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use has By KEVIN ADAMS Sports editor The USC men's basketball team saw the best of times and the worst of times over the Christmas break, moving into and out of the national rankings in a span of two weeks. After an uninspired 75-67 win over East Carolina Dec. 7, the Gamecocks headed into exams with a perfect 4-0 record. And after 10 days of hitting the books, USC headed to Knoxville to face No. 16 Tennessee Dec. 17. That's when the real fun began. The Gamecocks trailed the Volunteers for most of the game, and were down by 14 points with seven minutes remaining, when John Hudson and Brent Price took over to rally USC within three. Terry Dozier then hit a three-pointer with eight seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime. Barry Manning hit several key free throws down the stretch in the Gamecocks' 83-81 victory, USC's first win on the road over a Top Twenty opponent since a 1974 win at Creighton. Manning scored 20 points, Hudson had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Price scored 18 points, and Dozier added 12 in the win over the Volunteers. Two days later, USC appeared in the Associated Press Top 20 at No. 18, just in time for a nationallytelevised matchup with No. 12 Ohio State Dec. 20 at the Carolina Coliseum. The national ranking was USC's first since Jan. 28, 1975, when current USC head coach George Felton was a senior on the Gamecock squad. A near-capacity crowd packed into the Frank McGuire Arena to see the Gamecocks and the Buckeyes tangle. After Ohio St. scored the first three points of the contest, USC scored nine consecutive points and would not trail again. The Buckeyes rallied in the second half to tie the game at 68 with less than two minutes remaining, but USC hit six free throws in the last 1:17 to pull away to a 74-68 victory and a 6-0 record, USC's INTERESTED ] ?? " > * SPRIN DEAD! AmIIAP TA A ; UKUISt IU P March 6-10 j Four Nights/Fi\ "Carnival Cruis I Eight (8) Meals ! Daily and Nighl ! Ports of Call: F I $515 Per Pers ; (includes port f ; $50 refundable ; $75 Deposit di Responsible for ( ! to Miami i PAYTONA BE) > March 5-12 I Seven (7) Nigf ; Oceanfront Ac Welcome Part; ! Discount Fun I ; Poolside D.J. I l. a n rs I i _ ruui rarties Intramural Spo | Headquarters ; $149 Per Pers J $75 Deposit d I 1989 ; Responsible for C ! For mo > Carol ; Ru > big wins, 9Bj|k Brent Price third-fastest start ever and the best since 1971-72, when the Gamecocks ran off seven consecutive victories to begin the season. Brent Price led the way for USC against the Buckeyes with 25 points, including six threepointers. Hudson scored 18 and pulled down 13 rebounds, while Dozier added 16 points. The consecutive wins against Tennessee and Ohio St. marked the first time since the 1973-74 season that USC had back-to-back victories over Top 20 teams. With that and a No. 16 ranking under their belts, the Gamecocks headed home for the holidays, in preparation for the Cotton States Kiwanis Classic in Atlanta Dec. 29-30. That'<; where the fun ended In the opening round of the tournament, USC ran into LaSalle and Ail-American Lionel Simmons. Simmons scored 38 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the Explorers' 85-67 win. LaSalle broke open a close game midway through the first half with a 15-0 run en route to a 40-21 lead at the half. USC had 19 turnovers overall, 13 in the first half. The Gamecocks could never get closer than 12 points in the second half and N WORKING FOR THE i Call 777-7726 :i?u CAROLINA PROGRAM UNION GBRE/ LINE EXTE AHAMAS: /e Days on the I inn" )C I? 11 IG j/Snacks Daily tly Entertainment ^ rreeport, Nassau on ees and gratuities an 5 damage fee) Je January 17, 198? Own Transportation !?H: its "Center Strip" * :commodations jk Book n Daily s0 rts Tournaments 1 son m ue i-ebruary 1, * )wn Transportation re information, come 'ina Program Union Offh ssell House Room 209 * ? * * * *A A * - - ^ A tough los: af j*k m Barry Manning shot only 41 percent from the field for the game. Price scored 22 points in a losing effort for USC, while Hudson had 13 points and 14 rebounds. Manning and Dozier added 12 and 10 points, respectively. LaSalle improved to 8-1 with the victory. The Gamecocks dropped their second game in a row the next night against Ivy League member Princeton, 69-58. The Tigers had numerous backdoor baskets and hit six of nine shots from three-point range to lead at halftime, 35-25. USC used its fullcourt press to close the gap to 54-52 late in the second half, but Princeton hit two key three-point baskets and most of its free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win. Overall, the Tigers hit 10 of 17 shots from three-point range. With the loss, USC fell to 6-2. Princeton improved to 6-3. Hudson led the Gamecocks with 25 points, but hit only 1 of 6 free throw attempts. Price scored 13 points and Manning chipped in with 12 points atiu nine leuuunus. For the tournament, the Gamecocks hit .444 from the field GAMECOCK? < i ip?: < i New Deadlines { January 17 J ? 1 yf; i i February 1 < < ML i the ! < w i i i i i ses so far i and .553 from the free throw line. In its first six games, USC shot .539 from the field and .672 from the charity stripe. USC returned home Jan. 2 to face Augusta College and took out their vengence on the overmatched Jaguars, 103-68. Home cooking obviously did the Gamecocks some good as USC shot 58 percent from the field. Before Saturday's game with Davidson, USC was shooting 56 percent from the field at home and -t-/. u pvivvm a y\ ay huhi vuiumuia. Meanwhile, USC opponents are shooting a paltry 38.5 percent at the * Carolina Coliseum, but 52.4 percent | in games played elsewhere. Against Augusta, sixth man Joe Rhett led the Gamecocks with 18 points, while Dozier scored 17 and 9 Manning had 15. Price and Hudson | added 13 and 11, respectively. USC traveled to Charlotte Saturday to face Davidson in the New % Charlotte Coliseum. The Gamecocks open Metro Conference play Wednesday at No. 13 Louisville before returning home Saturday to face Metro opponent Cincinnati. *88-89 USC results i Nov. 26 USC 96, Lander 54 * Dec, 3 USC 90, Clemson 70 * Dec. 5 USC 57, Maryland 51 * * Dec. 7 USC 75, E. Carolina 67 * + Dec. 17 USC 83, Tennessee 81 \ (?T) | Cotton States Kiwanis Classic ? r Atlanta, Ga. ? Dec. 29 LaSalle 85, USC 67 | Dec. SO Princeton 69, USC 58 1 Jan. 2 USC 103, Augusta 68 * | Jan. 7 USC 65, Davidson 48 * Home game 69 Al ! rrHF POT TH-TT Grand Open | STAC IK | /FRONT ORCHESTRA Rows A-R ^^^wfo*/ESTKA FRONT (1R\NI) TIER ^ ^vs AA-* III _ _ (T.CC Lj^Q.vy "h cr Produced by the Koger Center in cooj n 1988-89 season I^H. ^3P^ym sHf BjjMB ijKhh || pRlp^l |^ ji' i ?^lS' :?i Photo courtesy of KEITH JONES USC senior forward John Hudson goes up for a shot in the Gamecocks' -58 loss to Princeton in the consolation game of the Cotton States Classic in lanta. eeVL v>-10' Lrta ConuT( hcck It Out !! Starring Karla DeVito of Broadway's Big River and Pirates of Penzance, and Meat loafs Bat Out of Hell tour. January 27 and 28 8 PM All Seats Reserved. $10, $8 & $4 n sale at TheBox Office at Carolina Coliseum and all usual outlets. To large to MC or VISA, calll 777-6586. A $2 service charge is added to edit card phone orders. For information, call 777-5111. )eration with the USC College of Humanities and Social Sciences.