Sports

Cremins Takes Leave of Absence

College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins is taking an indefinite leave of absence for a medical condition. The school announced Friday that assistant coach Mark Byington will take over the team. The school did not specify what was wrong with Cremins or how long he may be off the bench.

Spurrier Fires Assistant Coach

Saying he wants a more experienced secondary coach, Steve Spurrier fired USC assistant coach Jeep Hunter. Hunter came to Carolina in 2009. This is the fifth assistant coaching change for Gamecock football since the end of the 2011 regular season.

Claflin Knocks Off Rival Benedict, 77-58

The Benedict Tigers dropped their third straight game, falling 77-58 to rival Claflin College in front of a packed house at the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena on Thursday night. The loss dropped the Tigers to 8-6 overall and 7-5 in the SIAC. Claflin improved to 7-10 overall and 7-9 in the SIAC.

Grant Leads USC Over Ole Miss, 61-43

Markeshia Grant’s 20 points led South Carolina to a 61-43 victory over Ole Miss Thursday night at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks (16-5, 5-3 SEC) had a strong first half with four 3-pointers from La’Keisha Sutton, which set the pace for the rest of the game. Leading scorer and rebounder Grant hit 4-of-7 from behind the line, three of those coming in the second half to seal the Gamecocks’ victory.

Baseball Coaches Rank Gamecocks #2

South Carolina is ranked No. 2 in the nation in the 2012 USA Today/ESPN Preseason Top 25 Coaches’ Poll as announced on Thursday afternoon. South Carolina also ranked No. 2 in the Collegiate Baseball Preseason Top 40 and No. 3 in the Baseball America Preseason Top 25. The Gamecocks open the 2012 season on Friday, Feb. 17 hosting a three-game series with VMI at Carolina Stadium.

Ellington Gives Gamecocks 1st SEC win

Bruce Ellington’s driving basket with 1.4 seconds left lifted South Carolina to its first Southeastern Conference victory this season, a 56-54 win over Alabama on Wednesday night. Rob Brennan has a postgame report from the Colonial Life Arena.