however, the game may come down to defe

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- P.J. Dozier scored all six of his points in overtime, including a 10-foot, baseline jumper at the buzzer to give South Carolina a 70-69 win against Monmouth on Tuesday night.Sindarius Thornwell had 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Duane Notice scored 15 points and Chris Silva added 10 with 10 rebounds for South Carolina (3-0).Doziers game winner came after Monmouths Jelon Hornbeak converted a 3-point play to give the Hawks a one-point lead with 1:02 remaining.P.J. was not where he was supposed to be, said USC coach Frank Martin. He was kind of in no mans land. I think maybe he was trying to get in position for a rebound.As it turned out Dozier was ready to receive a pass from guard Notice that set up the final shot.Chris Brady led Monmouth (1-1) with 17 points.The Gamecocks opened the game with a 13-0 run and a layup by Thornwell gave them their biggest lead, 40-22, with 15:23 left in regulation but Collin Stewart answered with a 3-pointer, sparking a 16-3 run that pulled the Hawks within four fewer than five minutes later.Diago Quinns putback with 6:52 left gave Monmouth its first lead, 52-50. Thornwell answered with a 3-pointer and, after an offensive foul called on the Hawks Austin Tilghman, a put-back layup and the Gamecocks didnt trail in regulation again.At the end of the season they dont ask how you won, just how many you win, said USC coach Frank Martin. I told our team I dont want to be the Grinch that stole Christmas, but we played offense like a bunch of nine-year olds tonight.Monmouths Micah Seaborn hit two free throws with 19 seconds remaining to send it to overtime.Were physical, but they guarded us across the whole court, said Monmouth coach King Rice. Those guys tonight were hard to deal with, so all credit to them. They made one more shot than we did.Two free throws by Hawks guard Justin Robinson tied the game at 50 with 7:48 remaining.BIG PICTURESouth Carolina: After missing the NCAA Tournament despite winning 24 games last season, the Gamecocks claimed their second straight victory over a team that participated in the postseason following the 2015-16 campaign. South Carolina topped Holy Cross, a NCAA tourney participant, while Monmouth was a No 1 seed in the NIT.UP NEXTUSC returns to action Friday when it hosts South Carolina State. The team then goes on a five-day break before hosting Michigan on Dec. 23.Monmouth (1-1) will play its third game of the season Friday when remains on the road against Syracuse. The Hawks return home to host Cornell on December 22 before going back on the road. Five of Monmouths first seven games are on the road.TURNING POINTAfter stretching a seven-point lead to 18 with 15:23 remaining, South Carolina appeared headed to an easy victory but Monmouth used 26-8 run to tie the game at 50 with 7:46 left in regulation.BULLET POINTSSouth Carolina continues to be a guard-dominated offense early in the season. Sindarius Thornwell, Duane Notice and P.J. Dozier entered averaging 46.5 of the teams 83-point average. The trio scored 44 of the Gamecocks 70 points Tuesday.Monmouth center Chris Brady, who entered the game averaging 13 points and six rebounds, kept the Hawks in contention with several key rebounds and big baskets in the second half. He finished with 17 and 10 rebounds to lead four Hawks players in double figures. Hornbeak scored 14, Micah Seaborn 11 and Justin Robinson had 11 points.Monmouth coach King Rice a former assistant coach at Vanderbilt and player at North Carolina entered with a great knowledge of the South Carolina program.I feel connected to this program because of (Monmouth assistant coach and former Gamecocks assistant) Rick Callahan and (former South Carolina coach) Eddie Fogler, said Rice. I think they have good kids.Stitched Braves Jerseys . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. Francisco Cervelli Jersey . 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Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth.CORVALLIS, Ore. -- When the Oregon State Beavers say theyre looking forward to the Civil War, they really mean it.In recent seasons the team hasnt always seemed quite as sincere about the prospects in facing Oregon, which has an eight-game winning streak in the rivalry.But it has been a disappointing season for the Ducks, who are 4-7 overall and 2-6 in the Pac-12, and likely wont play in the postseason for the first time since 2004.Oregon State, which is 3-8 overall but has an identical conference record as the Ducks, likes its chances at home, especially after a 42-17 victory over Arizona at Reser Stadium this past Saturday night.The Beavers are definitely fired up.Everyone in Oregon is probably going to be there, so were looking to win that one, too, said cornerback Dwayne Williams.Marcus McMaryion, pressed into duty as a starter for the Beavers earlier this season after both Darell Garretson and backup Conor Blount were injured, threw for 265 yards and a career-best five touchdowns against the Wildcats.Oregon State announced on Monday that the Civil War game was already a sellout.Big games are created sometimes by win-loss records or where you sit in the season. This game is a big game every year regardless of the situation or the scenario, Beavers coach Gary Andersen said. Our kids understand that, they know that and its a privlege and honor for them to play in it. Its a game theyll remember for the rest of their lives. The Ducks will be motivated, too.Oregon is coming off a 30-28 upset of then-No. 11 Utah, a victory that was sealed by Justin Herberts touchdown pass to Darren Carrington with two seconds left.Oregon State running back Ryan Nall predicted a fun game. Nall has rushed for 796 yards and nine touchdowns, but his season has been marred by a foot injury.ddddddddddddere going to take off with momentum. Oregon also came off a big win, so they are going to come after us, Nall said. Theyre not going to just going to think, `Oh, its Oregon State. We beat them every year. Its going to be a fun game. Were coming off a big win; theyre coming off a big win. Well see who can execute the best.Nalls Oregon counterpart, Royce Freeman, has had two straight games with 100 or more yards, and seems to have bounced back after a midseason lull. Freeman has 839 yards rushing and nine touchdowns.The last two weeks have been better, theres still time, coach Mark Helfrich said. He did some great stuff absolutely like youre saying, thats the quote-unquote `old Royce. That was good to see.In the end, however, the game may come down to defense, where both teams are struggling.Oregon is ranked 126th in the nation for total defense, allowing an average of 528.2 yards a game, and 126th in scoring defense, allowing 42.1 points per game.The Beavers are allowing averages of 433.3 yards and 31.1 points per game. Theyre ranked 88th in both categories.Andersen cautioned not to be fooled by Oregons slump this season.Do I worry about our kids getting over hyped? No, we talked about it today, Andersen said. You walk into these games and you respect your opponent. You expect to go out and play well, you expect to win, and thats what you do against every opponent that you play. Does this game have a little extra energy, a little extra juice? It should because its your last regular season game of the season. Youre playing against your rival. ' ' '