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. Adidas Nmd r1 Damske Levne .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. Boty Adidas Nmd Levně . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. http://www.botynmdlevne.com/basketbalove-boty-adidas-levne.html . From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding. Adidas Nmd Dámské Cerne . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. Adidas Nmd Dámské Levně . -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will be out for roughly four weeks after tearing his left hamstring. In May, Chicago Sky rookie Imani Boyette launched a social media campaign to get rapper 50 Cent to attend one of her WNBA games.Her reasons -- her first dance at her wedding was to the rappers single Best Friend, and she has loved 50 Cent since her dad picked her up from school in the third grade while playing the rappers music.How could the rapper-actor-producer-businessman turn down this superfan? On Tuesday night, 50 Cent made good on his promise by showing up at her game, and the Chicago Sky defeated the Minnesota Lynx 98-97.It was awesome, Boyette told espnW. The fact that he actually followed through and made a special trip just to come to our game means a lot. Hes a great guy and I really appreciated it.ddddddddddddAs for the important question, is there anyone else you would like to see at one of your games?Nope, she told espnW. The most important person Id like to see in the stands now is my husband. I love all our fans and hopefully getting 50 to a game will encourage even more people to take an interest especially as we make this playoff run.The takeaway: (Rookie or not) ALWAYS shoot your shot.See something entertaining on social media that you think deserves to be shared? Let me know on Twitter, @darcymaine_espn. ' ' '