The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 19, 2001, Page 8, Image 8
Gamecock Sports Schedule
■ Men’s basketball vs. Auburn, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
■ Indoor track at SEC Quad in Lexington, Ky., Saturday
■ Women’s swimming at Arkansas/Kentucky, Saturday, 11 a.m.
■ Women’s basketball vs. Florida, Sunday, 3 p.m.
Ww (Bamecock Friday, January 19, 2001
Gamecocks hold off Commodores
by Chris Foy
The Gamecock 1
The last time the Vanderbilt
Commodores visited Columbia, two free
throws made by Vandy cost the
Gamecocks the game.
This year, it was South Carolina that
needed only two free throws to take
the lead for the final time.
Junior guard Aaron Lucas hit the
tie-breaking free throws in the. waning
minutes and soon after stole the ball for
a lay-up to secure the win for the
Gamecocks, 5749.
In a highly competitive match-up in
which the lead changed hands eight times,
the Gamecocks finally broke free with
2:32 left in the game by going on a 8-0
run down the stretch to win.
With the win, South Carolina (10-5,
2-2 SEC) has won its ninth straight home
game, while Vanderbilt (124,2-2) falls
to 2-2 on the road.
i nrougnout me game, neitner team
played particularly well. South Carolina
head coach Eddie Fogler described both
team’s performances as “dull and
lackluster.”
“I think we’re better than that, and
I think Vandy is better than that,” Fogler
said.
USC senior forward and co-captain
David Ross agreed with Fogler, but was
nonetheless pleased with the outcome.
“An ugly win is certainly better than
a loss,” Ross said.
The first half was a relatively low
scoring affair for both teams. Vanderbilt
went on a scoring drought for about five
minutes before going on a 15-3 run that
tied the game at 27 at the half.
USC had some trouble shooting,
particularly on 3-pointers, as the
Gamecocks were one for 10 for
3-pointers and only nine for 23 on field
goals. The Gamecocks also turned the
ball over 10 times.
South Carolina got a scare before the
half was over when sophomore forward
Chuck Eidson fell awkwardly on a
57
49
sprained knee. He laid on the court in
pain for a couple of minutes before
limping off with help. Eidson didn’t
return to play and watched the second
half on crutches.
Early in the second half, the
Commodores took chaige of the game.
After USC senior forward Antonio Grant
nailed a three off a jumper, Vanderbilt
went on a 14-6 run to go up 41-36 with
10 minutes left in the game.
That’s when freshman forward
Rolando Howell stepped up apd took
chaige of the game. Howell sparked the
Gamecocks, scoring seven of 12 USC
points to pull Carolina within one.
After junior guard Jamel Bradley
made a three to tie the game at 49,
Lucas was fouled with three minutes left
in the game.
Lucas put in both free throws to
put the Gamecocks back in the lead, one
they wouldn’t give up for the rest of
the eame.
Through the remainder of the game,
South Carolina’s defense shut out the
Commodores while Lucas scored four
more as Carolina came out on top.
Howell led the Gamecocks in scor
ing with a career-high 13 points. After
the game, Howell expressed his desire to
help his team win. “I just tried to go out
there and contribute as much as I can,”
he said.
Lucas was second for South Caroli
na in points scored with 12. Vanderbilt’s
Sam Howard was the only Commodore
to score in double digits, picking up 18
on the evening.
Eidson was diagnosed Thursday with
a torn ACL in his knee and is not
expected to play again this season.
Teammate Tony Kitchings bruised
a rib in the game and is questionable for
Saturday’s game against Auburn.
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
January 17,2001, Frank McGuire Arena, Columbia, S.C.
USC 57, VANDERBILT 49
Vanderbilt (12-4,2-2 SEC)
Williams 24 0-1 5, LaPointe 2-13 0-0 4, Howard 7-110-218, Lakey 1-5 0-0
2, Moore 4-10 0-0 9, Coulibaly 0-00-00, Plavich 0-2 0-0 0, Richmond 3-5 1
2 7, Hundley 2-3 0-0 4, Freije 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-55 1-5 49.
USC (10-5,2-2)
Petra vicius 3-5 0-0 6, Eidson 2-9 0-0 4, Kitchings 2-5 2-3 6, Lucas 3-6 6-8 12,
Bradley 2-7 0-0 6, Ross 14 24 5, Boynton 0-2 0-0 0, Clemmons 0-0 0-0 0,
Grant 2-7 0-1 5, Howell 4-7 5-7 13. Totals 19-52 15-23 57.
Halftime—SC 27, Vanderbilt 27. 3-Point goals—\hnderbilt 6-19 (Williams 1
1, Howard 4-7, Lakey 0-3, Moore 1-5, Plavich 0-2, Freije 0-1), SC 4-22 (Eid
son 04, Lucas 0-1, Bradley 2-7, Ross 14, Boynton 0-2, Grant 14). Fouled
out—Williams. Rebounds—Vanderbilt 34 (LaPointe 7), SC 41 (Kitchings 9).
Assists—Vanderbilt 13 (Moore 4), SC 11 (Ross 4). Total fouls—Vmderbilt 21,
SC 14. A—9,878.
Sean Rayford/1 ne Gamecock
Center Tony Kitchings (left) is the only Gamecock shooting above 50 percent from the field. The rest of
the team has struggled mightily to connect on their shots.
Injury
finishes
Eidson’s
season
by Kyle Almond
The Gamecock
USC’s hopes for a successful sea
son received a huge blow Thursday
when an MRI revealed that sopho
more swingman Chuck Eidson tore
the anterior
cruciate liga
ment in his
knee in
Wednesday
night’s game
against Vander
bilt.
A torn
ACL normally QqSON
is a season-end
ing injury in
basketball, and Edson is no exception.
The versatile player will have recon
structive surgery this weekend on
his right knee, which collapsed un
derneath him in the first half of the
Gamecocks’ 57-49 win over Vandy.
“I certainly feel bad for Chuck E
j_»l*. • •_• __
V13UU, aiiu 11113 mjui y i3 y uiuui iu
nate for him,” Carolina head coach
Eddie Fogler said. “We will miss all of
the different aspects of the game that
he brings to this team. We will see now
if our players can replace some of the
things that Chuck brought to the table.”
Eidson was averaging nine
points and 5.3 rebounds a game this
season. He was also first in the team
in steals (1.9 spg), second in assists (3.1
apg) and blocks (6), and third in
minutes played (28.2 mpg).
Last season, as a freshman, Eidson
set a new school record for steals in
a season with 93. He was also named
to the freshmen All-SEC team.
After the Vanderbilt game on
Wednesday night, team officials be
lieved Eidson to have only a slight tear
because the swelling in the knee was
n’t very bad.
However, the news was woise than
expected, and now the Gamecocks
will have to scramble to find a re
placement for Eidson, who was a jack
of-all-trades for Carolina on the hard
wood. Fogler wants his team to remain
focused on the task ahead.
“Injuries are a part of basketball,
and we must get ready to compete
against a very tough Auburn team Sat
urday and against the remainder of the
SEC schedule,” Fogler said.
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
Recruits commit themselves to USC
Only weeks after their Outback Bowl victory, the Gamecocks begin filling in their roster for the future
BY MICHAEL HANEY
and Kyle Almond
The Gamecock
The countdown to signing day is drawing closer, and
college football coaches are using every line in the book
to sign recruits who they hope will bring a national cham
pionship to their schools.
The day circled on every coach’s calendar is Feb. 7,
National Signing Day, the day all high school
seniors have to choose the school they’ll play for. South
Carolina already has many firm commitments from
some of the best players in the country.
Carolina received several commitments this past week
end, and the Gamecocks have added some
quality talent. As of Jan. 18, there were 14 athletes from
high schools and junior colleges around the nation
committed to USC. Carolina is expected to give only 17
scholarships instead of the usual 25 because of its small
2000 senior class.
The most-heralded recruits on the Gamecocks’
commit list include quarterback Corey Jenkins, wide
receiver Ricky Ricks, cornerback Isaac Stackhouse,
running back Thez Robinson and defensive end George
Gause. Robinson and Gause committed on Monday.
Jenkins is a junior college All-American al
Garden City Junior College in Kansas. Jenkins, a
Columbia native and Dreher High School graduate, could
play a number of positions for head coach Lou Holtz.
Jenkins had originally signed with USC out of high
school, but instead chose to play professional
baseball in the Boston Red Sox oiganization when he was
drafted in the first round of the Major League Draft in
1995. After his contract with the Red Sox expired, Jenk
ms committed once again to USC.
“I plan on resuming my baseball career after
college is done, but playing college football was
something I’ve always wanted to do,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins stands 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 215 pounds.
He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds. He was a dual
threat in junior college, passing for 932 yards and six touch
downs and running for 816 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Ricks is another junior college transfer. He had 37
catches for 733 yards and five scores this year for
Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College in Perkinston, Miss.
At 6 feet 2 inches, 200 pounds, Ricks should be another
dangerous weapon in the Gamecocks’ spread offense.
Stackhouse, a Dillon, S.C. native, committed to
USC in 1998 but didn’t qualify for the NCAA. Now he is
back and brings a speedy presence to the Carolina
secondary. He could also play receiver.
Robinson rushed for 1,400 yards and 30 touchdowns
for Toombs County High School in Lyons, Ga. He
also played safety in high school.
Gause might turn out to be the jewel of this class. A
6-foot-5-inch, 235-pound defensive end from
Conway, S.C., Gause is an all-around great athlete. He
holds school records for weightlifting, started on the bas
ketball team and was a state triple jump champion in track
and field.
For Gause, whose cousin Andrea is a freshman at USC,
it came down to Clemson and Carolina, and the choice
wasn’t easy.
“[Clemson] was a lot of fun,” Gause said. “They had
some good-looking girls there. [But] I like the
coaching staff at South Carolina. They also have an es
tablished defense style and scheme.”
Carolina will have one more weekend of official vis
its on Jan. 26 before the recruiting season ends. On the
wish lists ol top Southeastern colleges, including USC, is
wide receiver Roscoe Crosby of Union High School. Cros
by was named “Mr. Football” in South
Carolina for 2000, and is being recruited heavily by the
Gamecocks, as well as by Clemson and Florida State. He
is also a major baseball prospect who is listed as a proba
ble first-round pick in the upcoming Major League
Draft.
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmaiLcom
2001 football
commitments
0L Josh Malloy (Shelby, N.C.)
WR Mathew Thomas (Pearson, Geo.)
RB Thez Robinson (Lyons, Geo.)
LB Orus Lambert (Jacksonville, Fla.)
DE Chris Tucker (Decatur, Geo.)
DE George Gause (Conway, S.C.)
DE Charles Silas (Swainsboro, Geo.)
S Jermaine Lemon (Milledgeville, Geo.)*
WR Ricky Ricks (Perkinston, Miss.)*
QB Corey Jenkins (Garden City, Kan.)*
QB Bennett Swygert (Summerville, S.C.)
CB Isaac Stackhouse (Ellisville, Miss.)*
LB Travis Weston (Columbia, S.C.)
DE James Scott (Marion, S.C.)
* - junior college transfer
USC’s shooting
woes continue
by Kyle Almond
The Gamecock
The Gamecocks might have won
the game Wednesday night, but
questions still remain about the team’s
ability to put the bail in the net.
USC came into the game against
Vanderbilt ranked dead last in the SEC
in points scored (72.1 a game), last in
field goal percentage (40.9 percent)
and last in 3-point shooting
percentage (29 percent).
The game against Vanderbilt was
more of the same. USC only scored 57
points in the win, its second lowest
output this season. The Gamecocks
also shot a paltry 34.5 percent from
the field and 25 percent from behind
the arc.
Head coach Eddie Fogler was at a
loss to explain the shooting woes.
“I really don’t know,” Fogler said
after the game. “We shoot pretty well
in practice. Statistically, we’re
shooting the ball well in our drills. Now
it somewhat becomes mental.”
Only one Gamecock, center Tony
Kitchings, is making more than half of
his shots on the year. For the rest of the
team, it has been a constant struggle to
make shots consistently.
Sophomore swingman Chuck
Eidson’s shooting problems over the
last few games illustrate just how much
USC is struggling. Eidson, who got
injured in the game against Vandy and
is out for the season, has only made
eight of his last 43 shots and two of his
last 18 three-pointers. Against Vandy,
he finished 2-of-9 from the field and
0-for-4 from downtown. His lack of
confidence was evident, and
defenders were playing off him, almost
daring him to shoot. Eidson had also
become hesitant to shoot the open shot,
and the home crowd at the Frank
McGuire Arena took notice.
“Right now it’s hard to say (what’s
wrong with Eidson),” Fogler said. “The
crowd, who obviously means well, is
almost making It worse wuH oohs
and aahs.”
Despite Eidson’s troubles, Fogler
insisted he still had plenty of
confidence in his player.
“I want to say about ten days ago,
[Eidson] hit 70 out of 100
Brick see page 9