Nov. 20, 2009

Box Score

CHARLESTON, SC - South Carolina placed four players in double-figures and controlled play for the final 24 minutes to defeat La Salle, 78-68, on Thursday night in the opening round of the Charleston Classic. Senior Rodney Green had his second straight game with 23 points to lead the Explorers.

La Salle will take on Davidson (0-2) on Friday night at 7 PM, while South Carolina (3-0) advances to play USF at 9:30 PM for the right to advance to Sunday's finals.

Junior Jerrell Williams added 11 points, including La Salle's first five, but no other Explorer scored more than seven. Freshman Aaric Murray had seven rebounds and five blocks.

The Blue and Gold clamped down on potential NBA draft pick Devan Downey, holding him to 10 points and forcing him into five turnovers. But his backcourt mate Brandis Raley-Ross came off the bench to score 16 points, including four three's, and the inside presence of Dominique Archie (17 points, seven rebounds) and Mike Holmes (15 points) proved to be too much for the Explorers, especially with Murray limited to 20 minutes due to foul trouble.

Green shouldered the offensive load for LU, shooting 8-for-13 from the floor en route to his 23 points. He now has 1,406 career points and should pass Frank Corace (1961-64) and into 21st place on the all-time scoring list on Friday.

The Explorers raced to a 9-2 lead thanks to five points from Jerrell Williams and four from senior Kimmani Barrett in the first 5:05. La Salle held the lead for the entire first half until a three by Raley-Ross with 51 seconds left before halftime gave the Gamecocks a 38-36 advantage.

South Carolina, playing in front of a partisan crowd of its supporters, extended the lead to as many as 20 points in the second half. La Salle continued to fight late, going on a 10-0 run to finish the game, which included the first career points for freshmen Devon White and T.T. Carey.

Friday's meeting with Davidson is the first-ever between the two schools.