COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Sindarius Thornwell scored 22 points and South Carolina cruised to a 92-50 victory over South Carolina State on Friday night.Playing their fourth game in eight days, the Gamecocks (4-0) took control of the game early against their neighbors from nearby Orangeburg.It was good to see us playing active on the glass, at the rim, said USC coach Frank Martin. That was one thing I had been a little disappointed in with our team after the first three games. I didnt think we were rebounding the ball any where near as good as we needed to on either side of the floor.The Gamecocks held a 47-24 rebounding advantage with forwards Maik Kotsar and Chris Silva combining for 15 rebounds.The Bulldogs (1-2) attempted to press South Carolina early. The tactic didnt work, however, as the Gamecocks out-muscled their opponents inside while also making long-range jumpers.Kotsar got the Gamecocks off to a quick start, scoring eight of his 15 points in the first 10 minutes. After that Thornwell, a preseason first team All-SEC pick, took over. He had 16 in the first half.USCs lead consistently increased. It took a 50-25 advantage at halftime and didnt let up when it returned.The Gamecocks connected on 33 of their 65 shots (51 percent), while limiting South Carolina State to 16 of 52 (31 percent).South Carolinas pressure defense proved a bit too much for the Bulldogs.We pressured them, made them, made them try to score from half-court, said Thornwell. We didnt let them get into what they wanted to run. Its hard when you have to score from half-court rather than the 3-point line. Its better for our defense because it forced them into bad shots.Eric Eaves, a Columbia native, led South Carolina State in scoring with 16.The Gamecocks ability to push South Carolina State out of its comfort zone, offensively, was expected by Bulldogs coach Murray Garvin.The main stat that jumps out to me is the 30 second chance points, said Garvin. South Carolina had more offensive rebounds, it was 17 to 8 on the offensive glass. I really thought the second chance points, also the points off turnovers, was the difference in the game.BIG PICTURESouth Carolina State: The Bulldogs never got on track, mostly due to inconsistent shooting. They connected on just 16 of 52 of their field goal attempts (31 percent).South Carolina: With most of their experience in the backcourt, the Gamecocks continued to work on improving their inside play. Kotsar was impressive, making all seven of his shots and grabbing eight rebounds with two blocks. Silva, despite picking up two early fouls, scored 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds.The game is not perfect, Martin said. You make mistakes. What you cant do is, when you make a mistake, give up on a play. I thought we were a lot more active today on the glass, defensively.STILL SEARCHINGSouth Carolina State has to find a way to get better shots for Eaves, its leading scorer. Although he led the Bulldogs, USC made it difficult. He was also the only regular that hit more than 50 percent if his shots.We told out basketball team thats what we expect this year, especially against the high major opponents, Garvin said. Theyre bigger, stronger, faster. Ive got a lot of new guys in our program and this is the second time theyve played against this kind of athleticism.South Carolina, to me, is one of the better defensive teams weve faced. It wasnt anything that surprised us. We just couldnt do anything about it.UP NEXTSouth Carolina State returns to action Tuesday when it travels north to take on Syracuse in another encounter that is part of the Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational.South Carolina hosts Michigan on Wednesday. Authentic Custom Islanders Jersey . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. Wholesale Custom Islanders Shirts . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. http://www.customislandersjersey.com/ . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Islanders Jerseys China . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. Custom Islanders T-shirts . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. SAN DIEGO -- The?Tampa Bay Buccaneers?fear wide receiver Cecil Shorts III?might have suffered a significant right knee injury during the first half of Sundays 28-21 win over the San Diego Chargers, a source told ESPNs Adam Kaplan.Head coach Dirk Koetter did not have specifics on the injury, but he called it an unfortunate one.The good news is when I went out there, even though he knew it was a serious injury, he was not in excruciating pain at that point, said Koetter. You hate to see it.You can tell by the way our players reacted the respect they have for Cecil.On the Bucs first possession, Shorts caught a short pass from Jameis Winston on third-and-9, but he then took a vicious hit across the middle of thhe field from Chargers safety?Jahleel Addae.dddddddddddd It sent Shorts airborne, and he landed on his shoulder and neck. He lay on the field for several seconds as a cart was brought out and he was placed in an air cast.Players from both teams huddled around Shorts, who was sitting up, before he was taken to the locker room.Two plays later, Winston was intercepted by Casey Hayward.The Bucs are already without wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.Tight end Luke Stocker also left Sundays game, with an ankle injury on the first play. ' ' '