FRIDAY SPORTS: Walhalla hoops teams lose; Warriors win county wrestling title; Clemson falls at Auburn

In high school basketball on Thursday, the Walhalla boys fell to Rabun County 76-68. The Lady Razors also fell to Rabun County by a score of 66-56.The Walhalla teams will head to Seneca Friday night.

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West-Oak claimed the Oconee County wrestling championship after wins Thursday over both Walhalla and Seneca. Walhalla won the other match over Seneca by a team score of 53-27.

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Clemson led by three late in the second half but scored just one field goal in the final five minutes as Auburn seized control and earned a 66-64 victory on Thursday at Auburn Arena. With the win, the SEC Tigers moved to 5-3 on the season and the ACC Tigers fell to 8-3 overall. Clemson breaks for the holidays for 10 days before returning to action on Dec. 30 against VMI.

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Holding a three-point lead at the half South Carolina was unable to keep up with USC Upstate’s shooting from the field in the second half (48.1 percent) as the Gamecocks fell 74-68 Thursday at Colonial Life Arena. Freshman Sindarius Thornwell led South Carolina with 19 points and seven rebounds, and junior Tyrone Johnson chipped in 11 points, but the Spartan offense was keyed by Ricardo Glenn who had a season-high 21 points and 14 rebounds to go along with three others who scored in double figures for USC Upstate.

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Less than two weeks after returning to play for the first time since tearing his Achilles tendon in the spring, Kobe Bryant is set to be out again for six weeks, with the L.A. Lakers saying Thursday that an MRI showed Bryant fractured his knee. The Lakers said the injury happened during Tuesday’s game against Memphis, when Bryant hyperextended the knee.

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South Carolina defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles has been named second-team All-America by Lindy’s Sports. Quarles, a 6-4, 298-pound junior from Hodges, was the team leader in tackles for loss with 13.5 including a team-high 9.5 sacks