A 12-foot great white shark was spotted off the coast of South Carolina this week, about a year after it was detected near the New Jersey shore.
Ironbound, an adult great white shark weighing about 1,189 pounds, was recorded twice near South Carolina Thursday morning, according to OCEARCH, a nonprofit marine research group that provides open-source data about shark migration.
He was first tagged on October 3, 2019, in the waters around Nova Scotia and named after Canada’s West Ironbound Island.
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OCEARCH captures and fits sharks with a tracker that pings whenever they break the ocean surface – an effort aimed at enhancing data collection.
Last year in late April, Ironbound was detected off New Jersey’s coastline. At the time, the shark was about 20 years old, said Bob Hueter, chief scientist at OCEARCH.
Since he’s been tagged, Ironbound has swam about 15,186 miles, OCEARCH’s data shows.
Great white sharks in the Atlantic Ocean migrate each year, spending their summers in northern waters near Canada and their winters as far south as the eastern Gulf of Mexico, Hueter has said.
The script was there. South Carolina was putting together a great story. The last page was in its hands with a chance to do the unthinkable.
The Gamecocks, who had lost their first two SEC games by a combined 55 points, were on the verge of taking down No. 2 Auburn on Saturday. However, after some missed free throws and a scoring drought at the end of the game, they came up just short of a massive upset, falling 66-63 to the Tigers.
Here are five things we learned from watching the way South Carolina performed on Saturday.
This team is so much better when CMB is at his best
Collin Murray-Boyles was only going to stay down for so long. After two rough games for him against SEC competition, the sophomore forward was back to his old self with a great showing against the Tigers.
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He finished with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting, along with seven rebounds and two assists. In those games where he struggled, he felt he wasn’t being himself or playing as aggressive as he would’ve liked.
But right away, it looked like Murray-Boyles was the aggressor and nobody was going to stand in his way. When he plays like that, he’s usually at his best. And that’s exactly what South Carolina needs from him. It’s no coincidence that the Gamecocks were in the game the whole way through with their top player doing his thing.
The front court in general was solid for South Carolina on Saturday. Nick Pringle finished with a double-double as he went for 12 points and 10 rebounds. Even Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk, who played 10 minutes, had a big-time block in the second half.
Not that far off
For as rough as those last two games were, this one was most definitely a huge step in the right direction. The fact that the Gamecocks, who lost by 35 points to Mississippi State a week ago, was able to go toe to toe with the best team in the country says a lot. Yeah, they still lost, but that’s what progress looks like.
The good news is the hardest part of the schedule is out of the way now. Auburn and Alabama are currently the two best teams in the conference, and South Carolina won’t have to play either again in the regular season. Granted, there won’t be an “easy” portion of the schedule, not with how good the SEC is this year. But it helps these tougher games are over with.
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It’ll be interesting to see how the team responds going into a two-game road trip this upcoming week. The Gamecocks will head to Vanderbilt on Wednesday and Oklahoma on Saturday. With the way they played against Auburn, they should be feeling better about their odds in these next two games. However, they’re going to have to play at that type of level, if not better, to come away victorious in either matchup.
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Have to finish better
While this was certainly a better performance, South Carolina didn’t have the strongest ending to this game. It’s partially why it ended up losing.
With only 23 second-half points, the offense went through a scoring drought in the final 5:18 of the game. A lot of credit needs to be given to Auburn’s defense for making the necessary adjustments after halftime. It’s hard to win games when you’re not scoring at all down the stretch.
Luckily, the Tigers weren’t doing a whole lot of scoring either in the final minutes. The Gamecocks only trailed by one with nine seconds to go in regulation and had a chance to either tie or take the lead. But Nick Pringle, who went to the line to shoot two free throws, missed both and blew a golden opportunity.
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For the game, South Carolina went 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) at the free throw line. In a battle that came down to the final possession, it would’ve really helped if it had made some of those free throws.
Arden Conyers has a chance to be really good
With the Gamecocks down two starters, Arden Conyers, who hadn’t seen much floor time before this week, ended up playing a career-high 31 minutes on Saturday. He seemed to struggle against Alabama earlier in the week, but he looked much more comfortable and built for the moment versus Auburn.
The redshirt freshman guard finished with 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting, including 3-for-6 from behind the arc. He knocked down a pair of clutch three-pointers in the second half, both of which gave South Carolina the lead at different points.
Conyers is going to benefit greatly from these experiences as he gets his feet wet at the college level. Keep in mind, he didn’t play at all for South Carolina last season in his freshman year. So these games he’s playing in now are some of his first. It’s good to see him taking advantage of the opportunity he has in front of him, which will lead to more playing time.
Playing aggressive and physical works
Despite coming up short in this game, head coach Lamont Paris seemed to be very pleased with the effort his team gave. There’s no question South Carolina played with the right amount of physicality and aggressiveness, which helped it stay in the fight.
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The Gamecocks won the rebound battle over Auburn 37-33 and had 15 second-chance points as a result of some of those big rebounds. They did a great job of crashing to the boards and making life tough on the Tigers at times.
This is exactly how they need to play in every game this season. They seem to be a lot better as a group when they play that style of basketball. The wins can definitely come if that continues moving forward.
Former NFL player Robert Quinn was arrested in South Carolina early Friday morning over his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run crash involving multiple vehicles, according to reports.
The former Rams’ defensive end was taken into custody by law enforcement in North Charleston at around 2 a.m. after police say he attempted to leave the scene of a crash that he is accused of causing, FOX 4 reported.
FILE – Los Angeles Rams linebacker Robert Quinn (94) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on Dec. 3, 2017.(Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
Online jail records show that Quinn, 34, was booked into the Charleston County Jail on one charge of leaving the scene and one charge of reckless driving.
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According to reports, the incident took place at a car dealership. The North Charleston Fire Department arrived on the scene first and told police that the suspect, later identified as Quinn, appeared to be trying to leave the scene in a different vehicle.
FOX 4 reports that a pickup truck registered to Quinn crashed into a car, causing that vehicle to hit two more vehicles. Police said video evidence showed Quinn’s truck veering on the road before eventually driving onto the dealership property.
Robert Quinn, 34, was arrested early Friday morning after allegedly attempting to flee the scene of the crime. (Charleston County Jail)
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According to the report, Quinn had visible injuries to his face, and his speech was slurred. He was also allegedly uncooperative with law enforcement and was eventually removed from the car he was in before being arrested.
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Friday’s arrest comes just 18 months after the former NFL player was arrested for a similar situation in August 2023 when he was accused of hitting four cars before fleeing the scene, WMBF reported.
File – Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles (9) is sacked by Los Angeles Rams outside linebacker Robert Quinn (94) in the second half of the game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Dec. 10, 2017.(Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA Today Sports)
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Quinn last played in the NFL during the 2022 season.
A first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, he played the majority of his career with the Rams. In 2018, he was traded to Miami, where he led the team with 6.5 sacks. He was traded to the Cowboys the following season where he again led the team in sacks with (11.5).
Quinn also played for the Bears and Eagles, reaching the Super Bowl in 2023.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Auburn basketball escaped with a 66-63 win over South Carolina on Saturday, but suffered a concerning blow after All-American center Johni Broome left the game early with an ankle injury.
As Broome jumped to contest a layup by South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles, he landed awkwardly on Chaney Johnson’s left foot, rolling his left ankle. Broome had to be helped off the floor, not putting any weight on his left foot.
After the game, Bruce Pearl said on SEC Network that the injury is a “significant sprain” to Broome’s ankle.
“When we get back to Auburn tonight, we’ll get him an MRI and see if there’s anything else going on there,” Pearl added.
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When speaking with the Auburn Sports Radio Network after the game, Pearl reiterated that Broome has a “pretty serious sprain.”
“We’ll MRI it, X-ray it when he gets back and hopefully that’s what it is,” Pearl said, “Don’t know much more than that.”
Pearl didn’t add any more details during his postgame news conference, but was asked how Auburn will adjust if Broome is forced to miss more time.
“It’s gonna be just like it was for us in the second half,” Pearl said. “It’s gotta be the next man up. So, whether it be Dylan Cardwell or Chaney Johnson or Ja’Heim Hudson or Chris Moore — that’s our depth on the frontline.”
Auburn will have a short turnaround before its next game, facing No. 14 Mississippi State on Tuesday at Neville Arena. Tipoff for Tuesday’s contest is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be streaming on SEC Network.
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Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at prauterkus@al.com