COLUMBIA, S.C. - Carlos Powell scored 18 as South Carolina improved to 6-0, its best start since 1988-89, with a 77-48 victory over Campbell on Saturday night.
Michael Boynton hit two 3-pointers to help fuel a 23-5 run over nine minutes in the first half. After a timeout, Boynton fed Kerbrell Brown for a layup, then converted a turnover into a 3-pointer to start the run.
South Carolina held the Camels scoreless for five minutes en route to taking a 39-23 lead on two free throws by Tre Kelley, who started for injured Josh Gonner.
Coach Dave Odom said his offense wasn't up to par, but he liked what he saw from his defense, which forced Campbell into 22 turnovers while coming up with 14 steals and 12 blocks.
"How many times are you going to block 12 shots, turn the ball over 22 times against and have (14) steals in a game? Tonight was a good night for that," Odom said.
"I would have liked to have played better offensively, but you could almost feel it from the beginning. It was just one of those nights we were going to have to work extremely hard to get the energy level up to where we needed it to be."
Campbell coach Robbie Laing said the Gamecocks defense was the key.
"I thought we came in here and were pretty focused and knew what to expect on how to try to defend them," Laing said. "I thought midway through the first half maybe Coach Odom went to the trapping defense and that probably really separated the game for them. We didn't handle that very well. We worked on it a few times in practice, but there's no way to simulate bigger, faster, stronger, longer guys out in the passing lanes."
OLE MISS 52, SE LA. 48: Justin Reed had 21 points, including two clinching free throws with 10 seconds left, as the host Rebels held off a furious rally.
Mississippi trailed 48-47 with 50 seconds left after blowing an 18-point first-half lead. Kendrick Fox, who finished with 10 points, made a 3-pointer from the corner with 30 seconds left to reclaim the lead 50-48.
Reed had a career-high 19 rebounds and Aaron Harper added 11 points for Ole Miss.
Terry West led Southeastern Louisiana with 13 points, and Amir Abdur-Rhaim had 11. Nate Lofton had 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Lions.
MISS. ST. 81, W.KY. 75: Winsome Frazier scored a career-high 24 as the Bulldogs ended the Hilltoppers' 39-game home winning streak.
Timmy Bowers scored 15 and Marcus Campbell 14 for Mississippi State, which made 10 of 20 3-pointers. Lawrence Roberts added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Mississippi State.
Anthony Winchester scored 26 and Mike Wells 20 for Western Kentucky, 0-3 for the first time since the 1999-2000 Hilltoppers lost their first five.
AUBURN 105, GRAMBLING ST. 56: Brandon Robinson a game-high 21 points and six rebounds to lead host Auburn.
Robinson scored six during Auburn's 12-0 run within the first minutes of the game. Auburn led 52-16 at halftime and took its biggest lead at 86-36 with 5:20 left.
Auburn dominated the boards 41-29 and hit 65 percent of its shots while holding Grambling State to 36 percent.
LSU 96, LA.-MONROE 65: Jaime Lloreda had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the host Tigers.
LSU led by as much as 38 and got scoring from 10 players.
Over the first five minutes of the second half, the Tigers outscored the Indians 20-3 to open their largest lead at 65-27.
VANDERBILT 94, TENN.-MARTIN 60: David Przybyszewski led four players in double figures with 16 points for the host Commodores.
Julian Terrell scored 14, Mario Moore 13 and Corey Smith 11 for Vanderbilt, which never trailed and led by as much as 94-57 on Martin Schnedlitz's layup with 1:08 remaining.
PROVIDENCE 76, ALABAMA 71: Rob Sanders scored 18, leading four players in double figures as the host Friars survived a second-half rally. Alabama's Emmett Thomas had a game-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 5 of 6 3-pointers.
