Forward Mindaugas Kacinas scored 23 points and grabbed five rebounds and South Carolina never trailed en route to 76-61 victory over DePaul in the opening round of the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, on Friday night.

The Gamecocks (3-0) will meet Hofstra Sunday, while DePaul (1-2) takes on Florida State on Saturday in the losers' bracket.

With the score tied 16-16, South Carolina went on a 10-2 run. The Gamecocks led by nine at halftime and were never threatened, as DePaul could get no closer than five points in the second half.

Kacinas, coming off a 12-point, 13-rebound effort in a win over Oral Roberts earlier in the week, went 10 of 14 from the foul line on Friday night.

Guard Sindarius Thornwell added 10 points and 10 rebounds and guard Duane Notice scored 11 points off the bench for the Gamecocks. Forward Laimonas Chatkevicius, coming off a career-high 27 points against Oral Robers, was just 3 of 11 from the floor and finished with seven points and five rebounds, while forward Michael Carrera chipped in with seven points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Guard Darrick Wood came off the bench to lead the Blue Demons with 14 points, while guard Billy Garrett had 11.