 at the foul line over the final 20 minutes to keep Auburn at bay.
South Carolina earned a decisive advantage in the rebounding battle, 39-25.
