The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 28, 2001, Page 10, Image 10
Gamecock Sports Schedule
■ Softball vs. Virginia Tech, 3 p.m. Wednesday
■ Women’s basketball vs. Ole Miss at SEC Tournament, 9:30 p.m. Thursday
■ Baseball at Clemson, Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday
■ Men’s basketball at Mississippi State, 3 p.m. Saturday
. ' ' ■
USC drops last game
at home in overtime
I
by Preston Baines
The Gamecock
Vincent Yarbrough put home a follow
up dunk off a missed shot with 1:52
remaining in overtime to send the
Gamecocks to yet another heartbreaking
defeat at home, this time at the hands of
the Tennessee \blunteers, 68-67, Tuesday
night at Frank McGuire Arena.
Down by a single point with 6.2
seconds left, the Gamecocks (14-12,6
9 SEC) still had a final chance to win.
Michael Boynton lobbed an inbound pass
toward the basket to Tony Kitchings only
to see the ball glance off Kitchings’ hands
and into the hands of Rolando Howell,
whose fall-away 18-foot baseline jumper
bounced off the rim as time expired.
The two teams entered the overtime
after Tennessee’s Terrance Woods hit an
off-balanced three pointer from the left
wing at the buzzer to tie the game at
63. The basket by Woods capped off a
9-2 run by the \bls (20-9,7-8) in the final
minute of regulation. „
The Tennessee run followed a 17-0
run by Carolina fueled by Jamel Bradley’s
10 points. Bradley finished with 23 on
the night to lead Carolina in scoring.
“Tennessee is the most athletic,
talented team in the SEC,” said
Bradley, commenting on the physicality
of the game. “The refs were really letting
us play tonight.”
Carolina’s Aaron Lucas missed the
entire second half and most of the game
due to a turf toe injury suffered late in
the Georgia game.
“[Lucas] will be ready for Saturday,”
USC head coach Eddie Fogler remarked.
“He has lived with (trainer) Jeff Parsons
the last couple of days.”
Because of the injury, freshman
Boynton received a majority of the
minutes at point guard. Boynton finished
with four points and seven assists.
Tennessee was led by Yaibrough’s 13
points, 11 of which came in the first 13
minutes of the game, before getting the
game-winning dunk. For the second
straight week on ESPN, Howell put
together a double-double, scoring 12
points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
Tennessee’s top four scorers on the
season, Tony Hanis, Ron Slay, Isiah Victor
and Vincent Yarbrough, were contained
the entire second half by the Gamecocks’
stifling defense. The four players scored
only 10 points combined and 28 for the
game, 25 below their average scoring
output for the season. USC forced 20
turnovers while only committing 12.
The loss most likely damaged any
hopes the Gamecocks had of making the
NCAA tournament. The Vols, however,
increased the chances of making the
tournament after only winning three of
the previous 11 games since the first
meeting between the two schools this
season, a 79-71 Tennessee win Jan. 13.
This week also marked the first time this
season the Vols haven’t been ranked by
The Associated Press.
Seniors Antonio Grant and David
Ross, playing their final regular season
home game, scored nine and three points,
respectively. It was Grant’s 3-pointer,
followed by a Bradley layup, which
sparked the 17-0 Gamecock scoring run.
“Wfe’ve been doing it (coming back
from tough losses) all year; all you can
do is pick up the pieces and go at it again,”
Ross said. “You can bet we are going to
do the same thing down in Starkville.”
One of the main reasons for the
Gamecocks’ demise was the inability to
shoot free throws. USC shot 18-34 from
the line and missed some key free throws
in the final minutes, fueling the Tennessee
comeback.
“We lose the game at the free
68
67
throw line quite honestly, and that makes
it tough,” Fogler said. “That (free throw
shooting) is a part of the game.”
Carolina’s next and final game of
the regular season is Saturday in Starkville,
Miss., against the Mississippi State
Bulldogs (15-10,6-8).
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
Tennessee 68
(20-9, 7-8 SEC)
FG FT R A TO PF TP
Yarbrough 6-131-1 7 2 3 3 13
Slay 1-7 1-1 2 0 3 4 3
Victor 4-10 0-4 10 1 1 5 8
Hams 1-6 1-2 2 4 4 2 4
Higgins 4-4 04) 10 2 3 2 12
Grindstaff 2-3 04) 1 1 0 1 6
Walker 34 04) 1 1 4 1 7
Haislip 3-6 2-2 2 1 0 3 10
Woods 2-3 04) 0 0 1 1 5
Hathaway 0-0 04) 3 0 1 4 0
TOTAL 26-56 5-10 38 12 20 26 68
South Carouna 67
(14-12, 6-9)
FG FT R A TO PF TP
Ross 14 04) 1 0 0 0 3
Grant 4-8 0-3 3 1 1 3 9
Kitchings 3-113-6 8 1 6 2 9
Lucas 0-2 04) 0 0 0 0 0
Bradley 7-165-6 4 4 2 2 23
Petravidus2-7 3-5 9 1 0 1 7
Boynton 1-2 14 0 7 2 1 4
Howell 36 6-1012 1 0 4 12
TOTAL 21-5818-3441 15 12 13 67
Halftime score: Tennessee 28-27
3-point shooting: Tennessee 11-20 (Yaitrough 0-2,
Slay 0-2, Hairis 14, Higgins 44. Grindstaff 2-2,
Walker 1-2, Haislip 2-3, Woods 1-1), South Carolina
7-17 (Ross 14. Grant 14, Lucas 0-1, Bradley 4-6.
Boynton 1-2)
Steals: South Carolina 98
Blocks: Tennessee 7-2
Attendance: 8,579
Sean Rayford/The Gamecock
Senior David Ross played his final game at the Frank McGuire Arena Tuesday night The Fort Lauderdale
native had three points in 15 minutes of action.
For the Lady Gamecocks, it s do or die in the SEC tourney
SEC Women’s Tournament Bracket
n Tennessee
_ GAME FIVE
Alabama i p ">- Fri<iay
--— Fox Sports
GAME ONE -—
□ Auburn 6TmEN,NE
Saturday -
__- Fox Sports
□ Vanderbilt
--,__ GAME SIX _
LSU 7 p.m. Friday
- Fox Sports
GAME™- CHAMPIONSHIP
E Kentucky GAME
6 p.m. Sunday
□ Georgia ESPN2
_ GAME SEVEN
use 9:30 p.m. Friday j
-<- Fox Sports
GAME THREE -
—r-:-- GAME TEN
Ole Miss 8;30 p.m.
Saturday
□ Florida ~| FoxSports
_ GAME SIX
Arkansas 3:30 p.m Friday
- Fox Sports
GAME FOUR -—
m Miss. State] The Pyramid ♦ Memphis, Tenn.
■ USC is looking
for revenge against
Ole Miss in Memphis
by Charles Tomlinson
The Gamecock
The first round of the SEC Women’s
Basketball Tournament begins Thursday at
the Pyramid in Memphis, Tenn. and the
Lady Gamecocks, who are seeded sixth,
will face 11th seed Ole Miss in the first
round.
Although Ole Miss is ranked below
Carolina in the tournament bracket, the
Lady Rebels finished on top in the previous
meeting between the two teams. Ole Miss
snapped a four-game Carolina winning
streak with a 69-53 victory in Oxford Feb.
4.
That night, Ole Miss shot 42.6 percent
and held USC to 29.4 percent. USC head
coach Susan Walvius attributed the low
number to poor shot selection and the fact
that the shots simply “would not fall.”
Tatyana Troina scored 19 points in the loss,
and Shannon Segres added 14. They were
the only two Lady Gamecocks to score in
double figures in the game.
However, Walvius doesn’t think her
team will have the same problem again.
“I think we are shooting the ball better
now,” W&lvius said. “That was an isolated
incident (in the last game).”
On the other hand, the smaller Ole
Miss squad spent the game driving inside,
leaving its outside scorers open to sink 42.9
percent of their 3-pointers. Senior Becky
Myatl was the major factor in the victory
with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Whlvius described the team’s outlook
toward the SEC Tournament as one of
excitement.
“It’s a whole new season, and anything
can happen,” she said.
Perhaps, she added, the upcoming
games could serve as an opportunity for
the Lady Gamecocks to get a NCAA
Tournament bid.
At the moment, the Carolina strategy
is to take things one game at a time.
“We want to put our best foot forward
and represent South Carolina in the best
way we can,” Walvius said.
USC finished the regular season with
an 11-16 overall record and a 6-8 SEC
record. Its season ended with an 83-72 loss
to LSU on Sunday.
Following a 82-64 defeat to Arkansas
in their regular season finale on Saturday,
the Ole Miss Lady Rebels come into the
tournament with a 16-11 overall record
and a 4-10 record in the conference.
The Lady Rebels are shooting 42.8
percent this season. Myatt leads the team
with 11.7 points per game. Freshman
forward Tywanna Inmon is scoring 9.4
points a game and leading the team in
rebounds with 5.4 a game. Junior Von Kirk
has contributed 9.6 points per game to the
Ole Miss cause.
Teresa Geter continues to lead the
Gamecocks with 11.6 points per game and
6.5 rebounds per game. Shaunzinski
Gortman is second in scoring with 11.3
points a game for the season, and Troina
average 10.8 points for the Lady
Gamecocks.
If the Lady Gamecocks can avenge
their earlier loss to Ole Miss on Thursday,
they will face a Round Two match-up on
Friday with Georgia, who has a bye and is
■ LOCATION:
The Pyramid in Memphis,
■ TIME: 9:30 p.m. Thursday
■ RECORDS: USC (11-16, 6
8 SEC), Ole Miss (16-11, 4
■ RADIO: SportsRadio 1400
AM
the No. 3 seed in the tournament.
Tip-off for Thursday’s game is 9:30
p.m. If USC wins, it will play the Lady
Bulldogs 9:30 p.m. Friday.
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
Sports Commentary
NBA alienating average fan, losing support
The NBA is having a
rough year.
Attendance is down,
ratings are really down and interest
in the league is dwindling by the
day. In essence, no one seems to
care about the NBA anymore.
Why? One could say
there s more talent in tne league
Kyle Almond now than ever before,
is a second-year The answer js jn the
journalism major. marketing. Commissioner
He can be reached David Stem and company need to
via e-mail at take a good look at who they’re
gamecocksportsO concentrating their efforts on and
hotmall.com. rethink their strategy.
With ticket prices
approaching ridiculous heights,
the average Joe can get to maybe
one NMgame a season. The average ticket price in the
NB\ this season is $51. Fifty-one bucks for a single game
is insane, and that’s not even including parking and
popcorn. The only people who can afford to attend these
' games on a regular basis are rich businessmen and
entrepreneurs, not your everyday die-hard sports fans.
If parents can’t afford to take their children to games,
how is the NB4 going to attract the next generation of
fans?
Charlotte, with an average of almost $35 per ticket,
is one of the cheapest teams in the league to see. But
Hornets fans, beware: Charlotte’s owners are asking for
a new arena. The math is simple: new arena = ticket
price increase. The Miami Heat used to be one of the
league’s most affordable teams to see. Then they got a
new $210 million stadium, and ticket prices soared 24.7
percent.
This trend seems to be backfiring on Stem and league
owners. The weak fan support is becoming evident
throughout the league. Just turn on the TV and watch
an NBA telecast during the week. Empty seats are
Aundant, the “crowd” can barely be heard and the players
seem to be playing in slow motion. They’re not trying
very hard because they know no one is watching.
So, if the NBA wants to change things around, it
needs to lower ticket prices. It should give substantial
discounts to children, families and students. If the owners
want to Till up the scats, they need to show they care
about us. Sh()w an interest in the real sports fan, and they
will show an interest in you.
Although ticket prices are the primary reason for
the NEA’s troubles, they aren’t the only reason.
When Michael Jordan was playing, the league had
it easy. It had its universal superstar, its spokesman, its
No. 1 icon. Now, as Jordan toils in the front office of the
hapless Washington Wizards, the league has a huge void
to fill, with very few candidates available to fill it. If you
want people to watch your product, you’ve got to have
someone with drawing power like Jordan. The league
doesn’t have that.
Sure, there’s potential out there, but it seems as if
no one in the league wants to step up and assume that
role. Kobe Bryant, the league’s leading scorer, was
also the league’s leading candidate to be the next Jordan
after leading the Lakers to a championship last season.
This year, all he’s done is make headlines by arguing with
Shaq about who the team’s best player is.
Vince Carter was almost a Jordan replica, a UNC
grad with the athleticism and charisma of the six-time
world champ. Since winning the dunk title, though, he’s
been scowling in Toronto, seemingly unhappy with his
NBA SEE PAGE It
Around the SEC
Arkansas’ Johnson
heating up, might be
trouble for SEC foes
by Kyle Almond
The Gamecock
A game-winning 3-pointer against
South Carolina last week might be all
Arkansas’ Joe
JUiUUHJll IlCCUa LUgCl
back on track.
Johnson, who
was picked as the
SEC’s Player of the \
Year in the
preseason, has
struggled this season K
tn I i wo no to hie I
billing. He’s had JOHNSON
trouble shooting (3
for-17 vs. Auburn)
and holding on to the ball (six turnovers
vs. LSU). As a result, his confidence has
suffered. Hogs head coach Nolan
Richardson didn’t even start the 6-foot
8 sophomore against USC last Tuesday.
But making a big shot like the one he
made against the Gamecocks could do
wonders for anyone’s self-confidence.
“It was a big shot, and I just stepped
up to the table and made it,” Johnson said.
“I can’t say whether it’s going to help my
game. I don’t know.”
“[This season has] been tough,” he
said, ‘but that’s just part of life. And you’ve
got to deal with it. I’m just going to come
out and keep playing my game. If it’s on,
SEC SEE PAGE H