NEU » as a major setback for Oman, who also

TAMPA, Fla. -- Frank Martins uneasiness about how No. 16 South Carolina might respond to its first loss of the season was unfounded.PJ Dozier and Duane Notice assured that, stepping up in the absence of leading scorer Sindarius Thornwell to help the Gamecocks (9-1) shrug off cold shooting and pull away to a 77-66 victory over South Florida on Saturday.Dozier scored 11 of his 23 points in the closing minutes and Notice gave South Carolina a spark by contributing 14 of his 15 points after halftime to help the Gamecocks bounce back from last Mondays 67-64 loss to Seton Hall.It was my concern for this basketball team coming into this game, coming off our first loss, being so young, that some guys wouldnt handle it (well). Losing is an epidemic, and losing is not good. And young people dont know how to handle losing, Martin said.It was our first experience as a team to go through it. I think we kind of came out and played the first half like somebody took our dog. We didnt have our enthusiasm, the fight that weve played with every single day out, Martin added. But Im equally as pleased, I thought we played well in the second half as a basketball team. Different guys doing things. Obviously PJ continues to grow as a player here and do unbelievable things. But like I told him, its also his challenge.The Gamecocks (9-1) improved to 2-1 without Thornwell, who has been suspended indefinitely for violating athletic department policy.With Sind being out, we had only two seniors out on the floor. So as Coach said, were young. Were a young team and were just looking to grow, Dozier said.We came out first half a little sluggish. We make our offense out of our defense and wasnt doing that the first half, the 6-foot-6 sophomore guard added. We went into the locker room and Coach gave us that word that we needed and came out with the intensity we should have started with.Jahmal McMurray led USF (5-4) with 25 points. Malik Fitts had 12 points and Geno Thorpe finished with 11 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls, who led 37-31 at halftime.South Carolina began the second half with a 17-9 burst to take a 48-41 lead. Dozier and Notice keyed the initial surge and Dozier took over down the stretch, when the Gamecocks led by as many as 13.We got, maybe, a little bit complacent. Didnt come out with the fire that we had in the first half, McMurray said. The second half, we just have to ... come out with the same fire.THE BIG PICTURESouth Carolina, which has its highest ranking since being No. 14 in the final poll of the 1997-98 season, obviously misses Thornwell, who leads them in assists, as well as scoring and rebounding. With Notice missing the first eight shots he attempted, including six from 3-point range, the Gamecocks trailed at halftime for the first time this season.Not surprisingly, South Florida faded down the stretch. Luis Santos made a layup to trim South Carolinas lead to 64-61 with 7 minutes left, however the Bulls didnt score again from the field until Bo Zeiglers basket with 29 seconds left.FIRST BIG TESTSouth Carolina is only Power 5 opponent USF is scheduled to face this season. The Bulls fell to 0-4 against ranked opponents under coach Orlando Antigua and have dropped 20 consecutive games to Top 25 opponents since knocking off No. 15 Louisville on the road on Feb. 29, 2012.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Gamecocks may lose some ground in the next AP poll, however, rebounding on the road -- albeit against an opponent thats had its share of problems against a weak schedule -- will likely keep the Gamecocks in the Top 25.UNIENDO LOS TOROSUSF designated Saturday as Uniendo Los Toros, which in English translates to Uniting The Bulls. The game featured two of three Hispanic-American head coaches in NCAA Division I in South Carolinas Martin and USFs Antigua. Miamis Jim Larranaga is the third. Early arrivals among the announced crowd of 2,489 at the Sun Dome received white T-shirts commemorating the occasion.UP NEXTSouth Carolina: Returns home to face intrastate rival Clemson on Wednesday.South Florida: Faces Northern Illinois at home on Tuesday.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25.Tamim Iqbal lashed the first century of the 2016 ICC World T20 as Bangladesh sealed their spot in the Super 10s with a Duckworth-Lewis victory over Oman in Dharamsala. Tamim, fresh from stellar knocks of 83 against Netherlands and 47 versus Ireland, nailed his - and his countrys - maiden T20I ton off 60 deliveries before ending unbeaten on 103 from 63, an innings that featured 10 fours and five sixes.TAMIMS INNINGSRuns: 103Balls: 63Fours: 10Sixes: 5 Bangladeshs score of 180-2 never looked in danger of being overhauled, with Oman - who stunned Ireland in their opening match on Wednesday - losing Zeeshan Maqsood (0) from the second ball of a rain-affected reply.The Associate nation were set a revised target of 120 from 12 overs after two frustrating weather delays but finished on 65-9 to lose by 54 runs to the recent Asia Cup finalists, for whom Shakib Al Hasan (4-15) took four wickets.Bangladesh advance into a World T20 pool containing Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and hosts India, while Oman finish third in Group A, behind Netherlands on run rate and ahead of Ireland, on their debut in a global ICC event.Soumya Sarkar struggled for rhythm in Dharamsala Oman contained Bangladesh early on after winning the toss, with Soumya Sarkar (12 from 22) struggling to get going before he was bowled by spinner Ajay Lalcheta while skipping down the track. Tamim threatened to ignite when he creamed Lalcheta for four and six from successive balls moments before Soumyas exit, and he duly exploded once he was joined by Sabbir Rahman (44 from 26), with the pair putting on 97 in 9.1 overs.Sabbir was bowled in the 16th over before Tamim thrashed a four through the covers to post the seventh hundred at the World T20 - after Brendon McCullum (123), Chris Gayle (117), Alex Hales (116), Ahmed Shehzzad (111), Suresh Raina (101) and Mahela Jayawardene (100) - and Shakib biffed a late 17 not out from nine balls.ddddddddddddMaqsoods demise, the left-hander top-edging to third man while attempting a slog, was a major setback for Oman, who also lost Khawar Ali (8) with just 14 on the board when he plinked to mid-on.Shakib Al Hasan (far left) derailed Oman with 4-15 Jatinder Singh (25 from 20) top scored for Oman during their stop-start knock with Amir Ali, the teams hero in the two-wicket win against Ireland with a dazzling 32 from 17 balls, stumped off Shakib for just four.Ed Joyce assesses how Bangladesh will fare in the Super 10s Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal: The next stage is very important for us and I hope I can continue my form. I am just trying to be calmer when batting and play cricketing shots and it is working for me. It is the best I have played in T20s, so its all looking good.Watch Bangladeshs opening Super 10s encounter against Pakistan from 9am on Wednesday on Sky Sports 2, just hours before England begin their campaign against West Indies at 1.30pm on the same channel.Sky Sports is the only place you can watch all 35 games in 27 days of the 2016 ICC World T20. Or watch from £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV. ' ' '