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Gamecock Sports Schedule ■ Men’s basketball vs. Tennessee, 7 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN) ■ Softball vs. Virginia Tech, 3 p.m. Wednesday ■ Women’s basketball at SEC Tournament in Memphis, Thursday ■ Baseball at Clemson, 2 p.m. Saturday ^ me ©amecock " 7^7 Gamecocks sweep Bulldogs The Gamecock Antonio Grant and the Gamecock basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak Saturday when they topped Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum. Grant scored 14 points in the winning effort. by Preston Baines The Gamecock Marius Petravicius had 17 points and 10 rebounds Saturday as South Carolina completed a regular season sweep of the Georgia Bulldogs. The Gamecocks (14-11,6-8 SEC) snapped a three-game losing streak with the 64-56 victory in Athens and kept alive hopes of making the NCAA Tournament. Georgia fell to 15-12 and 8-6 with the loss. “This is one of the best wins I’ve been associated with in 15 years as a head coach,” USC head coach Eddie Fogler said. “That loss (Tuesday night’s loss to Arkansas) really hurt emotionally, and we didn’t practice well Thursday or Friday. I wouldn’t have been disappointed if we came out flat as pancakes.” However, the Gamecocks responded to adversity well, controlling Georgia for most of the game. Unlike the last meeting with Georgia this season, USC shut down UGA’s big mea Anthony Evans had only eight points, and Shon Coleman had seven. The tandem had a combined 31 points in the previous game between the two schools on Feb. • 7, a 77-75 Gamecock win. Carolina led most the game and held a 27-24 advantage at halftime. In the second half, USC came out in the same way, getting the ball inside to Petravicius and Tony Kitchings. “(The Bulldogs) are very strong, but they aren’t very tall, and we used that to our advantage,” Petravicius said. Carolina took the lead for good with 7:13 to play after two free throws by Kitchings, who finished with fO points. Jamel Bradley’s lone 3-pointer of the game with 1:37 left to play increased the Carolina lead to 60-56 and started a 7-0 run to finish the game. Bradley finished with nine points while Antonio Grant turned in 14. Freshman Michael Boynton played most of the game at point guard because of a second-half ankle sprain suffered by starter Aaron Lucas. Boynton managed only three points, but he had three assists and no turnovers in 24 minutes. One of the SEC’s top scorers, D. A. Layne of UGA, was held to just nine points and was only 1 -for-8 from 3-point range. Ezra Williams led the Bulldogs with 16 points. “They defended us very well,” , Georgia head coach Jim Harrick said. “And we certainly weren’t as sharp as we have been.” The Gamecocks continued to shoot well, shooting 25-for-50 in the game. The Gamecocks have shot only 41 percent for the season, but in the past three games, they’ve shot more than 49 percent. Saturday’s win keeps Carolina’s hopes for a postseason berth alive. In order for the Gamecocks to get in, they most likely have to get victories in their final two games against Tennessee and Mississippi State along with a couple of wins in the SEC Tournament. * The game against Tennessee is Tuesday at 7 p.m. and will be nationally televised on ESPN. The Vols (19-9,6-8) defeated the Gamecocks in the first meeting between the schools this season, 79-71, in Knoxville. However, Tennessee has won only three out of its past 11 games and had lost five straight before •winning at Vanderbilt on Saturday. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com Sooth Carolina 64 , (14-11, 6-8 SEC) FG FT R A TO PF TP Petravidus8-11 1-2 10 0 3 3 17 Grant 6-8 0-1 4 1 0 0 14 Kitchings 4-102-3 0 0 0 4- 10 Lucas 3-8 0*0 2 3 4 2 7 Bradley 38 23 1 2 1 2 9 Ross 08 03 3 0 2 0 0 Taylor 0-1 03 1 0 0 0 0 Bcynton 1-2 03 1 3 0 1 3 Howell 0-2 48 4 0 0 0 4 Clemmons08 03 0 0 1 0 0 TOTAL 2530 9-15 27 9 11 12 64 Georgia 56 (15-12,8-6) FG FT R A TO PF TP Williams 6-9 03 3 1 7 1 16 Coleman 38 1-2 6 0 2 4 7 Evans 33 2-2 14 1 1 1 8 Layne 4-1303 1 3 3 1 9 Wright 18 2-2 5 7 4 2 5 Jones 23 03 0 1 1 2 5 Dryden 1-3 W) 1 0 0 1 2 Daniels 2-2 03 2 0 0 2 4 Thomas 03 03 0 0 0 1 0 TOTAL 22-53 58 34 13 18 15 56 Halflime score: South Carolina 27-24 3-point shooting: Georgia 7-21 (VWiams 48, Layne 18, Wight 13, Jones 1-2), South Carolina 513 (Grant 2-4. Lucas 1-3. Bradley 1-4, Taylor 51, Boynton 1-1) Steals: South Carolina 118 ■ Blocks: South Carolina 51 Attendance: 10,004 Gamecock track team wins four solo titles by Kyle Almond The Gamecock Four USC athletes won SEC individual titles this weekend at the 'SEC Indoor Championships in Lexington. The Gamecock women’s 4x400-meter relay team took top honors, as well. However, Arkansas was the big winner in the overall team competition, as both its men’s and women’s team finished first in the meet. Carolina’s women, ranked first in the nation, finished third in the competition, and the Gamecock men came in seventh. Demetria Washington (400 meters), Jackie Madison (60-meter hurdles), Otukile Lekote (800 meters) and Lynette Keppeler (shot put) won their respective events in tlie two-day event. Washington, who was also the anchor leg of tlie winning 4x400 relay team with Tacita Bass, Miki Barber and Sheneka Griffin, ran a personal best 52.06 in the 400. “It feels great,” Washington said of her first SEC individual title. “I just give all the praise to God and thank my family, coaches and teammates for supporting me this year. They have been great.” Madison ran a personal best (8.16) en route to winning her fust SEC title. “Jackie’s time wasn’t a surprise, but her winning the race was a big surprise,” Gamecock head coach Curtis Frye said. “Teneeshia (Jones, from Ole Miss) lias been leading the country for most of the year, and for Jackie to come in and win with that time, that is a great race.” Lckote, a freshman at Carolina, sliattered tlie school record in the 800 by more than a second (1:46.78). “I wanted to take the race right away from the start,” he said. “I didn’t want them to have a question.” Keppeler’s throw of 51 -61/4 was good enough to win the shot put. “I am just overjoyed to win; it’s incredible,” the senior said. The indoor season concludes March 9-10 when the Gamecocks’ best travel to Fayetteville, Ark. to compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmaH.com Baseball team perfect through 12 games ■ Two-game series with Clemson up next for No. 7 Gamecocks by Jason Malick The Gamecock The USC baseball team remained undefeated this season after sweeping Geoige Mason in a three-game series at Saige Frye Field. On Friday, the Gamecocks (12-0) squeaked by their opponents when Marcus McBeth hit a game-winnitig grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to win 9-7. On Saturday, USC s G;uy Bell pitched a three-hitter to shut out GMU 1-0. The Patriots (1-5), who were close to beating No. 7 Carolina in the first two games of the series, were blown out in the final game, 9-1, on a dreary, rain delayed Sunday afternoon. Freshman David Marchbanks, in his first start as a Gamecock, earned his first win, scattering four hits over 6 2/3 innings. “I tried to pitch as hard as I could today by putting the team in a position to win,” Marchbanks said. Head coach Ray Tanner said he was “confident that (Marchbanks) could do a good job.” Catcher Tim Whittaker started the scoring early for Carolina, hitting his second home run of the season and driving home Brennan Dees in the bottom of the first. “I went to the plate looking for a pitch I could drive, and instead, he threw me a fastball that I was able to get out of the park,” Whittaker said. Later, with USC holding a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second, Garris Gonce hit his third home run of the year to increase the lead to three. In the fifth, Marcus McBeth hit his third double of the year, and Bryon Jeffcoat scored on a wild pitch. Drew Meyer then hit an RBI sacrifice fly to bring in McBeth. An inning later, Jeffcoat brought in Trey Dyson and Tripp Kelly with a three run homer. One fan shouted, “He hit a hole in the sky,” as it suirted to downpour immediately following his homer. Geoige Mason was able to get on the board in the seventh inning with a solo home run by Eddie Jordan. John Wesley made his first appearance on the mound this year for USC and was able to strike out the last Patriot batter, ending the game at 9-1. Carolina now goes into a two-game series this weekend with No. 14 Clemson. USC will play at Clemson on Saturday afternoon, and then the Tigers will come to Saige Frye Field on Sunday afternoon. “This rivalry atmosphere with a packed house is what every college baseball player dreams about,” Tanner said of the Clemson series. Saturday’s game will start at 2 p.m., and Sunday’s will start at 1:30 p.m. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com Lady Gamecocks drop final game to No. 14 LSU by Joseph Wheeler The Gamecock The Lady Tigqrs of LSU defeated the Lady Gamecocks 83-72 Sunday, ending the best season of conference play in the history of USC’s program. Marie Ferdinand scored 31 points, made five steals and had four assists to lead the 14th-rankcd Lady Tigers to victory. Ferdinand’s play was rcllcctive of die quickness that helped LSU overcome the significiint size advanLigc USC held. Tlicir athleticism on defense was the difference in the game as they scored 25 points off 23 Lady Gmnccock turnovers, i USC head coach Susin Walvius said la*t motivation on defense is what separates the Lady Gamecocks from the great teams of the SEC. “LSU is good offensively, but they are known for their defense,” Walvius said. “Tennessee is a great offensive team, but they are known for their defense. That’s an area where 1 think that South Carolina has got to grow — to establish a defensive mentality." Nihan Ana/ led USC with 14 points, and Teresa Gcter had a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Gcter also swatted two LSU shots, establishing a new USC single season record for blocks with 56. Gcter, a transfer from Tennessee, was aware of the speed the Tigers have, and thought that was the difference in the f game. “LSU had a game plan they wanted to execute, ;uid I think they executed it pretty well,” Geter said. South Carolina trailed by as many as 21 points in the second half, but they put together a 17-4 run late in the game and were only down eight with 1:46 to play. However, LSU was 12 of 15 from the foul line in the second half, effectively thwarting USC’s hopes of a comeback. Fcrdirutnd, a senior, noted lire progress USC has made in the country’s toughest women’s basketball conference. “I sec a whole lot of improvement,” she said. “They have a good laun overall. 1 thiijk they’ll prob;ibly be one of the top four teams in the SEC next year.” USC’s 6-8 mark in conference play will probably not be good enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament. To do that, the Lady Gamecocks will have to have an exceptional showing at the SEC Tournament this week. The Lady Gamecocks’ opening-round opponent will most likely be Ole Miss as a No. 6 seed. The SEC Tournament sums Thursday in Memphis. The sports ttyk can he ratchet! at gamecocksports@hotmail.com 83 72 Spring Practice Begins i——--——— Sean Rayford/The Gamecock Lou Holtz was all smiles this weekend as spring practice got under way. After the first practice on Friday, Holtz said he thinks the team has more talent than ever. i__ f _ i