COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Injured South Carolina guard Kory Holden has left the team.

Gamecocks coach Frank Martin announced Holden's decision on Saturday, a short time before South Carolina took on No. 10 Auburn at home.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A year ago, surging South Carolina was building for a run to the Final Four. These days, the Gamecocks are struggling to keep their heads above .500 on their longest losing streak in four years that threatens to keep them out of the NCAA Tournament altogether.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Frank Martin knows new isn't a bad thing as his team prepares to build on its Final Four ride.

Martin's team shocked many with its NCAA Tournament run, defeating second-, third- and fourth-seeded opponents to advance to the national semifinals. The heart of that group that won a school-record 26 games is gone, including leading scorer and rebounder Sindarius Thornwell and top three-point shooter Duane Notice.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Frank Martin is excited to watch his Gamecocks try to build on their surprise run to the Final Four, even without many of the headliners who led them to the national semifinals.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Assault charges against suspended South Carolina guard Rykym Felder have been dismissed.

Columbia Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons said Felder's charges were dropped by the city prosecutor. Felder had been charged with third-degree assault and battery stemming from a bar fight. It was Felder's second arrest since joining the Gamecocks.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina guard Rakym Felder has been suspended indefinitely and won't attend classes this fall, another blow to a thinning Gamecock backcourt that reached the Final Four this past April.

Felder's status was announced by coach Frank Martin on Wednesday.

Felder had been suspended since June 30 for his involvement in a fight outside a bar. He was arrested July 13 and charged with assault and battery.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Kory Holden smiles at the congratulations he hears from South Carolina fans at the team's run to the Final Four last year. He also listens intently when they tell him how hard it will be to duplicate that success, given all the Gamecocks have lost.

Holden understands the concerns — but no way accepts them.

"We got two weeks off after that Final Four run, then we hit the weights," Holden said this week. "Two weeks later, we were right back at it."

Turns out, Sindarius Thornwell isn’t the only former South Carolina basketball star headed to Los Angeles.

After being undrafted Thursday night, former Gamecocks point guard PJ Dozier signed a free-agent deal with the Lakers, according to ESPN. He will head to the same city as Thornwell, who was sent to the Clippers for cash after being taken by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers paid their way into the NBA draft Thursday night to pick up South Carolina guard Sindarius Thornwell.

The 48th-overall pick belonged to the Milwaukee Bucks before the Clippers acquired it for cash.

Thornwell averaged 21.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals with the Gamecocks last season in helping his team to the Final Four.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers paid their way into the NBA draft Thursday night to pick up South Carolina guard Sindarius Thornwell.

The 48th-overall pick belonged to the Milwaukee Bucks before the Clippers acquired it for cash.

Thornwell averaged 21.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals with the Gamecocks last season in helping his team to the Final Four.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Backup forwards Sedee Keita and Ran Tut are leaving South Carolina.

Coach Frank Martin announced the departures Wednesday while talking about six newcomers to his team that reached the Final Four last year.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Former Oklahoma and Florida Atlantic guard Frank Booker has joined South Carolina for his final season.

Booker is a 6-foot-4 guard from Augusta, Georgia, who spent his first two seasons with the Sooners before moving on to Florida Atlantic. Booker is a graduate transfer and eligible to play immediately for the Gamecocks.

Booker averaged five points a game as a backup with Oklahoma. He started 10 of 30 games for the Owls last season, averaging 5.7 points.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina hopes to keep Sindarius Thornwell part of its basketball program and plans to endow a scholarship in honor of the graduate who led the Gamecocks to their first Final Four.

The school announced the drive to fund a scholarship, which will be awarded to a basketball player who "exemplifies the competitive edge and effort" that Thornwell showed during his four seasons at South Carolina, the school said.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Gonzaga swingman Johnathan Williams bumped and bruised Sindarius Thornwell throughout the Final Four, shadowing his every step, preventing the South Carolina star from getting the ball, much less a good shot.

The same scenario played out a week earlier in the Sweet 16, only it was Nigel Williams-Goss hounding Jevon Carter, preventing West Virginia's best player from getting a good look with the game on the line.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Maybe it was the lingering effects of flu-like symptoms or maybe it was dealing with all those long-armed defenders Gonzaga kept throwing at him.

Maybe after playing as well as any player in the NCAA Tournament, Sindarius Thornwell was just due for a bad day.

Whatever the reason, Thornwell struggled to assert himself against Gonzaga on Saturday as the Gamecocks' first trip to the Final Four ended with a 77-73 loss in the national semifinals.

NEW YORK (AP) — South Carolina added a missing piece to its rich basketball history.

The school of Frank McGuire, Kevin Joyce, Brian Winters, Mike Dunleavy and Alex English is going to the Final Four for the first time.

Add the names Sindarius Thornwell and Frank Martin to the top of the list.

Thornwell's 26 points and the Gamecocks' swarming zone defense meant a 77-70 victory over Florida on Sunday and a berth in the Final Four.

NEW YORK (AP) — Apparently South Carolina is getting the hang of winning NCAA Tournament games.

The Gamecocks, who hadn't won a tournament game since 1973, got their third this year. One more and it's on to the Final Four.

"It's a great win for the program," Gamecocks guard Duane Notice said. "It's a good feeling when we continue to make history and I think once we get a taste of it, we kind of get addicted and want to continue doing it."

NEW YORK (AP) — No. 7 seed South Carolina (24-10) vs. No. 3 seed Baylor (27-7)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina's Sindarius Thornwell squirms and shakes his head slightly the Gamecocks are referred to as a one-man team. He might as well get comfortable with the description.

Thornwell has become the Jadeveon Clowney for men's basketball, the face of a basketball program the way the former No. 1 NFL draft pick was for Gamecock football.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Sindarius Thornwell knew South Carolina fans would be excited about the team's Sweet 16 appearance. The response since he has been on campus, though, surprised even him.

As Thornwell walked to the student union after class, he couldn't take more than a couple of steps without students swarming him for selfies or asking for some tidbit about the win against Duke on Sunday.

"We're trying to embrace the moment," Thornwell said Tuesday. "But that was wild."

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina is heading to Madison Square Garden — and not for the NIT.

A Gamecocks program known largely — and mocked often by some — for its back-to-back NIT championships in 2005 and 2006 is now heading to the world's most famous arena as part of the NCAA's Sweet 16. They are making their first appearance in the regional semifinals since the bracket expanded after an 88-81 victory Sunday night over No. 2 seed Duke in the East Regional.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina is heading to Madison Square Garden — and not for the NIT.

A Gamecocks program known largely — and mocked often by some — for its back-to-back NIT championships in 2005 and 2006 is now heading to the world's most famous arena as part of the NCAA's Sweet 16. They are making their first appearance in the regional semifinals since the bracket expanded after an 88-81 victory Sunday night over No. 2 seed Duke in the East Regional.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina is heading to Madison Square Garden — and not for the NIT.

A Gamecocks program known largely — and mocked often by some — for its back-to-back NIT championships in 2005 and 2006 is now heading to the world's most famous arena as part of the NCAA's Sweet 16. They are making their first appearance in the regional semifinals since the bracket expanded after an 88-81 victory Sunday night over No. 2 seed Duke in the East Regional.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Frank Martin had a message for long-suffering fans: It won't take the Gamecocks 44 years to win another NCAA Tournament game.

Sindarius Thornwell had 29 points and 11 rebounds to lead seventh-seeded South Carolina to a 93-73 victory over Marquette to close first-round play in the East Region on Friday night.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Braxton Key had 18 points, Riley Norris added 12 and Alabama made 10 of 12 free throws down the stretch to lead Alabama past South Carolina 64-53 on Friday in a Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinal.

Key made 3 of 4 from the line during the critical stretch that finally gave the Crimson Tide space from the Gamecocks in a tense contest.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Southeastern Conference coaches have named South Carolina's Sindarius Thornwell the league's player of the year.

Coaches also picked Florida's Mike White as coach of the year in awards announced Tuesday by the SEC.

Vanderbilt's Luke Kornet is the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Kentucky's Malik Monk is freshman of the year and Florida's Canyon Barry is the top sixth man. Texas A&M's Robert Williams is the league's defensive player of the year.

ATLANTA (AP) — Kentucky freshman Malik Monk was picked as both player and newcomer of the year, while Florida's Mike White claimed the coaching award on the All-Southeastern Conference men's basketball team announced Tuesday by The Associated Press.