Dec 1, 2001

By JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press Writer

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Jamel Bradley scored 16 points and Aaron Lucas and Chuck Eidson added 12 each as South Carolina beat Colorado State 66-58 on Saturday night.

Colorado State's Brian Green led all scorers with 24 points. He went 10-for-10 from the foul line and 7-of-12 from the field.

South Carolina (4-2) led by 13 with eight minutes to go. But the Rams went on an 8-0 over the next three minutes, cutting the lead to 55-50. Bradley then hit a three, and Tony Kitchings made an inside bucket to put the margin back to 60-50.

The Rams (4-3), whose only lead came at 2-0, had a chance to cut it to three with 2:39 left, but Jon Rakiecki's 3-pointer rimmed out.

Colorado State shot 50 percent (20-of-40) from the field, compared to 42.6 percent (23-of-54) for South Carolina. But the Rams turned the ball over 22 times compared to the Gamecocks' 15 turnovers. And South Carolina went 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) from behind the arc, compared to 3-of-11 (27.3 percent) for Colorado State.

The Gamecocks played hot in stretches of the first half, including hitting 3-pointers on three straight possessions. But the Rams stayed close and trailed 33-25 at the break.

Colorado State would pull within two at 35-33 with 16:44 left. Bradley then hit a jumper for the Gamecocks. Eidson stole the ball on the next possession, got it back, made a layup and was fouled. After the free throw, South Carolina led 40-33.

The Gamecocks would eventually swing the momentum into a 20-9 run. Lucas hit two 3-pointers and another field goal during that stretch.

South Carolina's interior players continued to struggle. On three straight possessions, Rolando Howell turned the ball over twice, then missed a shot in the lane. Marius Petravicious scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but shot only 4-of-10 from the field. Kitchings also pulled down eight rebounds and had six points, but missed all four of his free throws, including one air ball.