TUESDAY SPORTS: Tigers, Gamecocks head south for baseball

The Clemson Tigers travel to Statesboro, Ga. for the first time since 1995 to take on high-powered Georgia Southern in a two-game, midweek series. First pitch is 6:00 PM Tuesday.

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After a two-year absence, Clemson returns to postseason play Tuesday by hosting Georgia State in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The Tigers and Panthers meet in a 9 p.m. game, the fifth contest held in the series between the two programs.

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South Carolina high school football is losing another legend from the coaching ranks. Lee Sawyer announced his retirement from coaching Monday, putting an end to a storied 30 year career. Sawyer finishes his career at Strom Thurmond High School where, since his hiring in 2004, he has become the winningest coach in the program’s history with an overall record of 107-24.

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In the NBA Monday, the Atlanta Hawks won their fourth straight with a 97-83 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. The win pulls the Hawks within 1.5 games of the Bobcats for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race and snapped Charlotte’s 8 game home win streak.

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The Philadelphia 76ers fell 99-90 to the Indiana Pacers Monday night for their 21st straight loss, the longest losing streak in franchise history. Their previous record of 20 straight losses was set during the 1972-73 season. The 76ers are tied for the sixth-longest losing streak in NBA history, while the consecutive loss record of 26 games is held by the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers.

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Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was released from jail Monday afternoon on $22,500 bond after being arrested in Carmel, Indiana, late Sunday night. He was charged with driving while intoxicated as well as four felony counts of possession of a controlled substance. Irsay has been in treatment for an addiction to pain killers in the past.

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Testimony in Oscar Pistorius’ murder trial Monday showed that the South African double amputee Olympic runner knew he was breaking the law when he shot through a locked bathroom door in his home, even if he believed there was an intruder inside. Pistorius killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on the morning of Valentine’s Day last year, claiming he shot her by accident because he thought she was an intruder, however prosecutors claim he shot her after an argument. Testimony yesterday showed that Pistorius took a gun competency test in September 2012 in which he correctly identified that it’s only legal to use lethal force against an intruder if he’s being attacked or threatened with a weapon. Pistorius’ gun trainer also testified that the athlete had spoken about a time when he went into, quote ,”full combat mode” after hearing a noise in his home, going through the house with his gun in hand, only to find it was the clothes dryer.