TUESDAY SPORTS: Rivalry gametime announced; Beasley/Watkins/Bryant honored; Early named POTW

South Carolina will host Clemson at 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 30. ESPN2 will televise the contest nationally from a sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. The Gamecocks open as the early 5-point favorite to win the game.

______________________________________________________________________________

Junior defensive end Vic Beasley and junior receiver Sammy Watkins were both named semifinalists for national position awards on Monday. Beasley is one of 18 players named to the Mid-season Watch List for the Ted Hendricks Award, the honor that goes to the top defensive end in the nation. Watkins has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the top wide receiver in the nation.

Meanwhile, Clemson’s Martavis Bryant has been named ACC Receiver of the Week following his stellar play against Georgia Tech last Thursday.

_________________________________________________________________________________

The Sports Network on Monday named Furman placekicker/punter Ray Early its national special teams player of the week for his record setting performance in the Paladins’ 32-20 victory over Western Carolina on Saturday. The honor is Early’s second this season from The Sports Network, which recognized the Paladin senior following Furman’s 16-14 triumph over Georgia Southern on Nov. 2.

______________________________________________________________________________ 

The Carolina Panthers topped the New England Patriots 24-20 in Monday Night Football, in a game that ended weirdly with an uncalled penalty. On the final play, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who’d gotten his team to the Carolina 18-yard line with three seconds left, threw into the end zone as time expired and the pass was intercepted. An official threw a penalty flag for pass interference against Carolina, but then the officials gathered and announced there’d been no penalty. Referee Clete Blakeman said after the game that the officials decided the ball was underthrown and it came down to a matter of what he called “uncatchability.” Panthers quarterback Cam Newton went 19 of 28 for 209 yards with three touchdowns, including a 25-yard TD pass to Ted Ginn Jr. with 59 seconds left to give Carolina the final lead. Brady was 29 of 40 for 296 yards and one touchdown.

______________________________________________________________________________

In the NBA Monday, Luol Deng scored 21 points and the Chicago Bulls overcame a rough shooting night to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 86-81 for their fifth straight win.

______________________________________________________________________________

The Anderson University’s women’s basketball team downed USC Aiken 70-60 on Monday at the Abney Athletic Center. Alexis Dillard led the way with 13 points and nine rebounds.

______________________________________________________________________________

The Clemson men’s soccer team received a NCAA Tournament bid Monday afternoon. Clemson will play at Elon on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. in the first round. The winner of this match will play UCLA in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday. UCLA is the number-one overall seed in the tournament.