Gamecocks

South Carolina coach Eddie Fogler thought his team lost its poise the last time it got attention. Now that the Gamecocks have won eight straight and are in the rankings for the first time in six years, he'll make sure that doesn't happen again. "I'll talk to them about it," Fogler said yesterday as South Carolina, alone in Southeastern Conference play at 7-0, was ranked No. 25. "They didn't do very good the last time they were mentioned in some preseason polls. I don't know how much that had to do with the rankings.

Daccus Turman had three short touchdown runs and South Carolina survived visiting Kentucky's fourth-quarter rally to win its fourth straight over the Wildcats, 27-21, last night. The Gamecocks (4-2, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) looked on their way to an easy victory, leading by 27-7 through three quarters and with Wildcats senior quarterback Jared Lorenzen out of the game after a helmet-to-helmet hit from defensive lineman Moe Thompson. But Kentucky backup Shane Boyd led two touchdown drives in the final quarter.

At the animal shelter, these supposedly most murderous of fowl gently pecked food from children's hands. They left other animals, including cats and pet rats, alone. Faced with their own kind, they acted downright domestic. And, when put near hens, "they do normal rooster behavior," one shelter worker testified. "They mate them. " So, the 17 gamecocks captured during a raid on an East Camden cockfighting pit shall live, a Camden County judge ruled yesterday. The roosters will be put up for adoption by the Animal Welfare Association, which has kept the birds at its Southampton Township shelter since the raid early this month.

Renaldo Balkman scored 14 points and had 12 rebounds as South Carolina defeated Alaska-Anchorage, 65-60, last night in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage. The Gamecocks (3-0) managed to hold off the pesky Division II Seawolves (4-2) with Balkman's aggressive inside play on both ends of the court. Besides leading the Gamecocks in scoring along with guard Tarence Kinsey, the 6-8 Balkman dominated on defense with four blocks and three steals. The Seawolves hung on through most of the game through the play of Kemmy Burgess.

Devan Downey scored 21 points and Mike Holmes had 12 to lead South Carolina to a 68-67 win over Providence last night in the Big East/SEC Invitational at the Wachovia Center. The Gamecocks (5-4) held on even though they had a nearly six-minute stretch without a field goal late in the second half that allowed the Friars to knock a double-digit deficit all the way down to one. Weyinmi Efejuku was fouled with 0.2 seconds left on a driving layup and the Friars trailing by two. With a chance to send the game into overtime, Efejuku made only one of two free throws and South Carolina finally escaped with the victory.

If you thought there were stylistic differences in the Bush and Gore campaigns, wait until you check out Saturday's matchup of No. 5 Florida and No. 21 South Carolina. The winner will be the East representative in the Southeastern Conference championship game. The Gators (8-1) - who average 41.3 points per game and are seeking a berth in the SEC title contest for the seventh time in the event's nine-year existence - somehow represent both wide-open offense and stodgy tradition.

Jimmy Black, an assistant basketball coach at St. Joseph's University for six years, has resigned his position to take a similar job at the University of South Carolina. "They have an excellent program," Black said, "and I look forward to the challenge ahead. " According to new St. Joe's head coach John Griffin, Black was approached about the position early this week. "Jimmy's been mentioned for a lot of jobs in the last year," Griffin said. "We're sad to see Jimmy leave, but it's a tremendous financial opportunity for him. " Interestingly, the Hawks will visit the Gamecocks in December.

South Carolina safety Emanuel Cook was arrested on a gun charge and suspended from the university yesterday, making him ineligible to play for the Gamecocks. The 19-year-old player was charged with unlawful possession of a pistol, according to a police report. Cook and James Gore III were arrested by university police Thursday night at a parking lot near campus dormitories, the report said. The athletic department said Cook was suspended from the university because of an arrest involving a weapon.

Forget BJ McKie and Melvin Watson. These days, the last person South Carolina opponents want to see with the ball in the final seconds is Antonio Grant. The redshirt freshman hit a desperation three-pointer as time expired yesterday, capping a frenzied comeback from a 23-point deficit that gave the No. 13 Gamecocks a 67-65 triumph over No. 18 Cincinnati in Columbia, S.C. Grant picked up a loose ball with the clock ticking down and launched a 25-foot prayer that swished through as the horn sounded, setting off a raucous celebration that crashed into press row and brought dozens of fans streaming onto the court.

For two seasons and a bit of change, St. Joseph's had been right there in 13 games against quality teams. And found unique ways to lose. If this team, a team its coach felt certain was very good, was ever going to become something more than just good enough to lose bravely, it needed to make a stand. Going into last night's game against South Carolina at the Palestra, the Hawks were 2-3 and hadn't played in 13 days. This, then, was the time. And, it turned out, the place.

  Laurent Rivard had 16 points and Kyle Casey added 13 more as Harvard (19-2, 5-0 Ivy) easily handled Cornell (7-12, 2-3) for a 71-60 win in Cambridge, Mass., on Friday night. The win over the Big Red was the 24th straight for the Crimson at Lavietes Pavilion. Princeton 77, Brown 63 - Douglas Davis and Ben Hazel each had 12 points as the Tigers (11-9, 2-2 Ivy) cruised by the Bears (7-15, 1-4) in Providence, R.I. Columbia 64, Dartmouth 62 - Mark Cisco poured in 18 points, including a layup with 4 seconds left to give the Lions (13-8, 2-3 Ivy)

Four seasons after local basketball star Dawn Staley left the women's coaching job at Temple to fill the vacancy at South Carolina, the Gamecocks finally are achieving the success she enjoyed after taking over the Owls in the spring of 2000. South Carolina improved to 11-2 and made Staley's second homecoming more enjoyable Wednesday night with a 62-58 nonconference win over Drexel at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Unlike their last visit in December 2010, when they were shocked by Boston University in St. Joseph's tournament, the Gamecocks withstood a 14-5 late run by their hosts.

STEPHEN GARCIA won't get a sixth chance to play quarterback for No. 15 South Carolina. Athletic director Eric Hyman said the fifth-year senior who was suspended and brought back to the Gamecocks five previous times was dismissed from the team yesterday after he failed to meet agreed-upon guidelines. Hyman did not specify what Garcia did that got him kicked off. Garcia was suspended from all team activities in April for unacceptable conduct at a life-skills seminar. He was conditionally approved to work out with teammates in May, then reinstated fully last August just before football camp began.

Michael Roth pitched 72/3 innings on three days' rest, and South Carolina won its second straight national championship with a 5-2 victory Tuesday night in Omaha, Neb., that completed a two-game sweep over Florida in the College World Series finals. South Carolina (55-14) became the first team to ever go 10-0 in an NCAA tournament and the first since Oregon State in 2007 to go unbeaten in a CWS. The Gamecocks' streaks of 16 NCAA tournament wins and 11 straight in the CWS are both the longest all-time.

OMAHA, Neb. - Michael Roth pitched 7 innings on 3 days' rest, and South Carolina won its second straight national championship with a 5-2 victory last night that completed a two-game sweep over Florida in the College World Series finals. South Carolina (55-14) became the first team ever to go 10-0 in an NCAA Tournament and the first since Oregon State in 2007 to go unbeaten in a CWS. The Gamecocks' streaks of 16 NCAA Tournament wins and 11 straight in the CWS are both the longest all-time.

OMAHA, Neb. - Christian Walker, cleared to play with a broken wrist a half-hour before the game, scored from first base on two throwing errors in the 11th inning and defending champion South Carolina beat Florida, 2-1, in Game 1 of the College World Series finals last night. In a finish that looked a lot like their 13-inning win over Virginia on Friday, the Gamecocks (54-14) performed defensive magic late, throwing out two runners at home plate in the bottom of the ninth and another in the 10th.

OMAHA, Neb. - Florida and South Carolina don't immediately come to mind when you're talking about Southeastern Conference rivalries - unless it's baseball. The Gators (53-17) and the defending national champion Gamecocks (53-14) play their biggest series when they meet in the College World Series finals beginning tonight. Last year, the Gators traveled to Columbia, S.C., the final weekend of the regular season and won two of three to edge out the Gamecocks for the SEC title.

South Carolina won its first game at TD Ameritrade Park the same dramatic way it clinched the 2010 national championship in the last College World Series game played at Rosenblatt Stadium. Scott Wingo drilled a bases-loaded single off the rightfield wall in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Gamecocks a 5-4 victory over Texas A&M last night in Omaha, Neb. Last year, the Gamecocks won the title on Whit Merrifield's walkoff hit in the 11th inning against UCLA. Wingo was the right man at the right time.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said point guard Kyrie Irving would play "significant minutes" in the West Regional semifinal against Arizona. Speaking before boarding a bus to the airport, Krzyzewski said Irving would not start Thursday night in Anaheim, Calif., but is ahead of schedule in his return from a toe injury that cost him most of his freshman season. Irving missed 31/2 months with an injured right big toe but came off the bench in both of the top-seeded Blue Devils' NCAA tournament games.

Sitting at a school-library table with four hats in front of him Wednesday, Timber Creek football star Damiere Byrd put on a red Gamecocks cap and announced that he would attend the University of South Carolina in the fall. Flanked by his parents, Dana and Adrian Byrd, on his right and teammate Quinton Alston on his left, Byrd received loud applause from friends, family, fellow students, and teammates at a news conference. South Carolina "was a good fit," said Byrd, who left Iowa, Mississippi, and Florida hats on the table.