South Carolina 67, Alabama 56

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Renaldo Balkman scored a career-high 28

points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lift South Carolina past Alabama

67-56 on Tuesday.

Balkman was virtually unstoppable in leading the Gamecocks

(14-10, 5-6) to their third consecutive victory. He grabbed

rebounds on both ends of the court, and his defense and hustle lead

to some easy baskets for South Carolina.

Tre Kelley, who had been averaging nearly 20 points in his past

two games, was shutout in the opening period, going 0-for-5 from

the floor. But his first points with 14:44 left in the second half

ignited a 12-1 run and the Gamecocks kept Alabama (14-9, 7-4) at

bay the rest of the way.

Kelley hit two 3s during the run and his steal and assist to

Rocky Trice for an easy layup brought the crowd to its feet,

putting the Gamecocks ahead 45-32 with 12:01 remaining. Kelley

finished with 12 points.

Ronald Steele led the Crimson Tide with 13 points, but most of

them came from the line in the final few minutes. Jermareo Davidson

and Jean Felix added 12 apiece.

Alabama, which had won three straight and seven of their last

nine, got as close as nine late in the game, but South Carolina

held off any potential rally.

Every time it seemed like the Tide were going to make a run,

Balkman and the rest of the Gamecocks stepped up.

The junior had a sensational first half, including 11 rebounds,

nine points and three steals. And he picked up right where he left

off in the second half with five quick points, including his second

3 of the night.

His aggressiveness on the offensive glass during one South

Carolina possession in the opening half garnered him two rebounds

before hitting an easy bucket.

Later in the second half, he grabbed an offensive board while

falling out of bounds and called a time-out, allowing South

Carolina to kill more time off the clock.