The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 28, 1997, Page 6, Image 6
GAMECOCK
ATHLETICS
Mens' Basketball @ Kentucky
Sunday, 12 p.m.
Rupp Arena
TV: CBS; Radio: AM-560
Baseball vs. West Virginia
Sat., 2 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.
Sarge Frye Field
GAMEC
GRAB J
OF SEC
LARRY WILLIAMS Senior Writer
f_
Pass the champagne, for the
Gamecocks are champions.
In a fitting going-away party at
Frank McGuire Arena Wednesday,
the USC men's basketball team
crushed Vanderbilt, 74-53, to assure
themselves at least a share of the
SEC regular season championship.
In their last home game of the
season, the Gamecocks used a 10-2
run midway through the first half
to pull away from the Commodores,
who never got closer than six points
after the pivotal run.
USC (22-6,14-1 SEC) stretched
its lead to as much as 22 in a game
some expected to be closer. In its
previous seven games, Vandy had
won six in a row and appeared headed
to another over Kentucky before they
allowed the Wildcats to come from
22 down to win.
"We're pleased to have won here
tonight against a Vanderbilt team
that was playing extremely well
coming in here," USC head coach
Eddie Fogler said.
The Gamecocks held Vandy to a
miserable 34.6 percent from the field
in taking a 13-point lead into halfhme,
and held the Commodores to 37.7
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percent for the game.
Add to the Gamecocks'
overwhelming edge in the rebounding
column?47 to Vandy's 25?and it
was only a matter of time before the
12,307 on hand exalted their newlycrowned
champs.
"Our offensive rebounding was
terrific. We hurt them with a lot of
second shots," Fogler said.
h "We're pleased to win a share of
the Southeastern Conference
championship. That is not easy to
do at this level of competition."
Wednesday's game didn't follow
the script of the traditional
Vanderbilt/USC affairs. While the
Gamecocks and Commodores usually
produce down-to-the-wire thrillers,
the two teams on this day weren't
equal, as USC's.lead was only
seriously threatened once.
It came when Vandy outscored
Carolina 20-11 to cut USC's lead to
six. Pax Whitehead had just hit two
free throws with 8:16 left in the second
half to pull Vandy within 51-45.
But on the ensuing possession,
in perhaps the most critical
momentum swing of the game,
Whitehead was called for a foul on
Larry Davis, his fourth of the game.
Whitehead vehemently argued
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Senior Nate Wilbourne goes for tw<
senior Larry Davis played their last j
umpire David Day's call. Day charged
Whitehead with a technical foul, his
fifth. And as Whitehead left the court,
so did any momentum the
Commodores had gained.
USC was quick to jump on Vandy,
going on a 12-0 run over the next
4:54 to take a 63-45 lead when BJ
McKie hit two free throws with 3:46
left.
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MKKI THORPE The Gamecod
> of his 10 points. Wilbourne and
game at Frank McGuire Arena.
McKie, who scored a game-high
18 points, said USC saw the
opportunity to put Vandy away after
the technical foul.
"That was a big momentum
swing," McKie said. "We did execute
on the offensive end [after the
technical]. That gave us a pretty good
TITLE page 1
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Carolina softb
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BRYAN JOHNSTON Sports Editor
All in all, the South Carolina
softball team had a pretty good week.
First, they won three of five games
in a competitive UNLV Softball
Classic Saturday and Sunday.
Wednesday, the Lady Gamecocks
learned they had moved up to No.
6 in the latest NFCA/USA Today
Poll.
They also learned Wednesday
that two-time Ail-American pitcher
Trinity Johnson was named the
National Player of the Week for her
performance in Las Vegas.
In Las Vegas, the Lady
Gamecocks had to play then-No. 2
UCLA and defending-national
champion Washington, among others.
Despite dropping the first two games,
Carolina came back strong to win
their last three in impressive form.
"It was nice, but we woukfve liked
to get four out of the five [games],"
head coach Joyce Compton said. "I
thought overall we played pretty
well."
Sophomore center fielder Kim
' Pietro led both the offensive and
defensive charge for USC.
t She was 7-17 (.412) with one home
i run, six RBIs and three runs scored
in the five games. She also made
spectacular catches in the field and
i held opposing runners with her strong
! throwing arm.
s On the mound, Johnson was the
1 star. In four appearances, Johnson
went 3-1 with 24 strikeouts and a
0.36 ERA. She held UCLA to one hit
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HOMECOURT
ADVANTAGE
When the Gamecocks
have 12,000 or more
fans in Frank McGuire
Arena, they are 58-17
all-time. The Vandy
crowd was iz,4U7.
i
all leaves Vegas
rig three of five
* I
(a triple) in giving up her lone loss.
For that performance, Johnson
was named the National Player of
the Week.
"I think it's an honor we're all
proud of as a team," Compton said.
"It's definitely an honor. Ifs great
and says a lot about the team,"
Johnson said. "It also says a lot about
the defense because [the honor]
wouldn't have happened without
them making the plays behind me.
It's an honor for the team, not just
me individually."
In the first game against Utah
State, the Lady Gamecocks
committed three errors and allowed
six runs in losing to Utah State, 62.
Junior Karri Peters and senior
Kelly Dammer each went 3-for-four
in the loss.
Sophomore Nikki Beers pitched
seven innings and gave up three
earned runs in picking up the loss.
In the second game on Friday,
the Lady Gamecocks took on No. 3ranked
UCLA.
Despite a strong pitching
performance from Johnson, USC
was unable to put any base runners
across the plate in dropping their
second game in a row, 1-0.
Carolina left five runners on base
and managed only three hits, one
apiece from Pietro, Carrie Lyons and
Chanda Lee.
Saturday was a much better day
for the Lady Gamecocks as they
SOFTBALL page 7
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