Downey carries Gamecocks late

COLUMBIA-- Playing for the first time in four years without Dominique Archie in the lineup, South Carolina used the late heroics of Devan Downey to pull away for a 97-93 victory over Jacksonville on Friday night in the highest scoring game in Colonial Life Arena's nine-year history.

Downey, the All-SEC guard, scored 17 of his game-high 34 points in the final 5 1/2 minutes to pull the Gamecocks away after the Dolphins had taken their only lead of the second half.

It was all a part of being a team leader, according to Downey.

"I'm not going to say I had to, but I needed to take control at the offensive end," Downey said. "I didn't set the tone defensively. Dominique brings a lot, but he's out so we have to all step to replace someone like him."

Archie missed the first game of his career after injuring his knee in the loss to Miami on Sunday.

Travis Cohn gave Jacksonville (0-3) a short-lived 75-74 lead with 5:46 remaining before Downey and fellow senior Brandis Raley-Ross took control. Downey hit two free throws with 5:24 remaining to give South Carolina (5-1) the lead for good on the next trip down the floor.

He added a layup on the next possession before Raley-Ross hit a free throw. Downey then hit a jumper, two free throws, and a pull-up 3-pointer to give the Gamecocks an 86-78 lead with just under two minutes left.

Raley-Ross hit a layup before Downey made two more foul shots to end the stretch where the Gamecocks scored on 10 straight trips down the floor and stretched the lead to 90-83.

with under a minute remaining.

"I'm disappointed that we didn't guard, at any point," South Carolina coach Darrin Horn said. "Scoring wasn't an issue tonight. We needed Devan to score because he was a big part of us not guarding anybody. He is a guy capable of scoring like that and we made an adjustment late to get him off the ball and keep him in scoring position. Regardless of what defense they were in, he would be able to attack."

Raley-Ross finished with 18 points, a season high to offset the loss of Archie.

South Carolina shot a season-high 57.4 percent (35-for-61).

Jacksonville was led by guards Ben Smith and Cohn. Smith, the Preseason Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, finished with 31 points and Cohn added 14 as the Atlantic Sun preseason favorite played the Gamecocks down to the wire after being blown out by 26 and 32 in losses to Florida State and California to begin the year.

"At the end, we gave up some wide open shots," Jacksonville coach Cliff Warren said. "Devan Downey took advantage of it. He's a very good player but I'm proud of the way the guys fought."

AP-ES-11-27-09 2319EST