LSU ends Gamecocks' SEC streak with 87-65 victory

BATON ROUGE, La. - Emmitt Williams and Naz Reid each scored 15 points as LSU extended its winning streak to seven games by defeating South Carolina 89-67 in a Southeastern Conference game Saturday night.

The Tigers (14-3, 4-0), who led for nearly the entire game, have won their first four SEC games for the first time in 13 seasons. LSU's 2006 Final Four team won its first seven conference games.

Williams, whose 15 points matched his season-high, also grabbed a season-best 13 rebounds. Williams and Reid were two of six LSU players who scored at least ten points. Kavell Bigby-Williams, Ja'vonte Smart and Tremont Waters each had 12 points. Marlon Taylor had 10 points.

A.J. Lawson led the Gamecocks (9-8, 4-1) with 18 points and Keyshawn Bryant scored 10. South Carolina, which had its five-game win streak snapped, was outscored 32-6 at the foul line.

Two good stretches enabled LSU to build a 48-28 halftime lead. A basket by Williams with 12:03 before halftime capped a 10-2 run and put LSU ahead 21-13.

Williams scored seven points as LSU went on a 15-4 run over the final six-plus minutes of the first half. A layup by Skylar Mays with 51 seconds left gave the Tigers a 48-28 lead at the break.

Smith scores 23, Winthrop rallies to beat USC Upstate

SPARTANBURG - Nych Smith scored 23 points and Winthrop dominated the second half to defeat South Carolina Upstate 82-72 on Saturday.

After trailing by eight at halftime, Winthrop outscored the Spartans 43-25 in the second half. Winthrop first took the second-half lead, 54-53, when Kyle Zunic's 3-pointer capped a 15-6 run with 14:17 remaining. Later, the Eagles went up 62-61 on a layup by Smith with 8:27 remaining and Winthrop led the rest of the game.

Winthrop, which lost to Longwood on Wednesday, improved to 12-6 overall and at 4-1 in the Big South remains one game behind Radford (5-0).

Adam Pickett scored 16 points and Zunic had 14 for the Eagles.

Deion Holmes made 6-of-9 3-pointers and scored 31 points for Upstate (5-15, 0-5).

Winthrop had a 47-34 rebounding advantage and outshot the Spartans 44 percent to 38 percent. Both teams were 11 of 29 on 3-pointers.

Moglia resigns as Coastal Carolina coach after return season

CONWAY - Joe Moglia, the one-time CEO of TD Ameritrade, has resigned as head football coach at Coastal Carolina.

The 69-year-old Moglia announced the decision Friday. He said he'll stay on as Coastal's chairman of athletics for the final two years of his contract and have authority over the football program. Offensive coordinator Jamey Chadwell has been promoted to head coach.

Moglia, who went 56-22 in six seasons as Coastal coach, says now is the right time to step aside and give Chadwell more responsibility. Moglia missed the 2017 season when dealing with a respiratory issue. Moglia won four Big South Conference championships during five seasons as an FCS program, making the NCAA playoffs all five years.

The Chanticleers are part of the Sun Belt Conference of the FBS the past two years. Coastal Carolina finished 5-7 this season.

Patriarch of Wood Brothers Racing team Glen Wood dies at 93

Glen Wood, the patriarch of the famed Wood Brothers Racing team who had been the oldest living member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, has died after a long illness in Stuart, Virginia. He was 93.

"It's with profound sadness that we mourn the passing of team founder and family patriarch Glen Wood this morning," Wood Brothers posted on social media Friday morning. "We want to thank family, friends, our small-town Virginia community of Patrick County, as well as everyone in the NASCAR community for their unwavering support."

Wood, alongside younger brother Leonard, co-founded the Wood Brothers Racing team in 1953, and won four races over an 11-year racing career. Glen Wood in 1998 was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers - a list that included 20 drivers who had once raced a Wood Brothers car.

Wood is also a member of Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and in 2011 was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Boogie Cousins overcomes nerves in 1st game with Warriors

LOS ANGELES - DeMarcus Cousins was nervous. His stomach felt tight and filled with butterflies. He grabbed his phone and fired off texts to family and friends. He talked to his brother and sister.

Golden State coach Steve Kerr and the rest of the Warriors reassured Cousins it wasn't just about Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

It's about the rest of his career.

Making his Warriors debut after being sidelined for nearly a year, the big man called Boogie scored 14 points before fouling out of a 112-94 victory.

"It's been a long journey," Cousins said. "This was probably one of the best days of my life being back on the floor playing the game that I love."

After missing his first shot, Cousins announced his presence with a one-handed slam off Kevin Durant's bounce pass for the Warriors' first basket.

"It was like poetry," teammate Stephen Curry said.

Cousins was called for two fouls in the first three minutes and sat down.

"I'm just glad to know I can still dunk," he said. "That felt good."

Cousins joined the lineup at a time when Golden State has won seven in a row and an NBA-leading six straight on the road. Friday was the start of a five-game trip that will take the team back East, giving players time to bond.

"It's good for him to come in at a time we're playing well and things are calm," Kerr said. "It allows for an easier re-entry."

As if the Warriors weren't potent enough with Curry and Durant, Cousins' return made them the first team in 42 years to start five All-Stars from the previous season.

"We're not going to drink our own Kool-Aid in terms of understanding that just because he's back, it's a totally different team," Curry said. "We still have things we've got to work on. We still have details we have to focus on. These next four games on the road are going to be tough, so it'll test us right out of the gate with DeMarcus in the lineup."

Against the Clippers, Cousins shot 5 of 11 from the field. He was 3 of 4 on 3-pointers to go with six rebounds, three assists, one steal and a block in 15 minutes before fouling out. He became the first Warriors center to hit at least three 3-pointers in a game since Anthony Tolliver on March 17, 2010, against New Orleans.

"This is almost like training camp for him," Kerr said.

Cousins played his first game since Jan. 26, 2018, when he ruptured his left Achilles tendon with New Orleans. He missed the rest of the season, including nine playoff games for the Pelicans. The Warriors signed him in July.

"We haven't even really practiced together, so we've got a lot of growing to do," Cousins said. "I still don't feel like my rhythm is where I want it."

After getting his fifth foul 30 seconds into the fourth, Cousins hit consecutive 3s, throwing up three fingers as he ran down court.

"He does so many things well for them," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "The post game, which he didn't have because of rhythm, but he made a couple of 3s and he just knows how to play."

When he got his sixth foul a few minutes later, instead of his usual scowl, Cousins smiled and high-fived his teammates, who gave him a standing ovation.

"Probably the fakest love I ever received in my life," he said.

Durant said: "Hopefully that's the last time we give him a standing ovation when he fouls out."

Cousins credited his teammates for making his return "as smooth and easy as possible."

"They all love him," Kerr said. "He's a really good teammate. He's an emotional guy but he's loved because he cares about us."

And the Warriors feel the same way about their new big man.

"This is not the end of the story," Kerr said. "It's the middle and there's a long way to go."

___

More AP NBA: www.apnews.com/NBA and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports