Florida International and No. 20 South Carolina each played Sunday's nonconference game without their leading scorer.

But the Gamecocks figured out a way to make up for the loss of senior guard Sindarius Thornwell a lot better than the Panthers adjusted to the absence of senior guard Donte McGill.

With Duane Notice and PJ Dozier combining for eight 3-pointers and 47 points, South Carolina started 8-0 for the second straight season with a 70-54 thumping at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.

Notice bombed in six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 27 points, which tied his career high. Dozier hit for 20 and added seven rebounds in just 22 minutes in the Gamecocks' first game without the 6-fot-5 Thornwell.

About an hour before tipoff, the school announced that Thornwell was suspended indefinitely for a violation of athletic department policy. Thornwell led the team in scoring (18.7 points per game), rebounding (6.7) and assists (4.1) through seven games.

A member of the All-Southeastern Conference preseason first team last season, Thornwell earned Most Outstanding Player of the Brooklyn Holiday Hoops Invitational, which South Carolina won with a 64-50 beating of Syracuse Nov. 26.

Martin was eager to see who would take up the slack for the do-it-all Thornwell.

"I think Duane realized we're down a man today," Martin said. "He played like a man that knew his team needed a pick-me-up. I thought he was engaged offensively. He acted like a senior who prepares to win and wants to win, and contributed in a big-time way."

Notice scored 14 points in the first half, capping it with a 3-pointer 1.2 seconds before the buzzer that gave the Gamecocks a 36-22 halftime lead. He finished his day with his sixth 3 of the day at the 3:21 mark of the second half, pushing South Carolina's advantage to a game-high 65-42.

While Notice and Dozier shouldered the load left by Thornwell, FIU (3-6) couldn't quite make up for McGill's loss. The 6-3 McGill, who upped his average to 19.1 points per game after a 27-point outing in an overtime loss Wednesday night at Elon, didn't play for undisclosed reasons.

While the Panthers got 20 points from Eric Nottage, a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double from forward Michael Kessens and 10 points from guard Anthony Boswell, they didn't get much else from anyone else.

The other seven FIU players to see action combined for just 12 points. What's more, the Panthers struggled to take care of the ball, committing 23 turnovers. They finished the day shooting only 41.3 percent from the floor.

It was the sixth time in eight games that the Gamecocks held an opponent to less than 55 points, but Martin wasn't completely happy with their performance.

"It was the worst ball-screen coverage we've had all year," he said.

Still, South Carolina took the lead 19 seconds into the game and never trailed. The lead never dipped under 11 in the second half as Notice and Dozier kept filling the basket to keep FIU from making any kind of run into contention.

The Gamecocks hit just 41 percent from the floor and were outrebounded 35-34, but squeezed off 15 extra shots from the field as they hacked up just nine turnovers. Teamed with the big games from Notice and Dozier, it was more than enough to overcome Thornwell's absence.

"We tried to rally together and play for our brother that wasn't here," Notice said.

NOTES: Sunday's result marked Florida International's 24th straight loss against Top 25 foes. It's never recorded a win against a ranked team. ... The game is Martin's second against his alma mater during his five years at South Carolina. He's a 1993 graduate of Florida International. ... The Panthers' 14 turnovers in the first half matched their per-game average.