Boise State
South Carolina
Boise State Breezes Past South Carolina, 80-54
12/23/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 23, 2013
HONOLULU (AP) - Anthony Drmic scored 30 points to lead Boise State to an 80-54 win over South Carolina Monday, in a semifinal game of the Diamond Head Classic.
Mikey Thompson added 10 points for Boise State (10-2), which will play No. 14 Iowa State (10-0) in Wednesday's championship. Tip off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. (HT)/6:30 p.m. (MT).
Drmic's 30-point performance is just the fourth in tournament history. It is the third time the junior has cracked the 30-point plateau in his career and the second time this season. He has now scored at least 20 points in consecutive games and in six of the 11 contests he has played this season.
Entering Monday's last game, Drmic is the tournament's leading scorer with 51 points. The record for most points in the Diamond Head Classic is 79 by Klay Thompson (Washington State; 2010).
Brenton Williams led the Gamecocks (3-6) with 14 points and Duane Notice added 13.
Drmic scored 21 points in the first half, helping the Broncos build a double-digit lead just nine minutes into the game. Boise State scored from all directions, driving into the lane for layups and hitting 3-pointers. Boise State forced 11 first-half turnovers and converted that into 12 points.
Boise State led 43-28 at halftime and pulled away in the second half as South Carolina struggled to find the basket, shooting just 37 percent. It was the first time in four games Boise State held a halftime advantage and the Broncos improved to 52-9 all-time under Leon Rice when leading going into the locker room.
The Broncos outscored the Gamecocks 16-9 to start the second half and led 59-35 with 11 minutes left. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Jeff Elorriaga gave Boise State its largest lead of the game at 67-37 with nine minutes remaining.
Thomas Bropleh came off the bench to score nine points and hand out a career-high five assists.
Igor Hadziomerovic grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, the most in his career. Hadziomerovic turned a number of his rebounds into instant offense, pushing the pace in transition for a bucket of his own and a handful more for his teammates.
With its football team playing in Tuesday's Honolulu Bowl, Boise State had a vocal contingent of about 75 fans and cheerleaders at the game.
