The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 02, 1998, Page 5, Image 5

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' Fightii newes staff writer WILLIAM FOLKS ' The transition was supposed' fluid, seamless. It was supposed 1 as thoughtless as rolling over in sleep; an unconscious, habitual act turning the page of an old, familiar azine. It was supposed to be as easy c as it would be for our radio anno ers: "Watson to McKie to Dav Three!" After all, the last names ar same, aren't they? Nothing to it, r In one fell swoop, USC head c Eddie Fogler would summarily d any talk of a "weak link" on his t maintaining the airtight cohesive of his SEC championship starting up while at the same time creati new star in the Gamecock galaxy: E Herbert Lee Davis. Yet in iyy /-y?, tne com, nars alities of life (both on and off the ketball court) have blurred the pro and expectations pegged so square the shoulders of this talented y< man. Ever since the 20-year-old st more took the court in the Ga cocks' season-opening win over Maryland Nov. 14, the script of fl the optimists hasn't yet played out as m V * :1 i Track team at Challengi collects 200 f staff writer JOE QUINN' i Track and Field South Carolina's indoor j track and field teams won four 1 men's events and three 1 women's events to lead the SEC ] to dominating wins over the ACC at SEC-ACC Challenge 1 Saturday in Gainesville, Fla. 1 j The Gamecock men are ranked No. 2 by Trackwire mnnnmna Illlllla fha UfnmOM oit UACXiLOUdlLiC, TT1U1V uiv ?? w?xv at No. 8. The Carolina men were led by senior Corey Bridges who won the 55 meters in a school record time of 6.19, an NCAA provisional mark. Terrance Trammell posted his second win in three weeks in the 55-meter hurdles, win- ] i ning with a school record time of 7.21. Trammell's mark is the best in the NCAA this year, i On the women's side, Lisa ' Misipeka won the women's 20- < pound weight with a mark of 68-9 1/4. Misipeka is ranked i No. 1 in the NCAA in this i event. Crystal Brownlee was ! s^OH LAA/ci \mu you stft ( Mi to mom \ WHiA/ you Sit V UA/s/ouny UA/iS? . 0 c igthi t 'Da1* planned for the Geor tive. to be After averaging j to be game over his first your shooting a disastrous , like the 3-nnint. lineV Dai ?ag- to the bench for Ci matchup with UT-Chz >n us lotte. And though he r unc- next game by hitting is ... shots from the floor i e the that brief moment o ight? continuity was abou oach by the worst news of ispel Soon after the Clei earn, learned of the death < ness er, Dorothy Davis, bac line- town. Described by D ng a best friend than a gra avis, Dorothy who took cai bert Lee after school h re- worked to help supp has- caring, selfless won mise biggest advocate, his ly on er and his biggest fai jung "it's been hard Ic ipho- were go close," Davis im e- pie aren't that dose tc mothers, but I was ve to her. Just the other ^ night I woke up iT' victorious e, DeMars th victory second at 61-7 3/4, a seasoi best. ? r> i _ _ ii i .. . orowniee men iurne< around and won the shot pu with a toss of52-2 3/4. Misipek was the runner-up in the she put at 49-5 3/4. Freshman Kylene Nixoi won the pole vault with a marl of 12-11/2. This is the top mar in the NCAA this year. Junior Brad Snyder woi the shot put with a toss of 64 5, just two inches off the schoc record. Junior Bert Sorin won th weight for the third consecu tive week. Tennis USC Men's Tennis Coacl Kent DeMars won his 200tl USC match with Saturday's A 1 win over The Citadel. No. 27 Jerome Jourdon, Nc 5 Vladamir Pavicevic, Tom as Wawrzyniak and Olaf Akessoi won for Carolina. The No. 22 Gamecocks a] 30 defeated Charleston South ern 6-1. South Carolina is no\ 2-0 in dual match play. rx v L LOl/E \ ?OtV ) ' THESEf G( *ough the 1< is' finds hi getown, S.C., na- and couldn't get back to sleep because I was thinking about her being gone, ust 2.5 points per wanting to hear her voice, to hear her four starts (and tell me she loves me and is proud of me. 0-13 from behind I miss her very much." vis was relegated Shy and unassuming off of the basarolina's Dec. 6 ketball court, Herbert Lee has neverittanooga in Char- theless acknowledged the importance esponded in USCs of overcoming his reticent nature and ; four of his seven confronting the loss, hurt and despair, against Clemson, By talking with his teammates, coachf confidence and es and friends, the self-labeled "quiet f t.r? he shattprpd kid" has fnnnd tVia stranoth t.n nnan nn his life. a bit. mson game, Davis "It helps to talk about it and get jf his grandmoth- everything out into the open," he said, k home in George- "I know that she's in a better place, that avis as "more of a she's not in any pain and that she can ndmother," it was still see me from up there. But it still e of a young Her- hurts, and you think about it all the while his mother time. Everybody on >ort the family. A this team has lan, she was his been so sup- / ibiggest support- portive, A & >r me because we Jjk/ J said. "Some peo- J ry close AI R players who've AwB ^een through it j^HK^BPy and talking to me, v coac^es . and fceejnng fm *t w) S? f fA S exprto"4 ,r OMIfA vvhoVst bis grandmrtb w 1 er duiia May on tne eve \ of his arrival at CaroliJr Juki na three years ago, emi Buzzer-beating t, J * _ | _ Y^:U'V;..V e -LeRon Williams and the rest of the Gamecocks Grant's 3-pointer at the buzzer lifted USC to vie h BASKETBALL continuedfrom page one h r mark when Bj Mckie hit a 3-pointer, the Gamecocks st ed to climb out of their hole. Connecting on 10 three pi i. plays in the last 18 minutes, Carolina battled back to w z in five points with only 1:09 left, a Two seconds later, Grant snagged a rebound and two of his 14 points from the foul line to cut the 'Cats 1 I- to three. After Cincinnati botched their in-bounds pas i- rive USC possession, Carolina's leading scorer wit! v points, Melvin Watson hit a 2-pointer with :43 second goVolff Tanning Beds $30 "x r^v -t-1 i 4 r i a i i k. i r^v n\ / JUU ll/Vlt LAUINUKY 114 Assembly Street 152-0005 for reservations dss: the mself pathizes with the emotions Davis is feeling. "You never really get over it," Freeman said. "You just try to take her memory with you and move on like she would have wanted you to do. Thafs all you can do. reallv. use it as a motivation to succeed." Herbert Lee is intent on doing just that. After missing two games in December to be with his family, he has returned to the Gamecock lineup with a vengeance, averaging 7.0 points over the last 8 contests. With a perspective that has been drastically altered over the past few weeks, he feels much more comfortable now coming off the bench to give the No. 13 Gamecocks a lift. "Larry Davis' shoes are hard to fill," Davis said. "I think that when this season started I put too much pressure on myself to do that, to go into the lineup and take his place. I remember telling myself, This has got to be your breakthrough year, you've got to hit his shots, you've got to step up and make his plays.' I wasn't playing for myself and I know that it distracted me from my game. Now I'm more focused on playing the game the way I know how to play it, hitting my shots and not worrying so much about the other things." Revitalized, reenergized, and refocused, Davis has dedicated the remainder of the 1998 season to Dorothy's memory, as his trips to the free-throw line have borne witness. After every made shot, he lifts a little prayer up through the rafters and points his finger up to the heavens. If s a very subtle, very appropriate way of saying 'thank you.' "I do it because I know she's watching me. I do it to thank her for all that she's done for me to make me into the person that I am today, and I do it for myself so that 1 don t forget about her, so I can keep her in my heart." hree by Afterwards a turnover, ar evitable. But pened when ^ the ball, and peared to be i nati as Bobby in the paint. the chest to c r jE*. sZj2**3? ' % UOC possessi' St '^#8'. Grant then ziaS> J" j-fjcle on the Har gi zWrpTJi three to win t "" . 4 - basketball c said. "[It was p from-behind \ [In] the first 1 shot...I told tl ; was proud of "Even if w SEAN RAYFORD The Gamecock ^eat ^ere tod celebrate after Antonio ?^a comebacl tory over Cincinnati. Next game: The Gamecocks ride a seven-ga to Tuesday's contest at Vanderbilt. Last season, South Carolina b< rant wj10 were once coached by Fogler, 1 "11* Tn MooVttnlln Pnrnlmo urArt Vnt at AH ilOOllTlUC, VOlUUllO TYVIi VJJ Ui second shot by Watson and by 21 i ^ ^ bilt leads the series 12-8 and posts ea<* gin of 8-2 in Nashville. 18 The game will be televised on 1 1 slated for 9:30 p.m. is to WWW.L tZvtyictfi' Lady Gamecocks 79 55*1 Annie Lester goes up for two of h Walvieball pic} sports editor BRYMi JOHNSTON The Lady Gamecock basketball team defeated Ole Miss Saturday night 79-72 to pick up their second SEC victory of the season. Playing tough defense and relying on the inside and outside play of sophomore Annie Lester and senior Nikki Miars, Carolina rushed out to an early 10-1 lead and never looked back. Lester scored a game-high of 28 points while Miars pumped in 18 points, including four 3-pointers. "I thought we played better team basketball today," USC coach Susan Walvius said. "We set our offenses up. We executed. We knew what we t saves day fo v/ *J i, USC's press caused South Carolina t id the win seemed in- Feb. 1,1998 the unthinkable hap- Gallman 1-4, 0-! Vatson lost control of 0, 2; Mckie, 3-7, the 'Cats grabbed it. 0-3,0-0,0; Johns ;he clock, the game ap- 2-8,1-2, 5 n the paws of Cincin- South Carolina, Brannen had the ball Records: USC 1 en elbowed Grant in Iraw the foul, giving on. l gave USC its "Miradwood" by sinking the BH JBPj iy two. me, huh? Whew," USC :oach Eddie Fogler j ] a tremendous comevin for us here today. lalf, we couldn't get a [ he team win or lose I their comeback. H e would have gotten ay, that was one hell i." me winning streak in- if ~ ^ * eat the Commodores, two times. ily one point on a last n Columbia. Vander3 an even better marESPN with the tip-off Senior Melvin l closing mo men .0VZH0T?S. ins -Hew" Frcfn Tlu t Tjcur Valentine.'$. /ens Off To CjOQ^ 6 m. ^ IKmmH V SEAN RAYFORD The Gamecock er game-high 28 points. /mr-i is up olL win were doing, and we played a good team game." The Lady Rebels shot a dismal 28.1 percent from the field in the first half as USC led 34-27 at the break. In the second half, the Lady Gamecocks went up by as many as 18 points and held off a late Ole Miss charge to come away with the victory. Walvius was quick to give praise to the 3,045 fans in attendance. "The crowd was awesome," Walvius said. "We had a good crowd here tonight. They were behind us and they helped us win the game." Up next for USC (10-11, 2-8) is Wednesday's game in Athens, Ga., against the Georgia Lady Bulldogs. r Gamecocks VI, Cincinnati 65 2, 2; Grant, 4-7, 3-5,14; Stack, 1-5, 07-9,15; Watson, 8-17, 2-2, 21; Davis, on, 0-0,0-0,0; Nix, 2-3,4-5,8; Williams, 21-54,17-25,67 6-3, 6-2 Cincinnati 16-4, 7-1CUSA 4 hS* wt* Mmtotr* 4m-^~ !&&&??? SEAN RAYFORD The Gamecock Watson drives to the basket in the ts of Sunday's comeback victory. W6.60M tyefrrt 4-n I,WI ! ?