Category Archives: Sports
Swinney after Orange Bowl loss: Tigers not falling off
By Will Vandervort
Courtesy The Journal
news@thepcccourier.com
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Dabo Swinney looked over at quarterback Cade Klubnik, running back Will Shipley and defensive end K.J. Henry late Friday night and chuckled after being asked if the Clemson football program has fallen from college football’s elite ranks.
“I don’t really know what to say to them,” Swinney said. “We are 11-3. Sure, I wish we were undefeated, but we have won the league seven out of the last eight years. I 
think that has only happened one other time, and that was in the (1970s) by Alabama.”
The question came after Clemson’s season ended with a 31-14 loss to No. 6 Tennessee in the Orange Bowl. The loss to the Volunteers was the No. 10 Tigers’ third defeat against a non-conference Power 5 opponent
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Tigers set to take on Vols in Orange Bowl
By Ian Taylor
Courtesy The Journal
itaylor@upstatetoday.com
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — In a news conference earlier this month in Miami Gardens, Fla., ahead of the Orange Bowl, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney looked back on the first time he was a part of the storied game.
It was Jan. 1, 2000, when Swinney was a wide receivers coach for Mike DuBose’s Alabama Crimson Tide, which had gone 10-2 and won the SEC championship. The 
season ended on a loss though, as Michigan quarterback Tom Brady — playing in his last collegiate game — led the Wolverines back from two 14-point deficits to send the game to overtime, where Alabama kicker Ryan Pflugner missed an extra point and the Tide lost 35-34.
“One of my notables of life was coaching against Tom Brady in his last college game, and I didn’t
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Daniel falls to Westside in tournament championship
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — Off to a great start to the season and ranked fifth in the state in Class 3A, the Daniel High School boys’ basketball team took part in its own annual 
Christmas tournament last week, going 2-1 and falling just short of the championship with a 61-55 loss to Westside in the title game.
The Lions kicked off the tournament against county rival Pickens on
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Blue Flame go 1-2 in tournament
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — Coming off a win against Liberty last week, Pickens High School boys’ basketball coach Jeff Harrelson said he believed his team was playing its best basketball of the season.
Despite going 1-2 in Daniel High School’s annual Christmas tournament, the Blue Flame lived up to that billing and have Harrelson feeling good about his team heading into region play.
The Blue Flame kicked off the tournament against county rival Daniel and jumped out to a great start behind senior forward Coley Gillian, who scored seven points and blocked two shots as Pickens jumped out to a 13-9 lead over Daniel. Gillian and the Blue Flame kept their strong defensive effort going in the second quarter, as they held the Lions to just four points, with Gillian and Wyatt Reeves adding three blocks apiece in the first half.
Leading by as many as 12 in the third quarter, the Blue Flame continued to keep the Lions at bay and went
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Liberty hoping to bounce back after winless Christmas tourney
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — Winless heading into Daniel High School’s annual Christmas tournament, the Liberty Red Devil boys’ basketball team was hoping to improve against 
the talented teams at the tournament and potentially notch its first win.
The Red Devils opened the tournament last Wednesday taking on Westside, the fourth-ranked team in Class 4A. The Rams lived up to their billing from the start, hitting five three-pointers and getting strong play from leading scorer Zeke Marshall inside to build a 23-6 lead in the first quarter.
With the game slipping away, the Red Devils turned to swingman Jordan Burdette and he delivered,
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Blue Flame girls blast West-Oak
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Hoping to build on their best start in a decade, the Pickens Blue Flame girls’ basketball team hosted West-Oak last Thursday.
Behind a balanced effort and a big day on the boards, the Flame kept their momentum going in a 59-41 win over the Warriors.
“We wanted them to go all gas, and the girls stepped it up,” Pickens head coach Rikki Owens said. “The effort was there down the bench and on the court.”
That effort was apparent to Owens from the start, as the Blue Flame outscored West-Oak 16-6 in the opening quarter behind eight points from Sadie McKinney.
McKinney didn’t stop there, either, as the sophomore forward had a career night, putting up 21 points and
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Daniel boys hold off Hart County
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — After letting a 10-point fourth-quarter lead turn into a one-point deficit, the Daniel High School boys’ basketball team was in dire need of a basket with under two minutes to go against Hart County on Monday night.
Having been accustomed to All-State guard Bobby Taylor taking over in those situations over the past four years, the Lions needed a new face to step up with Taylor now at Newberry College. That face proved to be junior forward Hayden Anderson, as his tough finish with 1:31 left in the contest
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Lady Lions fall short to Bulldogs
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — Despite being down for more than 10 minutes, the Daniel High School girls’ basketball team kept its composure enough to cut the lead to five with just 
under four minutes left in the third quarter against Hart County on Monday.
However, the same mistakes that burned the Lions early on came back to bite them again, with turnovers and defensive lapses allowing the Bulldogs to quickly retake control and pull ahead for a 63-47 win.
With buckets from Ashlyn Land and Colleen Dimaio, the Lions felt good about cutting the deficit to 36-31 after trailing by 10 at the break, and Daniel head coach Cosandar Griffin called a timeout to get her team to settle in on the defensive end.
Instead, the Lions gave up back-to-back three-pointers, and by the end of the third they were still down 11
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Pickens boys fall to Warriors
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Things haven’t come easy for the Pickens Blue Flame boys’ basketball team so far this season, but it seemed they were ready to take a step in the right direction as they led 21-18 over West-Oak at halftime of Thursday’s contest.
Instead, a lack of offensive production held the Blue Flame back in a 49-34 loss to the Warriors.
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Freshman QB Klubnik leads Clemson to ACC title
By Ian Taylor
Courtesy The Journal
itaylor@upstatetoday.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There had been glimpses of it throughout the season.
Whether it was overthrown balls, bad decisions or a lack of energy, the Clemson offense was broken.
But after two disheartening drives led by D.J. Uiagalelei to open the ACC Championship Game against North Carolina on Saturday night in Charlotte, N.C., a new era
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