The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 26, 2001, Page 7, Image 7
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