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Sports Friday, February 16,1990 The Gamecock 7 Late surge V By DAVID CARAVIELLO Staff Writer CHARLESTON ? Scientists claim that lightning cannot strike twice in the same place. Wednesday night at The Citadel, the USC men's basketball program proved that theory to be true. Barely. The Gamecocks needed a late second-half rally to come from behind and beat a scraDDv Bulldog team 69-65 in front of the fourth largest crowd ever at McAlister Field House. USC had been down by as many as 14 points in the second half. The victory ended a four-game losing skid for the 11-10 Gamecocks and cleared up a bitter taste left after The Citadel's 88-87 upset win at Frank McGuire Arena last year. "We've lost four straight, so to me this is as big of a win as we've had," USC head coach George Felton said after the game. "I'm just really proud of the kids for making a comeback like they did after being down 12 points on the road. We'd been down that many points at Cincinnati and we folded. Here tonight the kids came back and turned it up a notch. We really needed that" The first half saw the Bulldogs explode out of the gate and jump all over a lethargic USC squad. The Citadel backcourt tandem of Ryan Nesbit and Aaron Nichols rained down six three-pointers on top of a sagging Gamecock defense concerned with stopping All-Southern Conference center Patrick Elmore. USC was having its offensive problems as well in the first half. The Gamecocks hit a sixminute cold spell midway through the half during which they converted only two of nine field goal attempts. The Gamecocks went to the locker room down 36-24 after shooting a woeful 35 percent. So Felton made some adjustments at halftime, coming out with a smaller, quicker lineup intent on stopping The Citadel's three-point shooting. The lineup held The Citadel offense at bay long enough for the Gamecocks to mount a comeback. High school r< sign letters of v-lr V By The Associated Press South Carolina signed one of the led Conwa top players in the state arid onfe of a junior, the leading kickers anywhere Wed- Simpsoi nesday, while Clemson nabbed two this past y top-flight receivers and one of der, and m Florida's best linemen. tra points On the first day high school streak of 5 football players can legally sign The Gar letters of intent with colleges, in- quarterbacl state teams schools signed players Fredrick c from up and down the East Coast and Eric IV as well as from Iowa and Texas, bins High The signing period continues native of through April 1. more thai South Carolina signed 21 play- touchdown ers, including 12 from the state. who earne "From the very beginning, we high schoo have made a conscious effort to than 950 build our recruiting around in-state 1989. players," coach Sparky Woods As of la said. had sicne< Leading the signee list are Con- Ray Fors way linebacker Lawrence Mitchell 270-pound (6-6, 230), Marty Simpson of City, Fla., Spring Valley, considered one of "Super 24. the best place-kickers in the na- ered signi tion, and Vincent Dinkins of Danny For Lower Richland (6-3, 265), among Coach Ke the best linemen in South Carolina, hired thre< Mitchell may have been consid- was able t< ered the top player in the state had to Clemsor he not missed the 1989 season because of a boycott by him and Clemsor other black players. The players ceivers Cu were upset by coach Chuck Jor- St. John's ( dan's decision to replace quarter- Wayne Br> back Carlos Hunt, who is black, hassee, Fla with a white player who was the Florida's son of an assistant coach. catches f( Despite that, there is little doubt touchdown: Mitchell is a top prospect. Mitch- ished his c* ell, who is also one of the state's tions. Bro1 top basketball players, runs the fill the voi< 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds and in Clemson NA VY MEDICINE: LET US i TO YOUR FUTUI The Navy is currently accepting a qualified personnel in the following s 'Optometrist 'Psychologist 'Nurse 'Entomologist 'Medical Technologist Excellent pay and benefits, includir vacation, insurance, full medical/de : you are under age 34, we may be a door to just the opportunity you havi ing for. For more information call: in South Carolina or 1-800-845-5) M-F, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM. propels U! USC started the second half on a 10-4 run, culminating with a Michael Glover jump shot that cut the Bulldog deficit to 40-34. Threepointers by Johnny Smith and Nesbit boosted the lead to 46-38, and it seemed that every time the Gamecocks had a chance to cut the lead to four or less, The Citadel would pull away. But the defense would turn the tide. Elmore hit two free throws to again give The Citadel a 10-point lead at 55-45 with 7:50 left, but those were the only points the Bulldogs would find for nearly the next six minutes as the USC defense tightened up. And while the Bulldogs were shooting blanks, USC took over the tempo of the game. Free throw after free throw chipped away at The Citadel lead, and a full-court press threw tne uuiiaog nan-coun game into a panic. Ui>u took its first lead since the opening minutes at 57-55 on two Eric Sykes free throws with 3:05 remaining. USC bolstered the lead in the closing minutes, and after Glover dunked a long Sykes inbounds pass, the Gamecocks led 65-59 with only :24 left. Yet The Citadel, one of the nation's premier three-point shooting teams, would not fold. Nesbit hit a trey to cut the lead to 67-65. After Bojan Popovic converted two free throws, Elmore nailed a three-pointer to cut the lead to 67-65. The crowd that had been in the process of filing out returned to their seats. Yet a dunk by Jo Jo English off a long Glover inbounds pass sealed the victory and closed the scoring at 69-65. The win was poetic justice for a Gamecock team that had been up by 12 points against The Citadel last year and lost. "We wanted to turn it up a notch defensively," Felton said of his halftime strategy. "I felt that if we could get out there and contest the three-pointers, they weren't going to drop like they did in the first half. We did that... to come from behind is big, and we haven't done that in about four games." The victory also brim a welcome end to a disastrous six-game roa swing on which the UI ts B Marty Simpson 1M f/inf 6'3"<180' KickSn? ITlHsYll Columbia (Spring V Parade All-> piacekicker . . ,, ... Career field aoa y in rncKies wim iiz as ^ 1i hit eight field goals the 40 yard line ear, including a 61-yar- 'c '^,ria ? ,a,J ade all but one of 87 ex- ?, ,i ? n ? ?? - the miss ending a Hfilcrest-Daizeil 5 straight PATs. _ ^ necocks <ilso signed two iuuy vaics necocics aiso signea two ? ^ Q ,JaCP? " School. McDowell, a ' ' ^ Charleston, passed for |en,or vear . 1.200 yards and 15 s last season. Frederick, d 12 letters during his a cieon Jones 1 career, threw for more 195, Back yards and 10 IDs in Mobile, Ala. (Vi> School) te Wednesday, Clemson Averaged one t< 1 17 players, including scored per evei ythe, a 6-foot-4-inch, rushes [ lineman from Garden Father is Cleon a member of Florida's starting left field* " Forsythe had reconsid- World Champion 1 ng with Clemson after York MetS d resigned Jan. 18. But Runs a 4.4 40 >n Hatfield, who was J days after Ford quit, Lawrence MitChC 3 persuade him to come 6'6", 230, Defer L linebacker, Conway High School) i also signed wide re- Preseason pi rt Brown (6-2, 176) of American (sat oi >f John's Island and De- season) rant (6-2, 180) of Talla- In 1988, he lec Bryant, a member of tackles With 112, "Super 24," had 46 fumble recoveries >r 805 yards and 10 5 last year. Brown fin- B Vincent Dlnklns ireer with Id TD iw.pt>- OdK 1 inotva ? v V ) ??W| wn <wu >vn and Bryant should umbia (Lower Richia J left by the graduation Consensus All-Sti 's top three receivers. BE THE KEY ?E PEOPLE pplications from afe , nef ipecialties: Mono test kits. within the pas ig 30 days paid for 01 ntal coverage. If ble to unlock the _ 9 just been look- ^or 1-800-922-2135 540 in Georgia, 271 5C to victor "We've lost four straight, so to ' me this is as big of a win as we've had." George Felton USC head coach Gamecocks went 2-4. "It's all difficult," Felton said of the road trip. "The key to it is how you t can hang in there mentally, and I thought our 1 kids did a much better job in the second twenty minutes of the game. We really scrapped, and that's tough." For Bulldog head coach Randy Nesbit, the game was another tough loss in a season of tough losses. "We've been playing well lately," I llta .U? 1A 11 T"?..1!J --'J nr. uiv mam ui iiic m-iz muiuogs saia. 11 cer- ^ tainly doesn't show on our record, but we've i been playing well... I think our guys had the * right approach going into the game. They were J very relaxed offensively for almost all 20 minutes of the first half we were patient, relaxed and aggressive when we got our open shot We didn't have the same type of continuity in the second half." ? English led all scorers with 24, 16 of those | coming in the second half. Elmore led The Citadel with 20. English and Rhett pulled down 9 < rebounds apiece for USC, while Elmore had 8 for The Citadel. USC outrebounded the Bulldogs 44-35 and improved its shooting percentage to 43 percent after a 52 percent second ' half. USC (69) English 10-17 2-3 24, Popovic 0-2 4-4 4, Glover 2-5 0-1 4, Eggers 0-1 0-0 0, Sykes 4-7 6-7 14, Rhett 5-10 2-2 12, Leso 1-2 0-0 2, Roulston 3-14 3-6 9. Totals 25-58 17-23 69. THE CITADEL (65) Nesbit 5-11 0-0 15, Dalley 2-4 2-4 6, Holstein 0-1 2-2 2, Nichols 3-7 0-0 9, Elmore 6-19 6-8 20, Mosay 1-8 4-4 6, Smith 3-7 0-2 7. Totals 20-57 14-20 65. 3-point goals: USC 2-6 (English 2-4, Popovic 0-2), The Citadel 11-29 (Nesbit 5-11, Holstein 0-1, Nichols 3-7, Elmore 2-4, Mosay 0-3, Smith 1-3). Total c fouls: USC 18, The Citadel 24. Attendance ? 5,004. I ! ! Pitchers be i rnnrtinlint 1 ? t opcviwrai, liy DUUU AUBE S 3iley) Staff Writer h The success of most baseball . . . teams relies on the success of its v .1 Lm! pitching staff. .J The success of USC's baseball f . team will thus rely on new pitch- a i*t v?ar v?i ing COach Doug Lambeth- v Lambeth came to USC from tl Southern Mississippi where he served under coach Hill Denson v h . I from 1986-1989 as pitching coach c h o^h ' n " anc* Prornoti?ns director. The ^act that he hac* t0 hol(* IS t h d?wn tw0 jobs at Southern Missis- j; ID Wen* sippi persuaded Lambeth to come , 1 TOf eight t0 wjiere j,e coujd concentrate on being a pitching coach. "I was trying to fill two positions there (Southern Miss.) and it /Receiver, came t0 the P?*nt where 1 was be- ( gor High in8 average at two things. I like hc being around the game and had a Duchdown chance to come and do one thing s, ry seven an(* try to be the best in the country at it," Lambeth said. Jones, Sr., cin^o n*-r\t .?i? * - oinv^ ailIV1115 ai UJV^, X^dlliUCUl w has had an impact on helping the L ! 969 New sta|-{- (jevei0p their pitches. g USC relief pitcher Brian Beat- tc isive end, Got a news tip? ' (Conway rep Ail- m jt senior I team had five CHKI cker, Coi- I W %l EXCUSES DON'T S/ BIOOODOI MONO? I WITH MONONUCLEOSIS ided to aid in the manufacture of the If you have Mono, or have had Mono t two weeks, you may qualify for $100 i ily 3 hours of your time. Information Call or Come By: SEROLOGICALS, INC 9 MiddSoburg Dr. Suite 105 Columbia, SC 254-6537 y over Bulldogs nm. -*? ^^g^^wfcfcP .* iMfe nggU-, f " *? 3? )J^^^^i|IBl?im?^^ % ?*?*- s .. ? smfv^ " ^4.. ?,j|)l^>?r?<ff*? '*&* . Tracy Howie/The Gamecock Sophomore Jo Jo English passes to teammate Michael Glover in i game earlier this season. English had a game-high 24 points in JSC's 69-65 victory over The Citadel Wednesday night. mefit from Lambeth on needed some help in getting is slider back up to par. "He (Lambeth) helped me with vith various release points. I was ^IKJISSfl jtting it hang back, leaving it out ront," Beatson said. "We worked lot on that and now I've got /here I can throw it real sharp at Lambeth has also worked hard /ith the staff on developing their "I'm probably as big an advo- t\ ate that there is on the changeup," \l ^ || e said. "I think that the young id's success is going to depend Doug Lambeth n that changeup." 1 *i_ t _ i > kiiow exacuy wnat we re mixing Even though Lambeth is offi- about. ially the .pitching coach, he wants "The most important thing for our ) teach the team concept. He and young staff is going to be our abilis pitchers have spent some time ity as catchers to handle them dth the catching staff trying to through the rough times. We've ynchronize their efforts. got to have a catcher and a shorts"I told them that no matter how top who can jump in there-and ood you are, you are only going know when the pitcher needs a d be as good as your catcher," word of encouragement and know .amberth said. "It doesn't do any when he needs to be smacked up ood to convey all that knowledge side the head to get him back in d the pitchers if the catchers don't the ballgame," Lambeth said. Call The Gamecock at 777-7726 | | GAMECOCK'S M PERSONALS l| COME BY RUSSELL HOUSE UN ROOM 323 |T CALL 7-4249 AND aVE lives. 5 CHARGE IT m&rari