THURSDAY SPORTS: Clemson wins second straight ACC road game

With the game tied at 49, Clemson outscored Virginia Tech by a score of 7-0 over the final two minutes to earn its second straight ACC road victory by a 56-49 margin Wednesday night. The Tigers moved to 12-4 overall and 3-1 in the ACC. It’s only the 11th time in school history the Tigers have recorded back-to-back conference road wins.

______________________________________________________________________________

South Carolina (7-9, 0-3 SEC) suffered a 75-67 loss at Texas A&M (12-4, 3-0 SEC) on Wednesday evening in Southeastern Conference play. The Gamecocks led by as many as 11 in the opening half, but the Aggies out-scored Carolina 37-28 in the second half en route to the victory.

______________________________________________________________________________

The Furman men’s basketball team continues its three-game Southern Conference road swing at Georgia Southern on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. before concluding the trip with a 7:05 p.m. contest in Charleston, S.C., versus The Citadel on Saturday. Thursday’s game can be heard on 96.3 WGOG beginning with the Paladin Pre-game Show from Statesboro at 6:30 PM.

______________________________________________________________________________

In the NBA Wednesday, Thaddeus Young made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left to lift the Philadelphia 76ers to a 95-92 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Atlanta Hawks are in London, England, where they will face the Brooklyn Nets Thursday night.

______________________________________________________________________________

Clemson defensive end Vic Beasley has announced that he will return for his senior season with the Tiger football team. The defensive end from Adairsville, GA was a consensus first-team All-American in 2013, helping the Tigers to an 11-2 record and number-seven final national ranking in the USA Today poll. It’s the Tigers highest final ranking since winning the National Championship in 1981.

______________________________________________________________________________

South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier is getting a raise. Spurrier’s salary is being increased to $4 million, making him the ninth highest paid coach in America. The current contract runs through 2017, at which time Spurrier will 71.

______________________________________________________________________________

South Carolina football legend George Rogers is one of six individuals who will be inducted into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. The induction ceremony will take place on Friday, February 7, at the Buckhead Theatre, located at 3110 Roswell Road NE in Atlanta. Rogers, a Duluth High School graduate won the 1980 Heisman Trophy as a Gamecock running back.

______________________________________________________________________________

Pitcher Clayton Kershaw agreed Wednesday to a seven-year, $215 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, his current team, according to the the Associated Press, a deal that makes him baseball’s first player with a $30 million average salary. The previous high was Alex Rodriguez’ $27.5 million as part of a 10-year deal. The 25-year-old Kershaw, who won the National League Cy Young in 2011 and 2013, would have been eligible for free agency after the upcoming season. He was 16-9 last year, led the league with 232 strikeouts, and his 1.83 ERA was the best in the majors since 2000.

______________________________________________________________________________

Maria Sharapova advanced to third round at the Australian Open Thursday with a 6-3, 4-6, 10-8 win over 44th-ranked Karin Knapp in extreme heat, with temperatures at 109 degrees by the time the three-and-a-half-hour match ended. Also winning were Caroline Wozniacki and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The brutal weather on the third day of a heat wave finally led to the Extreme Heat Policy going into effect, halting play when temperatures topped 108 degrees. Matches on the outer courts were stopped at the end of sets that were in progress with play resuming after 5 p.m., and the retractable roofs at the main arenas were closed at the completion of the sets in progress, with play resuming afterward on the courts.