Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Team efft BY PETE FEHELEY Sports Editor The poised, patient Marquette Warriors withstood a second half rally by the Gamecock's to defeat Carolina on Saturday afternoon, 68-65. Marquette converted four of five bonus opportunities from the foul line in the last 2:35 as they refused to wilt under the Gamecock pressure. Carolina began the game in a zone defense and effectively forced. the Warriors to take the outside shots. Marquette hit only 37.5 per cent from the field in the first half. However, the Gamecocks were unable to get their offense un tracked in the first half as they also took the low percentage shots. The Warriors full court zone press resulted in several steals and eas Nate Davis runs th ~<~' ~iLo >rt keys Mi baskets for Marquette. Gamecock -coach Frank McGuire inserted freshman guard Jack Gilloon to help Mike Dunleavy break the press. Still, the turnovers con tinued. Marquette held leads of two and four points throughout most of the first half and two free throws by Rick Campbell gave Marquette its biggest lead of the first half, 30-24 with 2:09 remaining. Carolina then rallied behind two free throws and a 20 ft. jumper by Nate Davis to cut the Warrior advantage to two points at half time. It took just one glance at the first half statistics to realize what the Gamecock's problem was. Despite shooting a better percentage from the field than Marquette, and having a 18-10 rebounding edge, Carolina was I because Johnny Drummings a cordon o Gns. irquette wi they had committed 14 turnovers to only two for Marquette. Marquette came out strong in the second half, boosting their lead back to six points at 36-30, on a rebound shot by Butch Lee and a long jumper by Lloyd Walton. Walton was able to hit on only four of 16 attempts from the field. Gamecock center Tom Boswell picked two quick personal fouls and went to the bench with 15:03 left in the game. Bob Mathias replaced him and Marquette pivotman Bo Ellis then proceeded to score at will on Mathias and Mathias' replacement, Mark Greiner. An Ellis lay-up at the 12:15 mark upped the Marquette lead to 46-40. Carolina then began to play aggressive man to man defense, shutting out the Warriors for the next five minutes, while scoring New Al Mc( BY BILLY COX Of The Gamecock staff Marquette basketball coach Al McGuire stood inside the lockerroom entrance and reflected briefly about his coaching career. Smiling slightly, he hinted that he was getting old. Alas. Over the hill at 45. It wasn't long ago that McGuire first achieved notoriety on the collegiate scene with his thun dering denunciation of the NCAA. Said the post-season transfer of his team from the Mid-East to the Mid West regionals was a farce and he wouldn't stand for it. He promptly rejected the bid and took his Warriors to the National In vitational Tournament, where they won the whole thing hands down wearing these crazy tiger-striped uniforms. Thnt was back in lfqo. When he was a young man. People started to watch Al McGuire. He was the guy who played his floppy-haired son, Allie, and bellowed, screamed, and shook his fists at the officials. He was the guy who drew two technical fouls in the championship game against N.C. Stati because 1 over USI four baskets themselves. Davis's .spinning bank shot gave Carolina the lead at 48-46 with 9:28 remaining. Marquette forward Earl Tatum then took control of the offense as he hit several shots from deep in the corner to regain the lead for his team, 50-48. Tatum's offensive display in the second half, along with Ellis's domination un derneath, spelled defeat for Carolina. Marquette stretched their lead to 64-56 on a Jerry Homan free throw with 1:59 left. Carolina fought back to 64-61, but Walton's two clutch free throws sealed the verdict for the Warriors. Greiner's shot just before the buzzer ended the scoring, with Carolina three points short. Marquette placed four men in double figures. Ellis had 19, Tatum -1 0 rutre captu he thought '"it would wake everybody up." McGuire was a crowd pleaser all right. Saturday afternoon, Carolina fans got a chance to see the new Al McGuire. Bodies were slamming into the floor, the crowd was going berserk, and the referees were going blind. Yet, there he sat, Mr. McGuire, seemingly oblivious to the din. He quietly surveyed the unfolding strategies, with his forefinger touching his tightly sealed mouth. After a Carolina lineup change, McGuire, restless for the first time, silently jerked his head back, paced down his bench, and pointed stiffly to a substitute. He wordlessly returned to his seat where he resumed his trance. He was truly mellow in the first half. In the second period, spectators actually thought McGuire was alive. Earl Tatus and Nate Davis took spots at the jump circle and the Marquette mentor stood up. "C'mon, babe, we gotta have it!" he barked. That was all anyone heard from him until TV time-out was called with 8:53 remaining. He leaped to his feet, strutted out to meet the ref, and shouted until his C'five' had 16, Walton had 12, and Homan added 11 for the Warriors. Marquette converted 16 of 18 free throws to offset one less field goal than the Gamecocks. Dunleavy paced the Gamecocks with 14 points, while Davis and Boswell had 12 points each. Carolina held a 37-23 rebounding edge over Marquette, but they turned the ball over 11 more times than Marquette did. Carolina has now committed 50 more turnovers than their opponents this season. The victory gave Marquette a 20 3 record for the season, their ninth consecutive 20 win season. Carolina's record dropped to 15-8 with three home games remaining, with Canisius, Georgth Tech, and Villanova. Carolina needs vic tories in all three games to keep their flickering hopes alive for an NCAA bid. ees 20th face was a deep shade of scarlet. At last. The fans pleaded for a technical. McGuire once again retired to his seat and rose only to call time out with 3:43 left. He sat there, forefinger over his lips, until the end of the game. In a contest that wasn't decided until the final moments. A lot of people were let down. McGuire later told reporters, "We've won more than our share of close games this year. I figure if we can keep it close in the final minutes, we can usually get you." He mentioned that his Warriors always hit clutch foul shots so he wasn't concerned with pressure situations. Regarding the future of the Gamecocks in post-season play, he admitted, "I really hope they can get in the NCAA. I'd like to see' them there. They're the type of club that can be devastating." McGuire added that he thought his players were aided by "catching Carolina on a downward spiral." Someone asked him where he thought the NCAA would place his squad in the regionals. "They'll probably send us east of Taiwan, I don't know," he quipped.