EditorsNote: rewords second graf; changes to "52 points" in fourth graf; adds new last graf
Freshman guard Devan Cambridge shattered his career high with 26 points, hitting 6 of 9 attempts from 3-point range, to spark No. 16 Auburn to an 80-67 Southeastern Conference victory over visiting South Carolina on Wednesday night.
Cambridge hit 10 of 14 shots overall for the Tigers (16-2, 4-2 SEC), who snapped a two-game losing streak. J'Von McCormick scored 13 points, and Samir Doughty had 11 as Auburn extended its home winning streak to 13 games dating back to last season.
Jermaine Couisnard scored 16 points, and Justin Minaya added 14 for the Gamecocks (10-8, 2-3), who had won their previous two games.
Cambridge, who played 21 minutes, entered the game with season highs of 16 minutes, 10 points, two 3-pointers made and four 3-pointers attempted. He had scored a total of 52 points in the first 17 games.
McCormick's 3-pointer to open the second half gave Auburn its biggest lead to that point at 42-31.
Jair Bolden's seven points fueled a 14-4 run that pulled South Carolina within 48-47 with 14:45 remaining.
However, Auburn scored 24 of the next 30 points -- 12 by Cambridge, who had two layups, a dunk and 3-pointer during a 14-0 run -- to go ahead 72-53 with 8:50 to go.
South Carolina failed to get closer than 13 points the rest of the way and trailed by as many as 21 points.
Cambridge scored 14 points to help Auburn build a 39-31 halftime lead. The Tigers ended the period on a 10-2 run.
Auburn went on a 19-3 spree to take 27-18 advantage with 5:39 left. Cambridge hit four 3-pointers and added a dunk to fuel the spurt.
Couisnard scored 12 points before the break for the Gamecocks, who shot 50 percent (13 of 26) overall -- just 2 of 8 from 3-point range -- and scored more points in the paint (18-14).
Auburn shot 40 percent (12 of 30), 5 of 16 from behind the arc, and had more points off turnovers (10-2) in the first half.
Overall, South Carolina hit 47.5 percent of its field-goal attempts to 45.6 percent for Auburn. Each team committed 12 turnovers. The big difference was at the foul line, where the Tigers were 18 of 21 while the Gamecocks went 3 of 9.
--Field Level Media
