CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Cornell shot 27 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 17 times, falling into a hole it could never recover from in a 69-45 loss to South Carolina in the first round of the 2014 Gildan Charleston Classic. The Big Red dropped to 2-2 on the season, while the Gamecocks improved to 2-1. Cornell will play Penn State on Friday at 9 p.m. in the consolation bracket.

Sophomore JoJo Fallas had a career-high 11 points, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range, but Cornell shot just 2-for-17 from beyond the arc otherwise. Senior Galal Cancer notched 10 points and three rebounds, while Shonn Miller notched nine points before fouling out and Devin Cherry posted eight points and a team-high five boards. As a team, the Big Red blocked six shots, including two each by David Onuorah and Dave LaMore.

The Big Red defense did its part, allowing South Carolina to shoot just 38 percent from the floor, but its empty possessions on the other end of the floor was too much to overcome. Sindarius Thornwell netted 14 points and had four rebounds and Mindaugas Kacinas came off the bench to post a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass.

Despite a quick burst out of the gate that saw Cornell take a 5-2 lead, things didn't go the Big Red's way. Cornell turned the ball over on four of its first five possessions, but countered that by making its first four field goals to maintain its lead at 11-9.

South Carolina took all the wind out of Cornell's sails with a 13-0 run over the span of 4:35 that allowed the home team to build an 11-point lead (22-11). The Big Red, despite plenty of fight, never got the lead below seven points the rest of the way.

The Big Red continued to misfire and turn it over, ending the half shooting 30 percent from the floor, including 3-of-19 after hitting its first four shots. Despite the struggles from the floor and 13 turnovers, the Big Red was still hanging around at the break, trailing 35-21.

Four minutes into the second half, the lead grew to 20 and drifted to as much as 28 points. A late run by Fallas, who connected on three 3-pointers and energized the Big Red bench with an offensive rebound and putback, gave the visitors some much-needed energy heading into Friday's consolation game.

The series between the Big Red and the Nittany Lions is tied at 5-5. Penn State has won the last two meetings, including a 74-67 contest on Dec. 21, 2011. Cornell's last win in the series came back during the 1972-73 campaign, a 74-65 win at Barton Hall.