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GAME SCHEDULE MEN’S BASKETBALL at Arkansas, 8 p.m. Wednesday CONTA( ITUS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs. No. 2 Tennessee, 7 p.m. Thursday SWIMMING AND DIVING at Cincinnati, Friday Stoiy ideas? Questions? Comments? MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD at Virginia Tech, Saturday Write us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com MEN'S BASKETBALL vs. Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Once again, USC buried at buzzer Hawkins breaks Gamecock hearts with game-winner BY BEN BRYAN THE GAMECOCK With 2:37 left in the first half of USC’s basketball game against No. 8 Kentucky on Saturday, Jamel Bradley hit three consecu tive free throws to give the Game cocks a 20-19 lead over the Wild cats. The Gamecocks would hold the lead for all but 3.4 seconds the restpf the game. Unfortunately, those were the final 3.4 seconds. Cliff Hawkins’ pull-up jumper as time expired gave Kentucky a 51-50 win over the Gamecocks — the Wildcats’ 11th straight over USC. With the victory, Kentucky moves to 10-4 (1-2 SEC) and earns its first SEC win of the season. The one-point win saved Kentucky from starting 0-3 in the conference for the first time in 26 years. For the Gamecocks (10-5,0-2), the loss is disappointing but not devastating. The game was tight from start to finish, but in the end USC’s dominating defense couldn’t compensate for its shoot ing woes. The Gamecocks scored 17 points off 20 Kentucky turnovers but only shot 32 per cent. The Wildcats led early in the first half by five, but the Game cocks took control before halftime and led by as many as eight in the second half. Gamecock point guard Aaron Lucas, when asked what could be -I— learned from a game such as this, said simply, “Little things count.” With the game tied at 47 and just less than three minutes to play, USC’s Marius Petravicius hit three free throws to give USC a 50 47 lead. Hawkins brought Ken tucky within one with 37 seconds remaining, then made the game winner after Petravicius missed the front end of a one-and-one. Jamel Bradley cut off Hawkins on the drive and nearly was able to knock the ball loose, but Hawkins recovered and barely managed to get the shot off. Bradley led the Gamecocks with 19 points, including four 3 pointers. Petravicius had 11 points. Lucas contributed four steals and five assists, while Chuck Eidson led the team with eight rebounds. The Gamecocks’ solid defense held the Wildcats to 34 points be low their average. Wildcats Tayshaun Prince and Keith Bo gans, who average a combined 31 points per game, combined for only 16. Prince was only 3 of 11 and didn’t hit any 3-pointers. Gerald Fitch led Kentucky with 11 points, while Bogans and Hawkins had eight points each. “My heart is broken in a thou sand pieces for our team,” USC head coach Dave Odom said after the tough loss, “but what can be broken can be fixed.” The Gamecocks will have a chance to bounce back Wednesday night when they travel to Arkansas to face a tough Razor back team. Coming off such a heartbreaking loss might not be easy, but the team remains opti mistic about the long season USC over the break The men’s basketball team had its way with four non-conference opponents before losing its first SEC game against No. 3 Florida. With Saturday’s loss to Kentucky, USC finds itself in an early hole -- 0-2 in the conference. Dec. 18 USC 69, S.C. State 50 Dec. 20 USC 73, The Citadel 57 Dec. 28 USC 86, Charleston So. 41 Dec. 30 USC 88, Mercer 52 Jan. 5 No. 3 Florida 69, USC 60* Jan. 12 No. 8 Kentucky 51, USC 50* * - denotes SEC game ihead. Odom noted that Ken :ucky’s dramatic win in Columbia same after two devastating losses :o Mississippi State and Georgia ind said USC was capable of re sounding just the same. Odom admitted it would be easy :o look at the one-point loss to the Wildcats and ask, “Why?” He of fered an answer: “There is some :hing better waiting for this team lown the road than winning that sasketball game.” The team seems to share Ddom’s confidence. “We are eager to win,” Lucas said. “We expect to win.” Comments on this story?E-mail ?amecocksports@hotmail. com. Lady Gamecocks win 12th straight contest ARKANSAS 66 0 USC 91 Victory is team’s final tune-up before crucial Tennessee game BY MICHAEL STRICKLAND THE GAMECOCK Jocelyn Penn tied her career best 32 points and pulled down sev en rebounds Sunday as No. 9 South Carolina outscored Arkansas 91-66 in front of a sea son-best crowd of 2,428 at Frank McGuire Arena. The win by the Lady Game cocks (16-1, 4-0 SEC) sets up their showdown with No. 2 Tennessee on Thursday night in Columbia. After leading just 36-34 at half time, South Carolina surged to a double-digit lead in the first seven minutes of the second half. Penn had a hand in USC’s first five scor ing plays of the half. She hit four straight shots and found Shaun Gortman open for a mid-range jumper. Penn’s great look to Gort man was one of four assists for Penn, who had one of l>er best ca reer performances. . Carolina held, Arkansas (9-6,0-3 SEC) without a field goal for more than six minutes early in the sec ond half and, with seven points from Penn, converted that drought into a 19-4 run. That spurt put the game out of Arkansas’ reach. “Jocelyn does a fantastic job for us,” USC head coach Susan Walvius said. “You know people are focusing on her, but she gets a lot of quiet points. She is a win ner.” Penn was supported by a strong A ♦ LADY HOOPS, SEE PAGE 14 __ _l Shaun Gortman dropped 17 points Sunday against Arkansas and added seven assists, her season-high, photo BY ROBERT GRUEN Chuck Eidson had a team-high eight rebounds in Saturday’s loss to Kentucky. The Gamecocks lost on a last-second shot for the second time this season, photo by robert gruen OUTBACK BOWL "You the man!" says Andrew Plnnock, right, to Phil Petty after putting Carolina on the board with 12:37 to go in the second quarter, photo by aaron hark USC 2-for-2 in Tampa BY CHRIS FOY THE GAMECOCK With less than a minute left in the 2002 Outback Bowl, South Carolina appeared to be out of gas. After trailing 28-0, the No. 23 Buckeyes had stormed back, scoring four touchdowns late in the second half to tie the contest at 28. When the Gamecocks, then ranked No. 14, got the ball back, senior quarterback Phil Petty threw a crucial interception to Buckeye cornerback Cie Grant on a deep ball with 42 seconds re maining. Ohio State, running on the momentum of their sudden offensive resurgence, opted to take one shot at a big play before running the clock out. That decision would prove to be a costly one. Steve Bellisari threw a pass deep down the left side of the field to find the hands of Gamecock cornerback Sheldon Brown, who ran it from the USC “I knew it wasn’t my greatest kick ever, but I was hoping the wind might take it.” DANIEL WEAVER USC PLACE-KICKER, ON HIS WINNING FIELD GOAL 34 all the way to the OSU 29 with 23 seconds left. USC ran a couple of plays, with the only gain coming from a 5-yard pickup on a Derek Wat son run. Then it was time for kicker Daniel Weaver to try to achieve the victory that had seemed inevitable only a quarter before. Carolina burnt its last time out after Watson’s run to ensure the clock, with seven seconds left, would run down after the play. OSU burnt two time-outs trying to ice Weaver before he tried the 42-yard field goal. But when it came time, Weaver kicked the ball straight and over the post by no more than a yard. Thfe Game cocks (9-3) won 31-28 and earned their second straight Outback Bowl victory. After the game, Weaver knew the kick wasn’t spectacular, but it did its job nonetheless. “I knew it wasn’t my great est kick ever, but I was hoping the wind might take it,” he said. “I was lucky enough to make it.” USC head coach Lou Holtz knew if his kicker hadn’t come through, the Gamecocks might have had trouble containing the energy flowing from OSU’s of fense. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if that sucker didn’t go through,” Holtz said. ♦ OUTBACK, SEE PAGE 13