Chris Silva scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and South Carolina blew past UTEP 80-56 Friday in the Puerto Rico Tip-off at Myrtle Beach in Conway, S.C.

Silva led four Gamecocks in double-figures, helping South Carolina bounce back from a loss to Illinois State to open the tournament on Thursday.

The tournament was relocated to The HTC Center in South Carolina due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

Senior center Matt Willms led the Miners with 18 points.

Maik Kotsar and Justin Minaya each finished with 14 points and Kory Holden added 11 points off the bench for the Gamecocks, who dominated the Miners in all phases.

UTEP (1-1) was outrebounded 36-27 and committed 23 turnovers, 16 coming in the first half.

Senior guard Frank Booker converted a four-point play, knocking down a 3-pointer from the wing and hitting an ensuing a free throw after being fouled to give the Gamecocks a 28-12 lead at the 12-minute mark of the first half.

South Carolina poured it on from there, shooting 54.8 percent from the floor to build a 50-24 lead at halftime.

Booker converted a traditional three-point play early in the second half as the Gamecocks lead grew to 30.

UTEP never made a serious run at getting back in the game.

Booker finished with seven points and 10 different Gamecocks scored for coach Frank Martin's squad, which is hoping to build off last year's run to the Final Four.

Junior guard Hassani Gravett scored six points and handed out nine assists for South Carolina.