The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 25, 1996, Page 7, Image 7
Thursday, January 25,1996
Gamecod
The Gamecocks retain their
second-place standing in the
SEC East with a victory over
* Mississippi State.
MATT PRUITT Sports Editor The
USC men's basketball team
extended its winning streak to three
games Wednesday night as they defeated
Mississippi State 77-69.
And while Saturday night's win
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from beyond the three-point arc, Carolina
won Wednesday's game by bringing
the ball into what was previously
considered no-man's land, a place that
most SEC teams consider the property
of Mississippi State center Erick
Dampier the lane.
The Gamecocks seemed to have no
problem with stomping through Mr.
i Dampier's estate. Whether it was a
slashing move from the quick Carolina
guards, a post move from the big men
or a put-back from anybody, the results
were the same: points in the paint Even
when the Bulldogs switched to a zone
late in the first half, USC was
undeterred, continually finding ways
to get close to the hoop.
There was much speculation before
Wednesday's game about how well
freshman center Larrv "Bud" Johnson.
who started in place of the injured Nate
WObourne, would fair against the SECs
best center.
Johnson was apparently unaffected.
"He's a guy, just like I am," Johnson
said. "He puts on his clothes just the
' same way I do."
Apparently so. With a little help
from the relentless Carolina doubleteam,
Dampier was held to 12 points,
scoring only six in each half. Though
Johnson responded with only seven
points of his own, he was by no means
apologetic, saying that offense isn't a
large part of his role this year.
"I don't think about offense as much
as people think I should," Johnson said.
"I'm more of a shot-blocker and a
rebounder."
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And indeed, he has had little reason
to worry about offense lately. Guard
Larry Davis, who earned last week's
SEC Player of the Week award for his
performances against Vanderbilt and
Alabama, kept the burners on against
i the Bulldogs, leading all scorers with
i 26 points and pulling down seven
rebounds, including a team-leading five
offensive rebounds.
Guard Melvin Watson was the
second-leading scorer for the Gamecocks
with 15 points and led the team in
rebounds with eight. Forward Malik
nusseii ana guara Jtsd McKie contributed
with 10 and 11 points, respectively.
Head coach Eddie Fogler, who is
renowned for not saying too much about
any one victory or loss, let out a few
cries of optimism after the game.
"I usually don't go overboard, I don't
want to go overboard here," Fogler said,
"but certainly I think we made a nice
statement here tonight that we are a
very good basketball team and a
competitive basketball team."
Tm startiner to believe we could he
pretty darn good here," Fogler said.
"We're growing up. We're competing.
We've got good players."
Fogler also praised his freshman
center for a mature performance against
an intimidating opponent.
"Bud's a factor... He alters shots,
he bothers shots, he's a force," Fogler
said. "Bud Johnson... already is and
will certainly go on to be a quality bigman
in this league, just because of his
physical nature. He has a great attitude,
he's a great worker, and he's just going
to get better and better and better."
The latter statement might apply
to the USC team as whole, judging by
the way they controlled Wednesday's
game from beginning to end.
Carolina exploded five minutes into
the first half with a 16-0 run that
spanned almost eight minutes and gave
the Gamecocks a 24-8 lead. Mississippi
State guard Marcus Bullard kept his
team from being defeated in the first
half with his seven points, but Larry
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Davis led all scorers in Wednesda
Davis hit three free-throws, after being
fouled on a three-point attempt with
under a second remaining in the half,
to give USC a 37-27 lead at the break.
Though the Bulldogs battled back
in the second half, once again with the
help of Bullard and his 12 second-half
points, they would never regain the
lead they lost five minutes into the
second half. In the last five minutes of
the game, Mississippi State came within
four because of their full court press
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ROBERT WALTON The Gamecock
pi State counterpart, Darryl Wilson.
If's game with 26 points.
and subpar free-throw shooting by the
Gamecocks, but that would be as close
as they would come.
USC will travel to Rupp Arena
Saturday to face Kentucky, the No. 2
team in the nation. Fogler, who shares
most coaches' philosophy that predicting
your own games is taboo, said, "We'll
be huge underdogs and rightfully so."
When asked about the mere
possibility of a win Saturday, Fogler
added, "Anything's possible."
Petal M
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SPORTS BRIEFS as
TENNIS
MELBOURNE, Australia ?
Twenty hours after they began,
Andre Agassi beat Jim Courier
6-7 (9-7), 2-6,6-3,64,6-2 tonight
to reach the^Australian Open
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ranking.
They began with the roof open
at 10:57 p.m. the previous night
after the Chanda Rubin-Arantxa
Sanchez Vicario marathon, and
stopped 35 minutes later when
a cloudburst drenched the court
with Courier leading 5-4.
They resumed in the afternoon
with the roof closed, following two
women's matches and another
rain delay, and finally finished
at 7:06 Djn. AeassL seeded semnd
will face No. 5 Michael Chang in
the semifinals.
In women's play, No. 8 Anke
Huber and No. 16 Amanda
Coetzer advanced to a semifinal
match. Coetzer beat 15-year-old
Swiss star Martina Hingis 7-5,
4-6, 6-1 and Huber upset No. 2
Conchita Martinez 4-6,6-2,6-1.
No. 1 Monica Seles will face No.
13 Rubin in the other semifinal.
FOOTBALL
SANTA CLARA, Calif. ? Bill
Walsh, who led San Francisco to
three Super Bowl titles in the
1980s as head coach, rejoined the
team as a coaching assistant in
hopes his experience can restore
the 49ers' offensive mystique.
Walsh, 64, was given the title
administrative assistant to the
coaching staff. He will work
exclusively with the offense and
provide advice and counsel to
offensive coordinator Marc
Trestman.
WASHINGTON ? NFL
commissioner Paul Tagliabue
says a limited antitrust exemption
from Congress would insulate the
league from lawsuits by owners
denied permission to move their
teams.
Tagliabue told the Senate
Judiciary Committee the league
to Career Hfc
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777-7280 Fax#: 777-7556
: career@studaflLsa^c.edu
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7
socitated Press
in many cases is powerless to stop
owners who want to move teams
because of fears of antitrust suits
and having to pay triple damages.
He said the NFL does not need
an exemption as strong as that
of major league baseball. There
is the risk that withoutrthe
safeguard more franchises will
use moves as leverage to get better
deals.
LOS ANGELES ? The Los
Antreles Dodeers have formed an
,alliance with a development
company to study the feasibility
of acquiring an NFL expansion
franchise and building a football
stadium.
The Los Angeles area was
without an NFL team this season
after the Rams moved from to St
Louis and the Raiders to Oakland.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. ?
Mancel Johnson, a star receiver
for the University of Maryland,
was arrested and charged with
stealing trom two dormitory rooms
last monthHe
was suspended from the
team by coach Mark Duflner for
"violating team standards."
Johnson will miss spring practice
and the first two games next
season, but will be eligible to
practice in August.
HOCKEY
TORONTO ? The Ottawa
Senators and New York Islanders
maae tne Dest ot a bad situation,
while the Toronto Maple Leafs
added Kirk Muller in hopes of
challenging for the Stanley Cup. *
In a three-way trade, Toronto
acquired Muller from New York
and goalie Don Beaupre from
Ottawa.
Ottawa got Toronto backup
goalie Damian Rhodes and junior
defenseman Wade Redden, the
Islanders' first-round pick last
year. New York picked up junior
defenseman Bryan Berard, chosen
first overall last year by the
Senators, along with Ottawa
center Martin Straka and Toroftto
left wing Ken Belanger.
'.ek 1996!
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