Dec. 22, 2007

Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Game Action

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Devan Downey’s three-point play with two seconds left in the game capped a rally from 15 points down as South Carolina defeated the College of Charleston 85-82 Saturday.

Zam Fredrick II hit five 3-pointers – he was 0-for-2 before then from beyond the arc – to spark a 21-6 run by the Gamecocks (6-5), who went up 82-77 on Fredrick’s final trey with 2:27 left.

But the Cougars (4-6) tied it when Tony White Jr. canned a 3-pointer and was fouled. White missed the free throw, but moments later hit a layup to knot it at 82-82 with 44.5 seconds left.

With time running out, Downey drove the left side of the lane and hit a short jumper and was fouled. Downey made the free throw as the Gamecocks ran their record to 27-1 over the Cougars, who couldn’t get a final shot off before the buzzer.

Fredrick led the Gamecocks with 21 points while Downey added 18. The Cougars were led by Dustin Scott, who had a career-high 20 points. White added 17 points while Jermaine Johnson had his second straight double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The Cougars scored 14 straight points as part of a 17-6 run in the final 5:18 to grab a 43-33 halftime lead. The Gamecocks led 27-23 with 6:58 left then went cold, hitting just three of their last nine shots and committing three turnovers.

The College of Charleston, meanwhile, was sizzling, hitting seven of its last eight shots – including 3-pointers by Johnson, Scott and Andrew Goudelock, whose trey gave the Cougars a 43-29 lead – their biggest lead of the half.

Down 49-34 early in the second half, the Gamecocks rallied to 51-44 on Dominique Archie’s dunk with 16 minutes left. But after a time out, the Cougars answered, outscoring South Carolina 10-2, capped by two straight lay-ups by White to go up 61-46 with 13:32 left.