The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 24, 1997, Page 9, Image 9
L
Gamecocks
BRYAN JOHNSTON Sports Editor
The South Carolina men's
t basketball team looks to keep its
perfect record going when Ole Miss
visits Columbia tomorrow.
After a near-disastrous December
that saw their record at 5-5 at the
end of 96, Carolina has Responded
by reeling off seven consecutive
victories.
Now at 12-5 and 6-0 in the SEC,
USC entertains the Rebels of
Mississippi tomorrow at 1 p.m. in
t Frank McGuire Arena.
Entering this week's action, the
Gamecocks were ranked 28th in the
Associated Press poll and just 19
votes shy of cracking the Top 25.
After Wednesday's 62-60 victory
at Alabama, USC should crack the
Top 25 when Monday's poll comes
out if they can keep the streak alive.
During this current seven-game
winning streak, defense has been
the key.
* The Gamecocks have all but shut
down opponents offensively in the
seven-game span.
Opponents have shot just 162of-431
(37.6 percent) from the field
and 38-of-139 (27.3 percent) from
long range, and are averaging only
62 points a game.
Carolina has held its last seven
opponents to field goal tallies of 33.3
percent (Furman), 37.5 percent
(Auburn), 26.3 percent (Tennessee),
fe 43.1 percent (Mississippi State), 43.3
percent (Florida), 38.8 percent
(Georgia) and 42.0 percent (Alabama).
South Carolina has also outsoored
the opposition 127-92 off of turnovers
ine last seven games.
The team the Gamecocks will be
playing tomorrow is a near-image
of Carolina.
Ole Miss is one of the strongest
^ defensive teams in the SEC.
They are, on average, holding
their opponents to just 43.8 percent
field goal shooting and 31.4 percent
shooting from beyond the arc.
The Rebels also average 3.8
blocked shots and 7.8 steals per
contest. They force an average of
17.2 turnovers a game.
Ole Miss had broken into AP Top
| 25 for the first-time in school histoiy
JOHN JA1
CLEESE C
I- j
lay
. 'I j
FI
CR
UNIVERSAL nCIKRES riESENii a FISH I
MI UM MB GOLDSMITH"
PG 131 PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED
Sow HUtortoI May Be Inappropriate for Chlldrn Under 13 ^
<
face defensii
after their upset of Kentucky Jan.
11.
The Rebels proceeded to drop
games to Mississippi btate and
Vanderbilt and out of the Top 25.
Mississippi defeated Tennessee
70-48 Wednesday to bring their
record to 12-5 overall and 4-3 in the
SEC.
Ole Miss has four players
averaging double-digit figures in
scoring. Keith Carter leads the way
with a 13.2 average, but Ansu Sesay
(12.9 ppg), Jason Smith (11.0 ppg)
and Joezon Darby (10.9 ppg) are not
far behind.
The Gamecocks have
experimented with nine different
starting lineups this season, but the
lineup of BJ McKie, Melvin Watson,
Larry Davis, William Gallman and
Ryan Stack has been the same for
the past five games.
Gallman has started the last
eight games (a first in his career)
while USC has gone without a "true"
center with Stack at the other
forward position.
Gallman has arguably been the
biggest surprise of the season. The
sophomore from Chester, S.C., is
averaging 10.7 points and 7.9
rebounds per game during the nine
CAROLI
William <Vall...ai. BJ j
#2C^7 !i#- -JC"
Ryan Stack ?lf!* jLaci
8546-11 Jr. : #4j^
VflE LEE KEVtt
:URTIS KUNI
sUmy I 111''/ -%H[
i air w \ x~ilM w
b> I f w \ \fl ? - ^
)W!m>
EATUf
Don't Pet Them.
TOMBS! Fill mourn 'HIKE (MIE
"iitmtiiiiBiim
sr ft """'SROIIERT YOUNG and FRED!
ZOMITNG SOON
www.fierce-creatures.com
SP
e-minded
games he has started.
The "Triple Threat" guard
trio of McKie, Davis and
Watson are another reason
Carolina is on a roll.
The three have averaged
48.6 points, 13.2 rebounds,
9.4 assists and 6.2 steals per
game over the last five games.
South Carolina is 4-3
lifetime against the Rebels
and are 2-0 in Columbia.
Last season, USC was
beaten by Ole Miss 75-65 in
Oxford, Miss.
The Rebels opened up a
16-point lead in the first half
and never looked back.
Carolina was killed by Ole
Miss' outside shooting as the
rebels hit 8 of 17 threepointers.
McKie led the team with
17 points, while Davis and
Nate Wilboume added 13 each.
As of Thursday night, less
than 1,000 tickets returned
from student distribution
remain on sale for the game.
Tickets are available at the
USC Athletic Ticket Office on
Rosewood Drive or by calling
777-4274 or 1-8004SC-FANS.
NA^Q
IcKie Miehai
iSt, ":WM
7 Davis Keith
1 MICHAEL
PALIN
mHR
W^l
lb
IES
S" lONNIfCOBETI CAREK LOWELL
*? '8 MIQUE SHAMIEtG ?ii JOHN CIEESE
Tnrniri 1 ITlTIirrnni nnrirr
iwtmi AjjyputuA)]-'^[
-
ORIS
Ole Miss team
HP9!
\WkjM
1 v^^h&& II |^|R
Hk^AhK^^K *~ ^ ^
B ^Bsri# m fii
ROBERT WALTON The Gamecock
Sophomore William Call man is averaging
8.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per
game for the Gamecocks.
L^MISS
el White JaSi??? Smlth 3
1
' Anthony Boone
|-4,S?-:^|f4I^6-ll Jr..
M
Don't miss your cha
This year, The Gamecock has a v
14th's issue of The Gamecock fc
Simply pi
i C ^
Happy Va
B. To:
From:
Your special t
will be placed
Writp a cnpriol mo
?? ntv u jpvviai iiiv
t]
VearVat", l&vinfr
#y4ell) . / (we yew
Take $5 and your me
on the 4th Floor of
stairs) to proc
| Fop more
USC moves to (
win seventh in-,
ROAD WIN continued from page 8
Alabama that helped them back
into the game.
The Tide wenton an 11-2 run
in the second half, closing the gap
to three when Eric Washington
scored.with 12:09 left to make the
score 44-41.
USC got back on track in the
next few minutes as they went back
up by nine with 7:09 remaining.
Some missed free throws down the
stretch allowed Bama back in the
game, however.
USC made only two of six free
throws in the last two minutes, and
made only six of 16 for the game.
The Tide took advantage and used
a quick, 15-5 run to go ahead, for
the first time since early in the
game, when Anton Reese drilled a
3-pointer to give his team a 58-57
lead.
It was the first time ever that
Alabama has lost to tJSC in
Tuscaloosa.
Lately, USC has been in its share
of nail-biters on the road. In their
past two games on the road, against
Florida and Alabama, the
HEY
Gamecock Sport:
Bad. R<
I mean, we're despe
Qnmp r*f \/mi m9v hp tl
UVI1XV VI J VU 111WJ *-^v/ v*
can't, like, write too g
Hey, we know. We'll l
how desperate we are.
grader. If you can strinj
a sentence, we need yc
seen a keyboard before,
fella. What have YOU g
Gamecock Spi
The proud. Th
y Valer
nee to wish your loved one a Happ
ery special offer for you. Buy a Vak
>r $5 and get a FREE four-line class
Step 1:
ick one of our two Valentine "<
""V Happy Valentir
I To:
From:
^ Your special two^
will be placed her
ilentine s Day
wo-line message
here.
Step 2:
ssage to that special person. The
^ped and placed into your card.
y$u if ol^crf! of eofy of iovinyy
h$ngy bonny!
Step 3:
:ssage to Student Media Adverti
Russell House (accessible by th
:ess your card order and your cla
; information, call 777
5-0 in SEC,
a-m\\7 at 4Rq ma
u _f v/ r f ut jL/uiiiu
Gamecocks have won with lastsecond
layups.
Against Florida, USC came back
from 16-down in the last five
minutes, and then, after three leadchanges,
a BJ McKie layup gave
Carolina the win.
The win also marks the first time .
ever that USC has been more than
three games over .500 in league
play.
, The six wins already surpass
the win totals from Carolina's first
four years in the SEC, as the
Gamecocks won three games in
1992, five in 1993 and four in 1994.
Carolina was a combined 17-47
in its first four SEC seasons, but is
14-8 over the past two years after
an 8-8 mark last season.
The Gamecocks have a better
record away from home than at
Frank McGuire Arena.
Carolina has won six of eight
games away, including first-time
wins in Starkville (Mississippi St.)
and Alabama.
It's a mark that is a drastic
imnmvpmpnf frnm ln<st vpar wVipn
USC won only-one road game
(Tennessee).
YOU
s needs writers,
sal bad
rate. We'll take anyone,
linking, "But hey man, I *
ood. I mean, y'know?"
:ake you anyway. That's Once,
we hired a thirds'
five or more words into
>u. Hell, if you've ever
we need you. So c'mon
;ot to lose.
irts. The few.
e semi-literate.
itine!
y Valentine's Day! .
intine card to be printed in Feb.
ified ad. Here's how it works...
^ards."
ie's Day
line message
e.
I
; message will be
You ge t
the point.
sing Department
e elevators and
ssified ad.
-1184 IDic (5amccock