Sindarius Thornwell had 19 points and eight rebounds to keep No. 22 South Carolina undefeated with a 69-65 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday.
South Carolina (15-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) passed its first tough test of the season, taking its first lead on PJ Dozier's floater with 10:54 left. Dozier then hit a reverse layup as the rare near sellout crowd at Colonial Life Center roared.
Dozier scored seven of his nine points over the next 5 minutes and the Gamecocks kept Vanderbilt (8-7, 0-3) at bay with good defense. The Commodores missed 19 of their last 22 shots.
South Carolina and SMU are the only unbeaten teams left in Division I. South Carolina has only reached 15 wins in three of its past 10 seasons.
Riley Lachance and Wade Baldwin IV each had 13 points for Vanderbilt.
