Gamecocks stun Virginia; Lobos suspend 2 starters
Jair Bolden scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half and A.J. Lawson had 10 of his 14 in the second to help South Carolina beat No. 9 Virginia 70-59 on Sunday in Charlottesville, Va.
The Gamecocks (8-4) led 23-11, saw Virginia pull even at 45 with just over 11 minutes to play and promptly scored 12 of the next 17 points. The defending national champions never got closer than five the rest of the way.
Mamadi Diakite scored a career-high 21 points to lead Virginia (9-2).
The Cavaliers had a season-high 19 turnovers, leading to 23 Gamecocks points.
South Carolina shot 55.1%, connecting on 27 of 49 attempts.
Justin Minaya added 12 points for South Carolina, 10 after halftime.
Lobos suspend 2 starters: Shorthanded New Mexico rallied with five players scoring at least 14 points led by 21 from Corey Manigault as the Lobos beat Houston Baptist 107-88.
New Mexico was missing starters Carlton Bragg and J.J. Caldwell, who were both “being withheld from competition and team activity until further notice,” according to a statement school officials released prior to the game. No additional details were released other than the school, “received information that requires further review.”
Zane Martin, Makuach Maluach and JaQuan Lyle each added 19 for the Lobos (12-2).
Martin, who had six assists with just one turnover, and Manigault replaced Caldwell and Bragg in the starting lineup.
“I think they consider themselves starters probably in their own mind,” New Mexico coach Paul Weir said. “In a lot of other years and teams, they are starters. We just happen to be a deep basketball team with a lot of good players. And those guys we able to step in and do some good things. They’re older. They’re experienced.”
The Huskies (0-10) were led by a career-high 30 from Jalon Gates and Ian DuBose added 16. Gates hit seven 3pointers, six of them in the first half.
“A kid made a lot of 3s in the first half and didn’t make very many in the second,” Weir said. “Sometimes when guys are making shots on the other end especially the ones he was making, it deflates you a little bit.”