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July 13, 2016

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina men’s basketball team continued its 2016 “8K In 8 Days” campaign on Tuesday evening, hosting the Special Olympics of South Carolina at Colonial Life Arena for a basketball skills event. The campaign, which continues through July 13, aims to reach 8,000 fans in the greater Columbia community and the State of South Carolina with community outreach over the course of eight days.

The Special Olympics athletes spent time with Gamecock team members at the two-hour event, working on their dribbling and shooting skills, while they also got a special tour of the Carolina locker room from senior guard Duane Notice and sophomore guard TeMarcus Blanton. There was a question and answer session before a group photo was taken and the Gamecocks signed autographs. Special Olympics athletes were also able to take photos with the Gamecocks as well as with head coach Frank Martin.

“You have no idea how cool this is for these guys,” said Leigh Lowery, the director of communications for Special Olympics South Carolina. “One of the main principles of Special Olympics is unified sports, and we talk about living unified. This tonight is the prime example of living unified. It’s so important for our athletes to feel included. That’s why unified sports is so important because you play as a team. It’s a really cool experience for our guys as well as the men’s basketball team.”

“This is a great experience to hang out with [the Special Olympics athletes],” senior guard Justin McKie said. “We get to see how they play. We teach them, and they teach us some things. They teach us how to enjoy and have fun.”

Continue to visit GamecocksOnline.com for updates on the “8K In 8 Days” campaign.