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Former Sumter running back Roderick McDowell, center, is the new running backs coach at the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

Moving up the ladder: Former Sumter standout McDowell excited with opportunity as ULM running backs coach
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Local Sports

Scott's Branch point guard Cambria Parker had three strong games for the Lady Eagles to win the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

Parker leads Scott's Branch to earn Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

Scott's Branch High School point guard Cambria Parker is no stranger to show-stopping performances. The 2-time South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association 1A player of the year can take over a game at just about any moment. So far in 2021, that …

Sumter point guard Kiara Croskey, right, was offered by Ole Miss on Dec. 30, turning up the intensity of her recruiting process as a freshman.

Sumter's Croskey 'blessed' to be heavily recruited as a freshman

Kiara Croskey has been a crucial piece of the Sumter High School varsity girls basketball team for the last three years, so it can be easy to forget that the point guard is still just a freshman. That, however, hasn't deterred colleges from …

Former Sumter defensive tackle Jahkeem Green, right, transferred from Nebraska to South Carolina last week.

USC's Beamer likes Green's story, ability on defensive line

New University of South Carolina football head coach Shane Beamer met with the media on Tuesday via a Zoom press conference to talk about two of his most recent hires to his coaching staff - defensive line coach Jimmy Lindsey and defensive backs …

Wilson Hall's Zuri Anderson (20) and the Barons had to postpone two games this week after going into quarantine.

Coronavirus limiting high school basketball in Tri-County

The high rate of positive tests for coronavirus has continued to wreak havoc on the basketball schedules for both the South Carolina High School League and South Carolina Independent School Association schools. What was supposed to be a fairly …

Scott's Branch boys roll past Hemingway to stay unbeaten

SUMMERTON -- The Scott's Branch High School varsity boys basketball team remained undefeated on the season with a 62-42 victory over Hemingway on Monday at Joe Jones Gymnasium. The Eagles, who are 5-0 overall and 4-0 in Region IV-1A and are the …

From the Wire

Georgia Tech center Rodney Howard forces a loose ball defending against Clemson guard Nick Honor in the Tigers' 83-65 loss on Wednesday in Atlanta.

Georgia Tech routs No. 20 Clemson 83-65; 3 players score 20

ATLANTA — Josh Pastner wondered how his Georgia Tech team would respond after a 17-day layoff. Not to worry. The Yellow Jackets turned in one of their most impressive showings of the …

Memphis guard Ja Morant (12) and the Grizzlies will be sidelined for a while, as the NBA postponed three more of their games due to COVID.

NBA pushes back 3 more Grizzlies games, due to virus issues

The Memphis Grizzlies are the latest NBA team that will have a coronavirus-related extended break from games, after the league announced Thursday that their next three contests will be postponed …

Memphis guard Ja Morant (12) and the Grizzlies were not able to play against Portland on Wednesday night due to a high number of COVID cases on the team.

Grizzlies-Blazers postponed due to COVID

Contact tracing issues for the Memphis Grizzlies meant they would not have enough players eligible to play in Portland on Wednesday night, leading to the 16th game postponement for coronavirus-related reasons by the NBA this season. Of those, 15 …

Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda, left, and pitcher Don Sutton both passed away in January, as Sutton died in his sleep on Tuesday at the age of 75.

Former Braves announcer, Dodgers Hall of Famer Don Sutton dies at 75

LOS ANGELES - Don Sutton, a Hall of Fame pitcher who was a stalwart of the Los Angeles Dodgers' rotation spanning an era from Sandy Koufax to Fernando Valenzuela, died Tuesday. He was 75. The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, said …

South Carolina's Trae Hannibal, left, and Missouri's Dru Smith, right, battle for a loose ball during the the Gamecocks' 81-70 loss on Tuesday in Columbia, Missouri.

South Carolina can't slow down Tilmon in loss to No. 19 Missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Jeremiah Tilmon had 19 points and 10 rebounds in another efficient performance, and No. 19 Missouri beat South Carolina 81-70 on Tuesday night. Tilmon, who came in shooting a …

Prep Sports

The Sumter and Crestwood basketball teams will have to wait at least two more weeks to return to the court, as Sumter School District announced a decision to extend virtual learning and therefore delay the restart athletics.

Sumter School District's extension of virtual learning means no sports

With Sumter School District's decision to extend virtual learning through at least Jan. 29, so too has no extracurricular activities been extended, meaning that the basketball teams at Sumter, Crestwood and Lakewood high schools will not return to …

Wilson Hall's Tate Sistare (5) and the Barons will have to wait a week to open region play after a positive COVID test put team activities on hold until at least Tuesday.

Wilson Hall boys have to wait to see what region play holds

After getting off to a 6-2 start, Wilson Hall boys basketball head coach Eddie Talley has plenty of anticipation about how his squad is going to perform in SCISA Region II-3A heading into Friday's region opener against Florence Christian School on …

Wilson Hall's Andi Grae Wingate is leading the Lady Barons in both scoring and rebounding so far this season.

Lady Barons want to play games after battling COVID

Glen Rector sees an easy answer as to what his Wilson Hall varsity girls basketball team needs in order to improve. The key thing for us is we need to play some games," Rector said. "The girls need something to look forward to." Games have …

Laurence Manning guard Jaden Sanders (5) was named the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week after sinking two clutch free throws to lift the Swampcats to victory over Carolina Academy on Friday.

LMA's Sanders buries clutch free throws on way to Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

Being clutch is a crucial characteristic in sports. When the game is on the line, who steps up? Last week that was Jaden Sanders, as the Laurence Manning Academy junior stepped to the free throw line with two seconds left in overtime against …

East Clarendon's Talaysia Cooper (10) brings the ball up court during the Lady Wolverines' 48-21 win over Scott's Branch on Monday at the ECHS gymnasium.

East Clarendon girls dominate Scott's Branch as season resumes

TURBEVILLE - Local South Carolina High School League basketball returned to action on Monday with a premiere matchup, as the girls teams from East Clarendon and Scott's Branch met in a battle between top 10 teams in 1A. That battle didn't end up …

CLEMSON

South Carolina head coach Frank Martin will not be available to coach the Gamecocks against LSU on Saturday.

No. 12 Clemson, Gamecocks get back on floor Saturday

The men's basketball teams from both Clemson and South Carolina will finally get back on the court on Saturday after missing a couple of games each due to coronavirus issues. The Gamecocks might be playing, but head coach Frank Martin will not be on …

Alabama quarterback Mac Jones said that the 2020 Crimson Tide is the greatest college football team ever assembled.

Crimson Tide 2020 the greatest? What about '19 LSU, '18 Clemson?

By halftime, with Alabama clearly unstoppable and cruising toward a perfect season, the mind began to wander toward an obvious question. Has Nick Saban, the greatest coach in the history of college football, assembled the greatest team of them …

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) and the Tigers finished third in the final Associated Press poll of the season.

Perfect Alabama finishes No. 1; Clemson third, Coastal No. 14

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - Alabama finished the season No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the 12th time, extending its record by completing the program's first perfect season since 2009. The Crimson Tide were a unanimous No. 1 in the final poll, getting 61 …

Clemson's Clyde Trapp and the No. 19 Tigers will have to wait to face off against North Carolina, as the coronavirus is forcing Clemson to put men's basketball activities on hold.

Clemson men will have to wait to play at UNC due to coronavirus

The 19th-ranked Clemson men's basketball team will have to wait until a later date to see if it can establish its first ever winning streak in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Tigers had their road game against North Carolina scheduled for …

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence declared for the NFL draft on Wednesday.

Clemson quarterback Lawrence officially declares for NFL draft

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence has made it official - he's heading to the NFL. Lawrence, the 6-foot-6 QB with the power arm and flowing hair, released a video on social media Wednesday announcing he was leaving school and declaring for the …

More Clemson sports

USC

South Carolina basketball fans look at a new statue honoring former Gamecock A'ja Wilson before an NCAA college basketball game against Arkansas on Monday in Columbia.

No. 4 South Carolina, Boston beat No. 15 Arkansas after unveiling statue of Wilson

COLUMBIA — On a day South Carolina unveiled a bronze statue of A'ja Wilson, current standout Aliyah Boston shined in a manner not unlike the Gamecocks great. “The numbers speak for …

South Carolina guard LeLe Grissett (24) grabs a rebound during the Gamecocks' 106-43 win over Vanderbilt on Thursday in Nashville, Tennessee.

Saxton scores 20 as No. 5 South Carolina routs Vanderbilt women

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - South Carolina coach Dawn Staley is pushing her fifth-ranked Gamecocks to keep improving no matter the score. That focus was tested Thursday night, and the Gamecocks came through with a strong performance. Victaria Saxton …

Former Sumter High defensive lineman Jahkeem Green, right, announced his decision to transfer to South Carolina on Friday.

Former Sumter DL Green transfers to South Carolina

Former Sumter High School defensive lineman standout Jahkeem Green will be heading to the University of South Carolina after entering the NCAA transfer portal after two seasons at Nebraska. Green was accepted by USC on Friday, according to Big …

Tracy Rocker

Defensive line coach Rocker also leaves USC for Auburn

New University of South Carolina football head coach Shane Beamer has been putting a coaching staff together much to the liking of new Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin. After losing offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo and …

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer has gotten off to a rocky start with the Gamecocks.

Beamer off to bumpy start as Gamecocks' football coach

COLUMBIA - South Carolina coach Shane Beamer can't look at his phone these days without worrying if it's bad news. Player transfers, de-commitment by recruits and offensive assistants Beamer hired opting to leave for a Southeastern Conference …

More USC Sports

Outdoors

I pulled the camera card and checked pictures from the chufa patch on my portable viewer.

Dan Geddings: The chufa patch

Last year's crop was the best that I had ever produced. The plants were thick, and the nuts were abundant on the fibrous roots. The chufa patch measured about 400 feet long and was about 70 feet wide. It covered a little more than a half-acre on the …

Lee Reich via AP With their chilling hours fulfilled in the refrigerator, these yellowhorn tree seeds feel that winter is over and have sprouted.

They need to chill. Tips for turning seeds into trees

How exciting to think of a full-size tree locked up within each seed still clinging to the branches of sugar maples, hornbeams, oaks, sycamores and other trees at the end of summer. It was with such visions that I dropped an apple seed into some …

Public invited to Palmetto Trail meeting on Jan. 27

FROM STAFF REPORTS COLUMBIA - An informational meeting about a proposed new hiking trail in Richland and Sumter counties, to extend and connect the cross-state Palmetto Trail, will be hosted by the Palmetto Conservation Foundation from 5:30 to …

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