BRIEFS
Former Lady Indian

signs with USC

Former Gaffney High softball player Evan Childs signed a grant-in-aid to play softball at the University of South Carolina. Childs played for the Lady Indians as an eighth-grader before her family moved to Conway. Evan is the daughter of Rev. Kevin Childs, former pastor of West End Baptist Church.

Saints home

opener Saturday

The Limestone wrestling team will host UNC-Pembroke and West Liberty State on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Saints are 5-0 and ranked fourth in the NCAA Division II East Region.

The Saints also announced the signing of Theran Goodale, the No. 1-ranked 140-pounder in Iowa.

Gamecocks

edge Friars

Devan Downey scored 21 points and Mike Holmes had 12 to lead South Carolina to a 68-67 win over Providence on Thursday night in the Big East/SEC Invitational.

The Gamecocks (5-4) held on even though they had a nearly 6- minute stretch without a field goal late in the second half that allowed the Friars to knock a double-digit deficit all the way down to one.

Weyinmi Efejuku was fouled with 0.2 seconds left on a driving layup and the Friars trailing by two. With a chance to send the game into overtime, Efejuku made only one of two free throws and South Carolina finally escaped with the victory.

Geoff McDermott had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Providence (5- 3). The Friars used a 10-minute stretch without a turnover late in the second half to get back in the game. It helped that South Carolina, which led 54-42 on a Brandis Raley-Ross 3-pointer, went cold from the floor.

Downey, though, ended the drought with a steal and fastbreak layup for a 65-59 lead.

With time running out, the Friars kept chipping away and Brian McKenzie hit a 3 from the top of the arc that made it 67-64 with 33.6 seconds left.

LSU extends

Miles' contract

LSU head football coach Les Miles signed a contract extension Thursday to keep him at the university through 2012 and end speculation that Miles might leave for a job at the University of Michigan.

''I'm thrilled to be here. I'm thrilled to be LSU's head coach. I'm thrilled to be on the campus,'' Miles told the LSU Board of Supervisors before signing the deal.

''I look forward to many years as the LSU head coach,'' he added.

The contract extension requires approval of the full governing board, which is expected to be a formality when the board meets Friday. The board's athletic committee approved the extension Thursday with nearly all board members present.

The agreement doesn't change Miles' salary, which already will rise to at least $2.8 million annually based on LSU's Southeastern Conference championship this year. An SEC championship win requires Miles' salary to be at least the third highest in the conference.

If LSU wins the national championship, the contract provides Miles would become among the nation's top-earning college football coaches, no less than the third highest paid. University officials estimate that would put his annual earnings between $3.2 million and $3.5 million - but that could grow depending on contract negotiations with other coaches around the country.

Four LC lacrosse

players earn honors

Four Limestone men's lacrosse players were named preseason All- Americans by Inside Lacrosse Magazine's Faceoff Yearbook. Midfielder Justin Haworth and defender Matt Pinder were named to the first team, while Allen Vaughn was selected to the second team and defender Mike Piccin earned honorable mention honors.