National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
South Carolina 80, South Carolina State 69
When: 1:30 PM ET, Saturday, January 5, 2013
Where: The Colonial Center Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
Officials: # Tony Greene, # Dedric Taylor, # Mike Thibodeaux
Attendance: 7394

South Carolina 80, South Carolina State 69: Lakeem Jackson collected 16 points and eight rebounds and Brian Richardson scored 15 as the short-handed Gamecocks held off the visiting Bulldogs to extend their season-best win streak to five games.

Brenton Williams added 14 points off the bench and Damien Leonard had 10 points and eight rebounds for South Carolina (10-3), which has won all 19 meetings between the intrastate foes. The Gamecocks were without three of their top five scorers in LaShay Page, Michael Carrera and Bruce Ellington.

Matthew Hezekiah racked up 24 points and 14 rebounds and Louis Adams added 12 points for South Carolina State (4-10), which has lost seven straight.

The upset-minded Bulldogs raced out to a 10-2 advantage, and the Gamecocks didn't hold their first lead until Mindaugas Kacinas' tip-in made it 20-19 with 7:20 left in the half.

South Carolina extended the margin to 37-29 by halftime and didn't let South Carolina State get closer than six the rest of the way. The Gamecocks have equaled last season's win total - they went 10-21 in coach Darrin Horn's final season.

GAME NOTEBOOK: South Carolina announced Friday that Page will sit out the remainder of the season because of an academic issue. Ellington, who recently rejoined the team after playing in the football squad's bowl game, will be back for the SEC opener Wednesday at Mississippi State. … The Gamecocks improved to 22-1 all-time against current schools in the MEAC. The lone loss was against Coppin State in the 1997 NCAA Tournament. … The Bulldogs shot 42.6 percent from the field after failing to hit more than 31 percent in any of their previous three games.

Top Game Performances
 
South Carolina State   South Carolina
Matthew Hezekiah 24 Scoring Lakeem Jackson 16
Khalif Toombs 6 Assists Eric Smith 7
Matthew Hezekiah 14 Rebounds Mindaugas Kacinas 10
Adama Adams 8 Free Throws Made Brenton Williams 5
Matthew Hezekiah 1 Steals Brenton Williams 2
Adama Adams 2 Blocks Lakeem Jackson 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
South Carolina State 69 42.6 0-7 17-22 13 39 4 3 15
South Carolina 80 45.1 4-16 12-21 16 37 3 4 9