National Basketball Association
South Carolina 76, Presbyterian 60
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 29, 2012
Where: The Colonial Center Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
Officials:
# Bruce Benedict, # Marc Ellard, # Tim Gattis
Attendance:
7344
By SportsDirect Inc.
South Carolina 76, Presbyterian 60: Brian Richardson matched a career high with 17 points and Damien Leonard added a season-high 15 off the bench as the host Gamecocks breezed to a season-best fourth consecutive win.
Mindaugas Kacinas added 13 points and Lakeem Jackson chipped in with 10 for South Carolina (9-3), which has won 32 of 39 all-time meetings between the in-state foes, including all four since its last loss to the Blue Hose in 1943.
Presbyterian (2-11) held its only lead at 2-0, as the Gamecocks used an 8-0 run to gain some breathing room and extended the margin to 40-24 by halftime.
The Blue Hose, who have not defeated a Division I team this season, pulled within 63-54 with 4:19 left. South Carolina responded by scoring five quick points in a sequence that included a technical foul and ejection for Presbyterian coach Gregg Nibert, who was tossed after arguing a foul call against Jordan Downing.
Downing scored 19 points and Khalid Mutakabbir added 17 for Presbyterian.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Gamecocks G LaShay Page (11.7 points per game) was held out for a second game for what the school is calling "an academic issue." The Gamecocks also were without G Bruce Ellington, who will not return to the basketball team until after the football team plays in the Outback Bowl on Tuesday. … South Carolina improved to 71-16 all-time against current members of the Big South Conference, while Presbyterian dropped to 1-10 against SEC teams since moving to NCAA Division I in 2007. … Richardson has scored in double digits in three of the past four games after doing so only twice in the first eight.
Top Game Performances
| Presbyterian |
|
South Carolina |
|
Jordan Downing 19 |
Scoring |
Brian Richardson 16 |
|
Khalid Mutakabbir 4 |
Assists |
Eric Smith 5 |
|
Joshua Clyburn 7 |
Rebounds |
Laimonas Chatkevicius 6 |
|
Khalid Mutakabbir 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Damien Leonard 3 |
|
Joshua Clyburn 2 |
Steals |
Brenton Williams 2 |
|
William Truss 2 |
Blocks |
R.J. Slawson 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Presbyterian
|
60 |
46.9 |
4-13 |
10-13 |
10 |
22 |
4 |
5 |
15 |
| South Carolina
|
76 |
48.2 |
7-16 |
15-24 |
15 |
30 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
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