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3#gj^% -mu Senior forward Malik Russell tah 68-67 third-round loss before 12,C London $590 Paris 634 Rome 793 Geneva 732 Barcelona 793 Tokyo 609 Sydney 914 www.sta-travel.com All fares are roundtrip. Tax not included. Some restrictions apply. WHALE Your Solti To Better \ UAU| D W*ma s *- BBt K g| mmt ig p?> i jHfH '?* % MiM RO es a jumpshot in Wednesday's NIT 79 fans was Russell's final game a* afjjtfjP a M jf g Y'S MILL ition Living % Right on the \ Wtialey's Hi - fl~S ? 1 * rree rarmng 1 Flexible Leai \ Furnished 1? ) Individual & Swimming P< Laundry Fac! Frequent Shi ma-I Aoeinif fnr Qui nnmoAnnl/c Blr flU ~ir % ? SB L BERT WALTON The Gamecock against Alabama. The \ a Gamecock. A CAREER I* LEGAL FIEL 4-MONTH The National C for Paralegal T 22 years in Legal Education American Bar Ass< Approved and ACK Accredited Career Services / Financial Options and Scholarships those who qualif" msssBBSSMSH ESZSS332 (800) 275-7 ^ eeh Where home Isn' ?edge of campy II offers: ses 4 Bedroom Apartm Full Unit Leases ool ilities uttle Stops mmpr and Fj uamcuuuivo away from I Alabama puts an end to the i Gamecocks'bid for a trip to the NIT 1 finals and a Cinderella finish. MATT PRUITT Sports Editor j When South Carolina's 1994-95 season came t to an end, there were more than a few fans who were glad to see it go. Some of the players might c have even breathed a sigh of relief, for that f xj rrt _ n i r* * i i ii <! maiier. me uamecociss nnisnea me season wnn ^ a first-round loss to Auburn in the SEC a tournament, bearing a 10-17 overall record, 5- ^ 11 in the SEC. t What a difference a year makes. Carolina finished the 1995-96 season v Wednesday with a loss to another team from Alabama, but this time it was in the third round ^ of the NIT tournament, after 19 wins, eight in y the SEC and three in the post-season. And this time, nobody was happy or relieved. rj Alabama's junior guard Eric Washington put an end to South Carolina's hopes of completing jj the Cinderella story with his 25 points and six n rebounds. Washington's three-pointer with 4:06 left gave the Crimson Tide the lead for good as they held off USC for a 68-67 victory. Carolina had an opportunity to win the game with 10 seconds left, gaining possession when ? Alabama guard Brian Williams lost the ball out 11 of bounds under the Carolina basket. With five ^ seconds left, however, Melvin Watson bounced the ball off of his foot while driving to the basket, giving the ball right back to the Tide. The Gamecocks fouled with two seconds left, and ? though Williams missed the front end of the one- 01 and-one, USC was unable to get off a shot before 01 the buzzer. a The Gamecocks never overcame Alabama's n Vioroooinrf mon-fn-mow /IaTawoa OQ xxcxx txooxxxg xxxcxxx"i/W-iiiail OllUULlllg Oi7 percent from the floor and only 14 percent from w behind the three-point arc. Center Roy Rogers fc kept USCs guards from penetrating as he blocked seven shots and prevented second-chances for cc Carolina by pulling down 10 defensive rebounds, ti Guard Larry Davis and forward Malik Russell, st who combined for 72 points in the first two games, were especially inhibited by the Tide. Davis, who w was bothered by "turf-toe" according to head y< coach Eddie Fogler, did not score in the first half and finished with only six. Russell had only nine a] points and managed to pull down only six G rebounds. gj Carolina's offense did have a few bright spots, V however. Freshman guard BJ McKie scored a lo team-leading 17 points, center Nate Wilbourne fa had 12 points, complemented by 11 rebounds, a I .D IN |||I4 biIVIh ENTER Part-Time 3CIATION ZS AVAILABLE f *r-r-j , Grants 1 W for f ran Hours Informs XJLJLJL V/J. XXXV 842 I T.nra V t faraway Title: Date , Duties: Kc be proficie strong wri 4 all '96 Applicatic one point tig Apple ind Melvin Watson scored 10 to go along with lis five assists. Though the Gamecocks had hoped to travel o New York for a trip to the NIT Final Four, rogler was pleased with his team's play in the ournament. Tm proud of our team," Fogler said. "I think iur team improved through the experience. I eel we competed pretty hard here tonight and [id some nice things. We just came up short gainst another very good Southeastern conference earn, and I thought it was a good experience for is." f ogier s players agreed that the tournament /as beneficial to the team. "We did learn a lot," McKie said. "The NIT lelped us prepare for next year, and hopefully /e can pick up where we left off this season." "We made great strides this year," Davis said, "he NIT helped us out a whole lot. We got to lay longer. A lot of teams went home a lot earlier tian we did, and they lack that playing experience ow. Fm sure that the experience and the time re had to progress as a team will help us toward ext year." Wednesday's contest marked the last collegiate ame for Russell, who had held hopes of playing 1 his hometown of New York in the finals. A rowd of 12,079, near capacity, came out to see '.ussell. "We will miss Malik Russell," Fogler said, de's had a phenomenal year for us. In the last juple of weeks I've had a hard time taking him at of the game, because we lose our best defender, or best offensive rebounder. He can pass it, he in handle it. and we will have a difficult time jplacing him." Despite the disappointing loss, the players ere pleased with the improvement of their ;am. The improved play of Russell, the addition "Nate Wilbourne, Larry Davis and BJ McKie, )mbined with the return of Melvin Watson's dent, carried the Gamecocks far beyond last Jason's achievements. "The team got a lot better," Russell said. "It as definitely a lot more fun to play on it this jar than it was last year." Both Fogler and his players showed ppreciation for the support provided by the amecock fans. The turnout for the Davidson ime earned the home court advantage against anderbilt in the second round. Wednesday's ss was only the second one witnessed by home ns, the first coming to Kentucky, giving USC 16-2 record at home. n T\ I t r 13 rv m f 1 r LJdid EjLilly JTUdlllV age: $8 per Hour to : Mon - Fri 6:00pm ition, Application & Pre-E Aptitude Screening Tuesday, March 2< tion: BA BLDG,; Time: 2pm i Entry Operator ty entry of insuranc( ?nt and accurate on 1 tten and verbal skill )n Procedure: Sign I 3-on-3 tourny begins O 4 ? -w -V J RM 634 i claims. Must keyboard with s. Jp @ Career start | -9:30pm mployment c eMd| >ns Available prospective teams need to call Rob Parker at 777-4579 and request an application form Hie form must be completed and returned to the Sports Administration Club with an entry fee of $80 per team. The tournament is not only an opportunity to get in the National Championships: all proceeds go to the Sports Administration Scholarship Fund here at USC. ^aiuruay ACHIM HUNT Assist. Sports Editor Think you have the ability to hang with your fellow students on the basketball court? If you do, then the Hoopapalooza 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament is for you. Tho filVirfc A^miniCffmfinn Pink axiv *uj a wininiinvumnvm wiuu is sponsoring the March 23-24 tournament, which will showcase the talent of not only the students but also the Columbia community. Each day's action plans to heat up at 9 a.m. and conclude by 5 p.m. Rob Parker of the USC Sports Administration Club said he hopes to have about 150 teams participating in the tournament. The teams will be placed into Top Flight, Competitive and Recreational talent groups that will be further divided by ages and heights. Also, there will be separate tournaments for the campus fraternities and sororities. All teams consist of a team captain, two starters and a substitute. The winners of each division will qualify for the National 3-on3 Championships to be held in Denver, Colo, later this spring. To enter the local tournament,