Downey held scoreless in his debut

Former USC standout and Chester High graduate Devan Downey made his debut in the NBA Summer League last night.  He’s playing on the Sacramento Kings squad in Las Vegas.

Downey played the final four minutes of the game and didn’t score.  He missed his only shot and finished with one rebound, two assist and a pair of fouls.

The Kings won the game 97-68 over the Pistons.

Tonight Downey and the Kings will face the Lakers.

Horn and Downey stand for alma mater on Senior Night

Despite scoring the game’s first 11 points, USC was unable hold on to the lead in the second half and fell to Alabama 79-70 Wednesday night on Senior Night at the Colonial Life Arena.   The Gamecocks led 55-48 with 11:43 to play after a dunk by Ramon Galloway.  The Crimson Tide pulled within three at 57-54, and then USC proceeded to miss six consecutive free throws.  That opened the door for Alabama which tied the game at 59 and took the lead for good at 65-64 with 4:29 to play. 

AUDIO:  Darrin Horn

darrin horn 3-3

Devan Downey

The loss spoiled the night for Gamecock senior guard Devan Downey who finished with 23 points, 5 assists and 3 steals.  Those steals made him USC’s alltime leader in that category.

AUDIO:  Devan Downey

devan downey 3-3

Ramon Galloway

Ramon Galloway came off the bench to give the Gamecocks an offensive spark with a career high 21 points.  Galloway was 8-12 from the floor including 4-8 from three point range.

AUDIO:  Ramon Galloway

ramon galloway 3-3

USC can point to the foul line and the backboards for reasons for the loss.  The Gamecocks were only 8-17 at the line and were outrebounded 49-26. 

USC is now 14-15 overall and 5-10 in the SEC.  The Gamecocks have lost six in a row and will close out the regular season Saturday at Vanderbilt.  Alabama improves to 15-14 and 5-10. 

Final box

Darrin Horn

USC used a 46 point second half to defeat Florida Wednesday night in Columbia 77-71.  The Gamecocks trailed 35-31 at halftime as the Gators shot 68% from the floor over the first 20 minutes.  But Florida fell victim to poor ball handling and poor free throw shooting in losing to the Gamecocks at the Colonial Life Arena for the second year in a row.  The Gators finished with a season high 20 turnovers and were just 10-23 from the foul line.  The Gamecocks were 19-24 from stripe and turned it over a season low matching six times.  Ramon Galloway’s three pointer with 6:28 to play broke a 53-53 tie and started the Gamecocks on a 14-6 run as they built an 11 point lead with :49 left. 

AUDIO:  Darrin Horn

darrin horn 2-10

Devan Downey

Devan Downey led the Gamecocks with 24 points, a season low for him in SEC games.  He was just 6-18 from the floor and 1-6 on three pointers.  But he was 11-12 from the line including nine of ten over the final two minutes.   Despite playing on a bum ankle, Downey logged 34 minutes.  He also contributed four steals and two assists.

AUDIO:  Devan Downey

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Downey will continue to wear a boot on his injured ankle for precautionary reasons.  Johndre Jefferson suffered a sprained ankle in the game and will be be further evaluated Thursday.

Brandis Raley-Ross matched his career high with 20 points and hit three big three pointers in the second has  as the Gamecocks turned a seven point deficit into an 11 point lead.

AUDIO:  Brandis Raley-Ross

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Sam Muldrow added 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists for the Gamecocks.  Erving Walker led the Gators with 20 points.

USC improves to 14-9 overall and 5-4 in the SEC and will play Saturday at Georgia.  Florida drops to 17-7 and 6-4 in the league.  The Gators step out of the league to take on Xavier in Gainesville Saturday. 

Final box

Fox loses 1st game vs USC

USC defeated Georgia Saturday night in Columbia 78-77  for its second straight SEC victory.  The Gamecocks trailed 38-36 at halftime and were down by nine with 9:25 to play.  Devan Downey put the Gamecocks up 78-77 on a jumper with :50 to play. That would be the final scoring in the game.  The Bulldogs had a chance to take the lead with 3.2 seconds to play but Dustin Ware, an 83% free throw shooter,  missed the front end of a one and one.  In somewhat of a puzzling move, Georgia coach Mark Fox did not put his other players around the lane, so there was no Bulldog to contest the rebound.

AUDIO:  Mark Fox

Mark Fox

Two straight SEC wins for Horn

Gamecock guard Ramon Galloway gathered in the loose ball off the floor and was fouled, just the sixth against Georgia.  Galloway was again fouled on the inbounds play and missed the free throw with .2 left to play.  The clock expired on the rebound recovery.

AUDIO:  Darrin Horn

Darrin Horn

Downey amazing again

Devan Downey once again led the Gamecocks with 33 points.  Downey was 12-20 from the floor, 4-7 on threes, and 5-5 at the line.  Downey has scored at least 29 points in each SEC game this season. 

AUDIO: Devan Downey

devan downey

Sam Muldrow recorded his first career double-double  with a career high 19 points and 11 rebounds.  Muldrow also had four blocks.  The Gamecocks shot 51.8% from the floor for the game, 62.5% in the second half.  USC is now 13-8 overall and 4-3 in the SEC.  Georgia falls to 9-10 and 1-5 in the league.  The Gamecocks are off until next Saturday when they play at Tennessee.

Final stats

Darrin Horn

Vanderbilt took advantage of its superior size to put the hammer down on USC Saturday night at the Colonial Life Arena 89-79 befored a season’s high crowd of 13,166.  The Commodores made 61% of their shots for the game.  21 of their 33 baskets were layups or shots right under the basket.  The loss is USC’s first in three SEC games while Vandy improves to 3-0 in the league.  The Commodores have won eight straight games.   

AUDIO:  Darrin Horn

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Lakeem Jackson

AJ Ogilvy, Vandy’s 6-11 junior center, had his way inside all night making seven of eight shots from the floor.  He was 8-13 from the foul line and finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.    The Commodores outrebounded the Gamecocks 39-24.

AUDIO:  Lakeem Jackson

Lakeem Jackson 1-16

Devan Downey

Devan Downey tried his best to keep the Gamecocks in the game with a season high 35 points, two off his career high.  Downey was 12-21 from the floor and 8-9 from the line.  He also had six steals and four assists.  The Gamecocks forced 20 turnovers which they converted to 25 points.

AUDIO:  Devan Downey

Devan Downey 1-16

The Gamecocks trailed by six at halftime.  Vandy came out of the lockerroom and expanded the lead to 13.   The Gamecocks were never closer than ten points the rest of the way.  USC is 11-6 and 2-1 in the SEC and will play Wednesday at Ole Miss at 9:00 PM.  Vanderbilt is 14-3 and 3-0 and will be off until playing Auburn in Nashville next Saturday.

Final Box

Young gets huge win

Wofford broke a 21 game losing streak to USC Saturday with a  68-61 win over the Gamecocks at Benjamin Johnson Arena at Wofford.  The Terrier’s last win over USC took place in 1939.

AUDIO:  Wofford coach Mike Young

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Horn not happy with effort

The Gamecocks led 34-31 at halftime but Wofford scored the first eight points of the second half  to take a 39-34 lead.   USC led only once more at 42-41.   With 2:00 to play, Devan Downey missed the second of two free throws which would have tied the game at 59.   From that point forward, The Terriers outscored the Gamecocks 9-3.  Jamar Diggs hit five free throws during that stretch to kill any hope of a USC rally.

AUDIO:  USC coach Darrin Horn

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Diggs clutch late

Noah Dahlman led the Terriers with 19 points and 11 rebounds.  The Terriers outrebounded the Gamecocks by 10 and had 22 offensive rebounds which they converted into 25 second chance points.    Diggs added 16 points and Junior Salters, who was honored prior to the game for reaching the 1000 point mark in his career, scored 13 points. 

AUDIO:  Jamar Diggs

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Downey can't save USC

Downey led the Gamecocks with 17 points but had just one assist and five turnovers.  The Gamecocks had 16 turnovers on the night to the Terriers’ 11.  Bradis Raley-Ross had 14 points for USC and Sam Muldrow 10.  The Gamecocks shot 42% for the game, Wofford 40%. 

AUDIO:  Devan Downey

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Wofford improves to 6-6 with the win, and is 2-0 against SEC East teams this season.  The Terriers defeated Georgia earlier in the season.  They will play UNC Asheville at home Monday afternoon at 12:30.  The Gamecocks fall to 7-3.  They face another Southern Conference foe, Furman, Monday night at 7:00 at the Colonial Life Arena.

Final Stats

AUDIO:  USC post game news conference  (4:29)

Horn Audio (11:09)

Downey audio  (4:48)

• 2009 U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover (1:57)
• USC Basketball coach Darrin Horn (11:39)
• USC senior point guard Devan Downey (5:48)
• Kasey Kayne after weekend win (2:28)
• Monday night’s Recruiting Report (5:09)