The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 27, 2000, Page 7, Image 7
Gamecock Sports Schedule
■ Men’s basketball vs. Mercer, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
■ Women’s basketball vs. Clemson, Wednesday, 9 p.m.
■ Swimming at U.S. Open in Auburn, Thursday-Saturday
■ Volleyball vs. George Washington in NCAA Tournament, Friday, 5 p.m.
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WtsSBBWk * | Page 7
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f Gamecocks back on winning track
USC defeats in-state foes Wofford and South Carolina State for first two wins of season
f ' ■'
by Brock Vergakis
The Gamecock
When students left for Thanksgiving break, USC
athletics had been humiliated days earlier. The football,
volleyball, soccer and basketball teams had all been de
feated in the same weekend.
Fortunately for the men’s basketball team, they re
deemed themselves over the break by defeating Wof
ford, 74-48, and S.C. State, 72-58. Coming off a six
point loss to Tennessee Tech, USC struggled in the first
A half against a Wofford team whose best two players were
suspended. Perhaps a little spoiled by the success of this
j year’s football team, the fans began booing their own
j team as the score at halftime showed USC only leading
\ 21-20.
The message was clearly heard, and USC was able
J to pull away in the second half, winning by 26.
The next game wouldn’t be as easy to run away
with. The S.C. State Bulldogs had already beaten Ten
nessee Tech and barely lost to Vanderbilt by five points.
In the first half, there were five lead changes and four
■ ties as the Bulldogs athleticism was often too much
• for USC to handle. Much of the Bulldogs’ attack
i
came from former Clemson player Vmcent Whitt, who
ended the game with 19 points.
“They have the kind of athletes that teams in the
SEC will have,” said USC’s David Ross, who finished
with nine points and two assists for the Gamecocks.
“They’re very athletic,” USC coach Eddie Fogler
said. “They’re much quicker than us and hurt us with
their two guards.”
As both teams traded baskets, USC searched for the
right combination to slow down the Bulldogs, switch
ing between zone and man-to-man defenses. What fi
nally worked was old-fashioned hustle as the Bulldogs
turned the ball over 12 times, allowing the Gamecocks
to capitalize for 11 points as USC player after player
scrapped and dove for nearly every loose ball. Caroli
na went into the locker room at the half leading by eight.
USC actually had more turnovers than the Bulldogs did
at the half, but S.C. State was only able to convert them
into two points.
“Their intensity wore us down,” S.C. State coach
Cy Alexander said. “I think we got lulled into the hype
because we beat Tennessee Tech, and Tennessee Tech
beat South Carolina. We tried to get that garbage out of
their heads all week.”
Fogler was worried about the hype himself when
his big men finished the game by going 3 of 19 from the
field. “I’m disappointed that our big people could go 3
of 19,” Fogler said. “I thought they could score in there.
Maybe they’ve been reading their press clippings.”
Carolina had to rely on its guards to pull away in
the second half, and Aaron Lucas answered the call.
When the Bulldogs cut a 16 point second-half lead to
seven with 11 minutes to play, Lucas scored back-to
back three-point plays by driving to the hoop and draw
ing fouls. The Bulldogs were never able to recover.
“Those were big, big plays,” Fogler said. “Aaron
Lucas’ assist ratio was not there tonight, but he made
some great hustle plays.” Lucas’ plays helped make up
for a rough game where he didn’t have an assist and
turned the ball over six times.
Despite the poor performance of Carolina’s big men,
Lucas said the team wasn’t too concerned. “We can’t
ask our post players to play a perfect game every night,”
Lucas said. “But we still have that confidence in them
and get them ball.”
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com.
November 21,2000 at Frank McGuire Arena, Columbia, SC
SOUTH CAROLINA 74, WOFFORD 48
« WOFFORD (0-2)
| White 0-0,0-0 0, Hastie 4-9 0-0 8, Pryor 3-10 1-2 8, Laigent 2-7 0-0 4, Nixon
| 5-14 2-214, Lenzly 3-11 1-3 8, Eaton 1-1 0-0 2, Colin 0-1 0-0 0, Sterley 2-8 0-0
4, Boyce 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-61 4-7 48.
• SOUTH CAROLINA (1-1)
J Eidson 4-8 2-3 10, Clemmons 5-10 4-6 14, Petravicius 6-10 2-2 14, Lucas 1
* 33-45, Bradley 3-8 04) 7, Ross 0-2 04) 0, Cadray 0-10-0 0, Taylor 1-104) 3, Boyn
| ton 2-3 2-2 8, Grant 0-2 0-0 0, Ritchings 2-4 9-1013. Totals 24-52 22-27 74.
Halftime—South Carolina 21, Wofford 20. 3-Point goals—Wofford 4-22 (Pryor
J 1-3, Laigent 0-3, Nixon 2-7, Lenzly 1-5, Colin 0-1, Sterley 0-3), South Carolina 4
J 16 (Eidson 0-3, Bradley 1 -6, Ross 0-1, Taylor 1 -1, Boynton 2-3, Grant 0-2). Fouled
J out—-Wbfford (Laigent). Rebounds—Watford 37 (Hastie 9), South Carolina 38 (Pe
| travicius, Ritchings 7). Assists—Wofford 10 (Laigent 3), South Carolina 16 (Lu
cas 6). Total fouls—Watford 23, South Carolina 11. Technicals—none. A—8,152.
I #
November 25,2000 at Frank McGuire Arena, Columbia, SC
SOUTH CAROLINA 72, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 58
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE (2-3)
Radford 1-5,0-0 3, Hall 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Whitt 8-24 2-2 19, Gray
8-171-217, Bowman 0-0 0-0 0, Mapp 5-110-0 12, Neis 0-5 2-2 2, Boyles 2-3 1
15. Totals 24-67 6-7 58.
SOUTH CAROLINA (2-1)
Edson 4-10 5-8 14, Clemmons 1-3 3-3 5, Petravicius 2-10 0-0 4, Lucas 5-7
5-7 16, Bradley 4-10 2-212, Ross 3-6 2-2 9, Boynton 0-10-0 0, Grant 5-8 1-212,
Kitchings 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 18-24 72.
Halftime—South Carolina 35, South Carolina State 27.3-Point goals—South Car
olina State 4-19 (Radford 1-3, Whitt 1-6, Gray 0-3, Mapp 2-6, Boyles 0-1), South
Carolina 6-20 (Edson 1-3, Lucas 1-2, Bradley 2-8, Ross 1-3, Boynton 0-1, Grant
1-3). Fouled out—South Carolina State (Hall). Rebounds—South Carolina State
35 (Hall 11), South Carolina 50 (Edson 8). Assists—South Carolina State 7 (Gray
3), South Carolina 14 (Edson 4). Total fouls—South Carolina State 19, South Car
olina 13. Technicals—South Carolina State (Mapp). A—6,504.
Sean Rayford The Gamecock
Gamecock center Marius Petravicius throws down a dunk during
Carolina’s 74-48 win over Wofford.
use waiting tor bowl bid
by Kyle Almond
^ The Gamecock
The South Carolina Gamecocks know
they’re heading for their first bowl game
since 1995, but questions remain about
which bowl game it will be.
There won’t be an answer until Dec.
3, the day after the SEC Championship
game between Florida and Auburn.
If the SEC East champion Gators de
feat the SEC Wfest champion Tigers, then
the Gamecocks will most likely be play
ing in the Outback Bowl.
If Auburn pulls out an upset victory,
USC could be going to Atlanta to play in
the Peach Bowl.
USC head coach Lou Holtz says he
has no preference between the two games.
“Whatever bowl game the SEC
chooses for us to play in, we will be hap
^ py to play in,” Holtz said. “We’ve got a
great conference, and we’ll go where they
ask us to.”
The Outback Bowl, held in Tampa,
Fla., has a higher payout than the Peach
Bowl ($2 million to $ 1.8 million) and is
played on New Year’s Day, while the
Peach Bowl is played Dec. 29.
The Gamecocks seemed destined for
the Peach Bowl and a match-up with
Geoigia Tech until last Wednesday, when
the Citrus Bowl issued a provisional bid
to Auburn. The Citrus announced they
will take Aubum if they lose the SEC ti
tle game.
If that scenario carries out, Florida
44 would go to the Sugar Bowl, Auburn
would head to the Citrus, and the next
two bowls in the SEC hierarchy, the Out
back and the Peach, would choose be
tween USC and Tennessee.
The Outback has the first choice of
the two, but that doesn’t necessarily mean
they would take Tennessee, who has one
more win than the Gamecocks and also
a head-to-head victory.
“We’re looking at both teams very
closely, but we’re just not in a position
to tell who we’re going to take,” Out
back Bowl president Jim McVay said.
The Outback and the Peach might
work out a deal that would send Tennessee
to the Peach instead and put the Game
cocks in the Outback.
Executives from the Peach Bowl have
expressed a desire to see Geoigia Tech
W,
* )
face Tennessee to renew an old SEC ri
valry. Geoigia Tech was in the SEC from
1933-63.
“There’s a lot of history there (in that
match-up),” Peach Bowl president Gary
Stokan said.
The Outback, on the other hand,
might need a strong USC crowd to fill
the seats of Raymond James Stadium as
Ohio State, their first selection, isn’t ex
pected to bring a massive following from
Columbus, Ohio.
But fans shouldn’t book their travel
plans yet. Nothing is certain until after
the Florida/Aubum game.
If Auburn wins, they will be the ones
who win a BCS birth, not the Gators, and
the Citrus would have to choose between
Florida and Tennessee. The Gamecocks
would most likely slip to the Peach.
to a bowl game in only his second season
there, Holtz had his contract extended
Tuesday.
On the same day, he was named
one of three finalists for National Coach
of the Year.
“Coach Holtz is responsible for one
of the greatest tum-arounds in the histo
ry of college football,” USC athletic di
rector Mike McGee said. Holtz turned
an 0-11 Gamecock team of a year ago in
to a 7-4 bowl-eligible team.
Holtz’s contract was extended to
its original five-year term, and he will re
ceive a raise which has not yet been de
termined.
Already a two-time Coach of the Year
award winner, Holtz is competing with
Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops and Notre Dame’s
Bob Davie for a third.
Holtz gets an extension and more „)e sports desk can reached a[
gamecocksports@hotmail.com.
For taking an unprecented sixth team
I . — , I-IZ-1
OUTBACK BOWL
Jan. 1,2001
11a.m. (ESPN)
Tampa, FL
Raymond James Stadium (66,655)
Last Yean Georgia 28, Purdue 25
SEC #3
vs.
Big Ten #3
Opponent:
Ohio State
Buckeyes
(8-3)
Chick-Fil-A
PEACH BOWL
Dec. 29,2000
5 p.m. (ESPN)
Atlanta, GA
Geoigia Dome (71,228)
Last Yean Miss. St 17, Clemson 7
SEC #4
vs.
ACC #3
Opponent:
Geoigia Tech
Yellow Jackets
(9-2)
»
Lady Gamecocks win first
basketball game of season
■ use defeats
Montana State
63-52 in Cancun
by Kyle Almond
The Gamecock
The Lady Gamecocks earned their
first win of the season Friday night against
Montana State in the first round of a
tournament in Cancun, Mexico.
Junior forward Teresa Geter, a
Columbia native who transferred to the
Gamecocks this season from Tennessee,
led the way for Carolina with 15 points.
Sophomore center Petra Ujhelyi fin
ished with a double-double, scoring 10
points and adding 10 rebounds.
“I believe that our post players are
two of the best in the country, even if
we haven’t showed it yet,” USC head
coach Susan Whlvius said “Petra played
' well in putting up her second double
double of the season, and Teresa Geter
was much more aggressive in the sec
ond half.”
Carolina kept the Bobcats off the
scoreboard for the first six minutes of
the second half, and its defensive in
tensity opened the two-point halftime
lead to twelve.
USC’s lead was challenged late in
the game by a Montana State team
that refused to quit. With 4:57 remain
ing in the game, the Lady Gamecocks
were only up 50-45.
Geter answered with three baskets,
however, to put the game out of reach
and give Carolina their first taste of vic
tory.
“We continue to play and work the
kinks out,” Walvius said. “I was unhap
py with the first-half performance of
. the team, and I really got on them at
halftime. Wfe talked at halftime and came
out with defensive intensity in the
second half and took over the game.”
“It was a good win for us, even
though I am not completely happy with
the way we are playing. Montana is a
good three-point shooting team and veiy
scrappy.”
The win over Montana State
matched up the Lady Gamecocks with
No. 4 Purdue on Sunday night. Results
were not available at press time.
Next up for the Lady Gamecocks is
a home game with arch-rival Clemson
on Wednesday night. The game is part
of a doubleheader with the men’s team,
who take on Mercer. The men’s game
is scheduled to tip-off at 6:30 p.m., with
the Carolina/Clemson game following
at 9 p.m.
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com.
Volleyball team nets NCAA berth
by Kyle Almond
The Gamecock
The South Carolina volleyball team
got a new lease on life Sunday night
when they were selected to play in the
2000 NCAA Division I Women’s Vol
leyball Championship.
The Gamecocks (21-6,12-2 SEC)
were upset in the first round of the SEC
Tournament by Georgia last week, and
the loss prevented them from winning
their first-ever conference championship.
But USC will get a chance to make
some noise on a much larger scale Fri
day against George Washington in the
first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s exciting, it’s a new season, and
we’ve just got to prepare and play one
match at a time,” USC redshirt sopho
more Cally Plummer said.
“We worked so hard this summer.
This was our goal. We have a week to
look forward to a new season.”
The Gamecocks were paired with
1
the George Washington Colonials (25
5) in the Central region of the tourna
ment. GWTJ earned an automatic bid by
winning the Atlantic 10 Conference
Tournament with a heart-stopping 3-2
win over Xavier. If the Gamecocks win,
a second round matchup with No. 1 Ne
braska is likely.
The Comhuskers are 28-0 on the
season and have consistently been ranked
No. 1 by the AVCA all season. They take
on Princeton in the first round.
“If we’re going to go, we might as
well go play the best,” USC head coach
Kim Christopher said. “It will just be an
exciting environment.”
The game will be held in Lincoln,
Neb. at 5 p.m. This will be the Game
cocks’ fourth NCAA appearance in the
last six years.
“We were anxious to get the bid,”
Christopher said. “We’ve played well
all season. It’s just been an exceptional
season for many reasons.”
This is the sixth time in Christo
V
pher’s eight years as coach that the
Gamecocks have won 20 games in a sea
son. The Gamecocks also won 12 SEC
games this season, the most in school
history.
Perhaps even more amazing is that
in those 12 wins, USC only dropped four
matches.
This season, the final four for the
tournament will be held in Richmond,
Va., at Virginia Commonwealth Uni
versity.
But you won’t catch senior Mandy
Quarterman looking ahead.
“Wfe will take the NCAAs one match
at a time,” she said. “Everybody is 0-0
now.”
The last time the Gamecocks
were in the NCAAs, they lost 3-2 to
Colorado State in Texas.
Brock Vergakis contributed to this
report. The sports desk can be reached
at gamecocfcBports@hotmaLcom
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