SPORTS
THE SUMTER ITEM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2017
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Sumter’s Tylik SibbliesSimon (5) drives around Socastee’s Alex Collins in the Gamecocks’ 75-52 victory on Tuesday at the SHS gymnasium. Sumter won the Region VI-5A championship with the triumph.
REPEAT FROM PAGE B1 evident from the outset as Jaylenn Corbett got out in front of the Braves’ defense for a couple of fast break layups to start the game. With Socastee having 7-foot-1-inch, 260-pound Jason Cudd on the floor, Sumter wanted to run as much as possible. “Push the ball. That was our game plan tonight,” Jones said. “We knew (Cudd) wasn’t fast enough to run with us and he didn’t have a lot of help tonight.” Socastee, which fell to 12-11 and 4-6, pulled within 5-4, but got no closer. Sumter reeled off nine straight points to go up 14-4 and led 16-8 after one quarter. The Braves never got closer than seven points the rest of the way. Kendrell Genrette converted a 3-point play to pull Socastee within 25-17 with 3:49 left in the first half. Ahmad Peoples drilled a 3-point shot, Corbett followed up a miss and Tylik Sibblies-Simon sank a 3 to make it 33-17 with 2:10 left. The Braves didn’t get back within single digits again as Sumter led 39-20 at halftime. The Gamecocks blew the game open in the third quarter as Andrew Tiller hit three straight treys in a 46-second span to make it 58-29. Sumter led 63-34 after three quarters. Isaih Moore led the Gamecocks with 14 points. All nine seniors scored for Sumter, led by Corbett with 12. Tiller, Peoples and Sibblies-Simon each had nine, Brandon Atkins and Antoine Benbow both had four, Ryan Missildine had three, Raymond Johnson two and Darius Williams one. Cudd had 22 points and six rebounds to lead Socastee. The University of South Carolina signee had just one blocked shot, but Sumter chose not to challenge him, instead outrunning him. Zack Henderson added nine.
RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM
COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP
Hart helps No. 2 Villanova survive late Georgetown run VILLANOVA, Pa. — Josh Hart scored 25 points and No. 2 Villanova held off a late Georgetown run in a 75-64 victory Tuesday night. With Hart on a second-half scoreless skid, the Hoyas (1312, 4-8 Big East) sliced a 17point deficit to two and had the Wildcats reeling at the Pavilion. L.J. Peak buried a 3 and Rodney Pryor hit a jumper to key a 17-4 run that pulled the Hoyas to 60-58 with 3:49 left. The Hoyas, swept by Villanova in three games last season, seemed poised to pull off the upset they needed to try and make a run at the NCAA Tournament. The Hoyas just couldn’t stop Hart in the clutch. Hart, a national player of the year candidate, scored 17 points in the first half and missed his first seven shots in the second. But he buried a 3 to make it a seven-point lead and turned a steal into a layup that made it 70-60 and sent the Pavilion crowd into a frenzy. The Wildcats (23-2, 10-2) held on and won the 79th game in the series between these decades-long rivals. Hart got the Wildcats rolling after they missed six of their first seven 3-point attempts. Hart hit three 3s in the first half and scored 17 points to help the Wildcats take an early 17-point lead. The Wildcats are at that point of the season where fans are just waiting for March. The students even started a “Trust the Process” chant when Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid made a cameo in the second half. Donte DiVincenzo scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half for the Wildcats. Peak led Georgetown with 21 points and Pryor had 20. Georgetown was involved in a crash on Monday on I-95 North outside of Baltimore on the way to Pennsylvania. There were no major injuries to any members of the team. But guard Tre Campbell banged his right knee and sat out. Coach John Thompson III hobbled on the sideline and often grabbed the scorer’s table for support. Georgetown lost its second straight game following a three-game winning streak.
for Kentucky. Antonio Blakeney had a season-high 31 points and Brandon Sampson added 17 for the Tigers (9-14, 1-10), who have lost 10 straight for the first time since 2011.
(17) FLORIDA 72 GEORGIA 60 ATHENS, Ga. — Chris Chiozza scored 15 points and No. 17 Florida recovered after blowing a 16-point lead to beat Georgia. Kasey Hill had 12 points for Florida (19-5, 9-2 Southeastern Conference), which has won five straight. The Gators began the night one game behind Southeastern Conference leader South Carolina. Yante Maten led Georgia (13-11, 4-7) with 19 points. The Bulldogs suffered their third straight loss, each to a ranked opponent. The Gators’ winning streak includes Saturday’s impressive 88-66 win over No. 8 Kentucky. Florida has made runaway wins look routine in their winning streak, and they appeared ready to pull away from the Bulldogs early. After Georgia led 5-0, Florida took the lead with a 13-2 run. Consecutive 3-pointers by Devin Robinson and Justin Leon helped Florida stretch the advantage to 30-14.
Villanova’s Josh Hart, left, goes up for a shot against Georgetown’s Jagan Mosely during the first half of the Wildcats’ 75-64 victory over the Hoyas on Tuesday in Villanova, Pa. The Hoyas desperately needed a marquee win to help its NCAA Tournament hopes. The 2017 Big East championship trophy made a stop at the Pavilion and it’s hard to imagine it won’t soon find a permanent spot at Villanova. The Wildcats are the threetime defending conference champs and lead the Big East again this season. Villanova extended its school record with its 48th straight win at the Pavilion.
(15) KENTUCKY 92 LSU 85 LEXINGTON, Ky. — Wenyen Gabriel scored a careerhigh 23 points, Malik Monk also had 23 and No. 15 Kentucky withstood a late LSU rally for a victory. The Wildcats (19-5, 9-2
Southeastern Conference) won for just the second time in five games and had to withstand the Tigers’ late rally that got them within 91-85 with 9 seconds remaining. Monk’s free throw 1 second later sealed a win that followed Kentucky’s 22-point loss at No. 17 Florida on Saturday. Gabriel provided the initial offensive boost and finished 7 of 11 from the field including three 3-pointers to beat his previous career best of 15. He also grabbed eight rebounds, including three offensive, as Kentucky controlled the boards 40-26. Monk bounced back from an 11-point outing to make 8 of 15 from the field with four 3s. De’Aaron Fox had 16 points and Isaiah Briscoe 14
PENN STATE 7 (21) MARYLAND 64 STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Lamar Stevens scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half and Penn State beat No. 21 Maryland. Tony Carr added 14 points and Mike Watkins had 10 for the Nittany Lions (13-12, 5-7 Big Ten) who snapped a twogame skid and beat their fourth Top 25 opponent since last February. Justin Jackson and Kevin
MARK TAYLOR Branch Manager
Huerter scored 12 points each and Melo Trimble added 11 for the Terrapins (20-4, 8-3) who lost their second in a row. The Nittany Lions played stingy defense early and led for all but 1:48 and by as many as 14 points with 9:59 remaining. The Terps cut the lead to 62-58 with 3:26 left after Jackson and Jaylen Brantley hit consecutive 3s. But a layup from Nazeer Bostick and six combined free throws from Carr, Stevens and Josh Reaves kept the game out of reach.
SYRACUSE 82 CLEMSON 81 CLEMSON — Tyus Battle hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Syracuse a one-point win over Clemson. Tyler Lydon drove the lane and the Tigers collapsed, allowing Lydon to find the freshman wide open in the right corner to give the Orange (16-9, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) their fifth win in a row. Syracuse has come back from double-figure deficits in its last three wins. Andrew White led the Orange with 23 points. Lydon added 17 points and nine rebounds. Jaron Blosssomgame led Clemson (13-10, 3-8) with 20 points. It was another heartbreaking loss for the Tigers who have now lost a pair of 1-point games in the ACC, a 3-point game in overtime and a 4-point game, all at home. Donte Grantham hit a jumper from the free throw line with 6.2 seconds to go to give Clemson the lead before John Gillon’s drive and dish to Lydon that led to the winning basket. Clemson also led by as many as 12 in the first half, but the Orange reeled the game back in before half.
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