Gamecocks catch the Gators

USC rallies as Raley-Ross heats up in the second half
By SETH EMERSON
semerson@thestate.com

Early in the second half, Darrin Horn gave Brandis Raley-Ross a warning: either start shooting the ball or have a seat on the bench.

Raley-Ross took it to heart, and the result was an impressive rally for the South Carolina men's basketball team.

The senior guard's second-half flurry of 3-pointers propelled the Gamecocks to a 77-71 victory against Florida on Wednesday night. The win kept USC (14-9, 5-4 SEC) alive in the Eastern Division. Florida (17-7, 6-4) entered having won six of its past seven.

"This one was huge for a lot of reasons," Horn said.

This rivalry has seen some classic moments lately. Last month, Florida won on a last-second 3-pointer by Chandler Parsons. And last year at Colonial Life Arena, Zam Fredrick beat the Gators on a buzzer-beating layup after a full-court pass from Mike Holmes.

There was no last-second drama this time.

Florida led most of the game and by as many as eight in the second half. But the Gators missed numerous chances to put USC away.

And then the Gamecocks pounced.

USC went on a 21-7 run to shift momentum. Raley-Ross was key, scoring 17 of his 20 points in the second half.

During the first media timeout of the second half, Horn pulled Raley-Ross aside.

"He was leading the nation in shot-fakes," Horn said. "I told him if he passed up another 3 he was coming out. To his credit, he stepped up and took - and made - a lot of big shots for us."

The Gamecocks needed that kind of production from their second-leading scorer. Devan Downey rolled his ankle in Monday's practice, and though he finished with 24 points, that was his SEC low this season.

Raley-Ross hit his first 3-pointer shortly after the talk with Horn -- and didn't let up. His third 3 cut Florida's lead to one with 9:22 left.

A minute later, Downey's jumper gave USC its first lead since early in the first half.

From there, the Gamecocks gradually pulled away. A 3-pointer by Ramon Galloway as the shot clock expired gave USC a four-point lead. Another 3 by Raley-Ross extend the advantage to 61-54 with 4:07 left.

Raley-Ross seemed surprised he had been so bashful in shooting.

"It hasn't happened in a while. Not since high school, I think," he said. "But it felt good, and I just made them down the stretch."

It also helped that the Gators foundered, hitting one field goal during one six-minute stretch. They struggled the whole game on offense, committing 20 turnovers and going 10-for-23 from the free-throw line.

Meanwhile, the Gamecocks hit their free throws, with Downey sinking 11 of 12.

Downey said he "definitely wasn't 100" percent and was in a walking boot after the game. The team said Downey will continue to wear the boot for precautionary reasons.

"My team carried me tonight," Downey said. "A whole lot of times people talk about what I do for this team. You know, tomorrow's headline should be what my team did for me tonight."

USC running game is a priority

USC running game is a priority
Miles, Anderson want USC's ground game to get more attention

By CHRIS DEARING
Special to The State

Much has been made about South Carolina having to stop the Connecticut rushing attack in the Papajohns.com Bowl on Saturday.

Little has been made about the Huskies having to stop a USC rushing attack that grounded out 223 yards in the victory over Clemson.

The Gamecocks are 6-1 when they rush for more than 100 yards in a game this season. Connecticut allows 137 yards rushing per game.

"We need to continue to try and run the ball," South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said Tuesday after the team's final practice in Columbia. "They are pretty good against the run. They've given up some pass yards throughout the year but we still got to run the ball."

Redshirt freshman Kenny Miles (team-high 602 yards) has taken it as a personal challenge when comparing the USC running backs to UConn's duo of Jordan Todman and Andre Dixon.

Todman finished with 1,152 yards while Dixon chipped in with 967 yards.

"You always can't wait for the game to see how the other running back does and see how he does so you can compete," Miles said. "Running backs always compete against each other in games wither they say it or not. You always want to do better than the other team's running backs."

Senior offensive lineman Garrett Anderson would like to see the Gamecocks continue how they played against Clemson.

"After the Clemson game a bunch of people said the line played better and that's something we definitely we want them to say after the bowl game," Anderson said. "We want them to say the line even improved more since the last game."

Fun in Birmingham. Spurrier wants his team to enjoy the activities surrounding the bowl, but he also wants them to remember the reason for being in Birmingham.

There are several team activities planned. The two teams will have a Welcome Dinner tonight at the StarDome Comedy Club. On Thursday morning there is an FCA breakfast at the Sheraton Birmingham hotel. That evening there is a team Bowling and BBQ Challenge.

But Spurrier has the Gamecocks on a short lease. Last night and tonight there will be a midnight curfew in place followed by 11 p.m. the two nights before the game.

"We're going to have controlled fun and don't get out of hand," Spurrier said. "We've got midnight curfew a couple of nights. That's plenty for our guys."

Help on the way. Spurrier said USC's special teams awareness may be handled differently next year. USC allowed three kickoff returns for touchdowns so far this season.

"We're going to give (special teams coordinator) Coach (Shane) Beamer a little more help hopefully next year by getting our very best players on special teams," Spurrier said. "I think we've sort of given our players a rest where as all the starters need to be on special teams."

More on bowl opponent, Ellis Johnson

A couple of items on a sunny Thursday in the capital city:

Some of you have not been too excited about going to Birmingham. Would a matchup against a top-25 team make the trip more tempting?

The Birmingham News’ Jon Solomon, former State sports writer and unofficial Papajohns.com Bowl historian, reports on his blog today that No. 15 Pittsburgh remains in the running for the Big East’s bid in Birmingham.

If Pitt loses to Cincy this weekend in what amounts to the Big East championship game, the Panthers look like they could be USC’s opponent Jan. 2 at Legion Field. If Pitt upsets the Bearcats and gets the conference’s automatic BCS berth, the South Florida-UConn winner likely would be the choice for the Papajohns.com.

–There have been a couple of online reports today saying Ellis Johnson is a candidate for the defensive coordinator openings at Florida State and Georgia.

It’s not surprising schools would be interested in Johnson, who has added to his already impressive resume during his two years in Columbia.

And while Johnson certainly will listen if other schools call, I’d be surprised if he were to leave. Johnson, a Winnsboro native whose wife is from Columbia, cited a desire to be closer to home and log more time in the South Carolina state retirement system when he left Arkansas after just a few weeks to join Steve Spurrier’s staff in January 2008.

Now, depending on what Georgia and Florida State are paying – Monte Kiffin money? – the salary increase might outweigh the retirement benefits.

Johnson has two years left on his deal that pays him $350,000 a year, the most among Gamecock assistants.

Even before Johnson’s name was mentioned in connection with the FSU and Georgia openings, Spurrier said earlier this week he wanted to get more money for his assistant coaches.

My guess is Johnson stays in Columbia, and gets an extension and a raise.