Sports

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.

Newton Replaces Eli In Pro Bowl

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was added to the NFC Pro Bowl squad Monday in place of New York’s Eli Manning. Manning and the Giants beat the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship to advance to Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis, meaning Manning had to withdraw from the annual all-star game.