North Greenville College has found a conference.  The NCAA Division II school has been operating as an independent but now will join the Conference Carolinas. The Crusaders affiliation will begin during the 2011-12 school year.

North Greenville will have all of its sports competing in Conference Carolinas with the exception of football.  The conference does not offer football so the Crusaders will remain independent on the gridiron.

King College out of Bristol, Tennessee is also joining the conference in 2011.  The other schools are Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Coker College, Converse College, Erskine College, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, Mount Olive College, Pfeiffer University, Queens University of Charlotte and St. Andrews Presbyterian College.

Ray Tanner

Just to recap a few of the college baseball scores Tuesday, in Conway 9th ranked Coastal Carolina knocked off the Citadel 7-3, UNC Wilmington beat Charleston Southern 5-4, and USC-Upstate held off the College of Charleston 11-10.

Tonight, 5th ranked USC will play at the Citadel. The Gamecocks beat the Bulldogs in Columbia last week. The Gamecocks have been playing about as well as anyone in the country the past six weeks. They have won all of their midweek games this season, but tonight’s game in Charleston is probably going to be their toughest challenge yet.

Ray Tanner previews The Citadel

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Also tonight, 17th ranked Clemson plays host to Western Carolina, 9th ranked Coastal Carolina is at 21st ranked North Carolina, Presbyterian travels to Furman, Winthrop is at Charlotte, USC-Upstate plays at UNC-Asheville, and Wofford plays host to East Tennessee State.

Also, we can’t forget about the Braves. They resume their series with the Padres in San Diego tonight. Tommy Hanson will get the start on the mound. First pitch is 10:05.

All the major college baseball games in the state scheduled for yesterday were rained out including the Presbyterian at USC game. They will play today at 3:00 in Columbia. Nolan Belcher will start for the Gamecocks. The Gamecocks are 4-2 and have lost their last two games. PC is 1-6 and will start senior righthander Jesse Harmon.

Clemson will play Dayton this afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers will start senior righthander Justin Sarratt. Clemson is 6-0 while Dayton is 4-3.  Dayton was rained out yesterday at Furman.

Other games scheduled for Wednesday…Gardner-Webb at Upstate,  Holy Cross at The College of Charleston followed by  Charleston Southern at The College of Charleston, and Winthrop will be at Wake Forest,

The 15th ranked USC baseball team is slated to play Presbyterian tonight in Columbia. We’ll see if they actually get this one in because the weather is looking dicey at best. We have rain and even snow in the forecast. Tonight’s game is scheduled to start at 7:00 at Carolina Stadium. If they can’t get it in tonight, they will make it up tomorrow night at the same time.

As far as the other games today, Wofford has already postponed its game with UNC-Asheville. They will make that one up Thursday in Spartanburg. As of now, Winthrop’s game at Wake Forest is still on as scheduled. First pitch in that one is scheduled for 4:00 this afternoon.

The College of Charleston also hopes to get its home game with Holy Cross at 5:00 this evening.

At last check Furman’s home game with Dayton is still scheduled to start at 3:00 this afternoon.  I’m betting that doesn’t happen considering there is a winter storm warning for Greenville today.

We will keep you updated on any changes in the schedules as we get the information.

Coastal Carolina head basketball coach Cliff Ellis has been named the Big South Coach of the Year. The Chantaclieers won their first Big South regular season championship in 17 years this season. . Coastal Carolina finished 15-3 in Big South action, tying the League record for most Conference wins, and its 26 regular-season victories has set the League record. Coastal Carolina was the fastest team in Big South history to win 15 games, as well as tied the Conference marks for best 20-game start (17-3) and fastest to 20 wins (24 games).

Below we have the rest of the Big South basketball awards:

First-Team All-Conference

• Artsiom Parakhouski, C, Sr., Radford
• Joseph Harris, F, R-Sr., Coastal Carolina
• Nick Barbour, G, Soph., High Point
• Chad Gray, F, R-Jr., Coastal Carolina
• Jamarco Warren, G, Jr., Charleston Southern

Second-Team All-Conference

• Joey Lynch-Flohr, F, Sr., Radford
• Austin Kenon, G, Jr., VMI
• Kyle Ohman, G/F, Sr., Liberty
• Mantoris Robinson, G/F, R-Sr., Winthrop
• John Williams, F, R-Jr., UNC Asheville

All-Freshman Team

• Jeremy Sexton, G, Charleston Southern
• Stan Okoye, F, VMI
• Evan Gordon, G, Liberty
• Kierre Greenwood, G, Coastal Carolina
• Blake Smith, G, Radford

Freshman of the Year

Jeremy Sexton, G, Charleston Southern

Defensive Player of the Year

Mantoris Robinson, G/F, R-Sr., Winthrop

Coach of the Year

Cliff Ellis, Coastal Carolina

Cremins and Cougars stun UNC

The College of Charleston pulled off one of its biggest wins in school history Monday night with an 82-79 overtime win over 9th ranked North Carolina at the jam packed Carolina First Arena in downtown Charleston. Andrew Goudelock hit a huge three pointer to send the game into overtime and the Cougars got a big defensive stop in the final seconds of O.T. to spring the upset against the defending national champs.

Cougars play-by play voice Tony Cioufo makes the final call on ESPN Radio 910.

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Goudelock finished with 24 points. Former Marlboro County standout and Florida State transfer Casaan Breeden added 15 points and he had five blocks. Charleston hit 13 three point shots in the game. North Carolina only made one.

Cougars coach Bobby Cremins post game interview with Cioufo

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Notice I said this is only “one” of the biggest wins in school history for the Cougars. Charleston is no stranger to knocking off the big boys. This is their third win over the Tar Heels (1998, 2001) and they are 3-3 all-time against the Heels. Cougar fans that remember the John Kresse years will also recall the NCAA tournament win over Maryland among the other big wins in recent memory. The list of upsets is why the College of Charleston has been considered one of the top Mid-Major (I know some coaches and fans hate that term) programs in the country. However, they have come up just short in their attempts to return to the NCAA tournament the past few seasons. They have lost twice in the Southern Conference tournament title game under Cremins.

Maybe this is the year they get back in the Dance. Regardless, it is a great win for the Cougars and a proud moment for college basketball fans here in South Carolina.

Some other in-state scores from Monday night, Coastal Carolina gets its 14th win of the season with a 76-62 thumping over Presbyterian. The Chanticleers are 4-0 in the Big South. Charleston Southern over Winthrop 57-54 and East Tennessee State beat Upstate by one 63-62.

Horn looking for a win against an ACC foe

The USC basketball team will play at Boston College tonight. The Gamecocks are 8-3 this season. They are winless away from the friendly confines of the Colonial Life Arena. B.C. is 8-4 and they are 1-0 in ACC play. This is the third ACC team the Gamecocks have faced this season. They lost to Miami in the Charleston Classic and dropped their game at Clemson earlier this month.

Gamecock coach Darrin Horn views tonight’s game as a chance to bolster his team’s postseason resume.

Darrin Horn on playing Boston College

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The Gamecocks will not have Mike Holmes for the fifth straight game.  He is recovering from surgery on his eye.  He could be back in the next few weeks. Tonight’s game tips off at 9:00 on ESPN-U.

Also tonight, Presbyterian continues its brutal road tour. Tonight’s stop is in Gainesville to face the Florida Gators. The Blue Hose are 2-11 and the Gators are 9-3. The game tips off at 7:00 and if you have access to it you can watch it on ESPN360.

Norwood

USC linebacker Eric Norwood has accepted an invitation to play in the Senior Bowl January 30th in Mobile, AL. Norwood becomes the fifth first team AP All American on the South Roster. Norwood was a first team All-SEC selection this season and a finalist for the Butkus and Lombardi Awards. This season Norwood has 71 tackles with 11.5 for loss and seven sacks. 

Edwards

Greenwood native and Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards was named to the Sports Network FCS All American Team for the third straight season. Also named to the first team offense was Coastal Carolina fullback Tommy Frazer. Furman linebacker Kadarron Anderson was named to the third team defense and Citadel punt returner Andre Roberts was named to the third team special teams.

The Citadel Basketball team responded to the challenge of the first ranked team at McAlister Field House in 10 years, hitting 12 three-pointers to remain close in a 69-56 loss to 12th ranked Michigan State. In front of 5,194 in attendance, the Bulldogs were led by the dynamic duo of Cameron Wells (16 pts.) and Zach Urbanus (14 pts.). Kalin Lucas responded with 17 points to lead all scorers, while Raymar Morgan added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Spartans.

Citadel head coach Pat Conroy (courtesy of ESPN Radio 910 in Charleston)

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“I was really proud of our effort” said Head Coach Ed Conroy following the game. “They came out in the first half and played with confidence, were aggressive and accomplished the things that we talked about. They did a great job of knocking the shots down.

The Citadel (6-5), who have converted double figures in three-pointers in three of their last four contests, missed their season-high of 13 (vs. Central Connecticut State) by the slimmest of margins. Urbanus led the team by knocking down 4-of-7, all but one coming in the first half, while Austin Dahn, Joe Wolfinger and Cosmo Morabbi each hit a pair. The 12-for-20 (60%) from beyond the arc marks the best conversion percentage of the season. Wells, who hit 5-of-13 from the field, dished out five assists in 39 minutes of action. Urbanus grabbed a team-best six rebounds, all defensive.

Drawing as close as three points on two occasions in the second half, the latter with 12:17 remaining, The Citadel battled hard with its Big Ten counterpart. However, a 10-4 run that spanned 5:17 of the half, separated the Spartans by a 61-51 margin. The Spartans (7-2) have now won a pair of game against Southern Conference opposition.

After going to overtime last year, the Wofford College men’s basketball team defeated Georgia 60-57  at Stegeman Coliseum on Tuesday night. The Terriers built an eleven point lead in the first half, but needed two free throws by Cameron Rundles with three seconds left to seal the win.

AUDIO: Mike Young  (Courtesy of ESPN 1400 Spartanburg)  (4:25)

Wofford is 1-1 overall, while Georgia is also 1-1. The Terriers were led by Corey Godzinski with 13 points and Jason Dawson with 12 points. Corey Godzinski and Jamar Diggs eaqch had six rebounds to lead the team. Georgia was led by Travis Leslie with 17 points and Trey Thompkins with 14 points and 16 rebounds.

“I was thinking with three seconds left in the game what am I doing wrong that we have a team at Stegeman Coliseum and we are going to overtime for the third straight time,” said head coach Mike Young. “It wasn’t pretty and I did not think we played as well as on Friday. We came into an SEC venue and won, and there is nothing wrong with that. I have a lot of respect for Coach Fox and what he is trying to do here. He is laying a foundation. We have a lot of older guys that have been through it and were in the same situation Friday night in Pittsburgh. We made just enough plays down the stretch to win.”

The Bulldogs scored first and had a 6-2 lead at the first media timeout. The Terriers responded with a three from Jason Dawson and a lay-up from Noah Dahlman to take a 10-8 lead with 12:37 on the clock. Buckets from Tim Johnson and Kevin Giltner pushed the lead to 14-8 two minutes later. Wofford’s 16-point run continued as they built a 19-8 lead at the 7:48 mark.

Georgia ended the Wofford run at 7:30 with a basket by Trey Thompkins. After a basket from Noah Dahlman, the Terriers were up 23-16 at the 4:47 mark. Jason Dawson hit two three pointers to take a 29-20 lead, but the Bulldogs scored the final six points of the half to cut the halftime lead to 29-26.

In the second half, Georgia was able to take a 34-33 lead after a basket by Travis Leslie at 16:04. Wofford answered with a pair of three pointers by Corey Godzinski for a 39-36 lead at 14:37 in the second half. Five straight points by Jason Dawson gave Wofford a six point advantage at 46-40 two minutes later.

Wofford kept the lead at five points with a basket from Cameron Rundles at 7:28, but the Bulldogs responded and cut the lead to one at 50-49. Jason Dawson hit a three to make it a four point game with 5:24 left at 53-49. Jamar Diggs hit a pair of free throws with 1:08 remaining to go up 58-53.

Georgia’s Travis Leslie hit a three with 17 seconds left to cut the lead to 58-56. Wofford was called for a five-second call on getting the ball in, giving it back to the Bulldogs. A jump ball was called on a shot by Trey Thompkins that was tied up on a block by Noah Dahlman to give the Terriers the ball with twelve seconds. Jamar Diggs missed the front end of a one-and-one with eleven seconds left. At the other end of the court with 6.3 on the clock, Dustin Ware hit the first to make it a one point lead, but missed the second and Wofford got the rebound. Cameron Rundles hit two free throws with three seconds left for a 60-57 lead. Georgia’s last second three attempt was missed and after the buzzer.

Wofford shot 38.2% from the floor and 35.3% from three. The Terriers were 85.7% from the line. The Bulldogs shot 40.0% from the floor and 14.3% from behind the arc. Georgia was 55.0% from the free throw line. Georgia led rebounding 39 to 37.

The Terriers return home on Thursday, November 19 at 7:00 pm to host Lees-McRae before a four-game road trip to Bradley, Illinois and Las Vegas to face Southern and Seattle. Wofford will then play two more road games before hosting Appalachian State at Benjamin Johnson Arena on December 7.

*Game story provided by Wofford Athletics*