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8 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, March 18, 2002 T^l T^l m GAME SCHEDULE CONTACT US ■ B I B J I WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. Monday | ■ 111 | I MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. UNLV, 9 p.m. Tuesday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? B XXB* | k J MEN’S TENNIS vs. Georgia Tech, 1 p.m. Wednesday E-mail us at gamecochsports@hotmail.com B B... . B, rV^/ BASEBALL vs. Wofford, 7 p.m. Wednesday ■ SEC TOURNAMENT PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN After a controversial call and a missed 3-point opportunity, senior Aaron Lucas tells Carlos Powell, “This game is not over yet!" The Gamecocks were within seconds of upsetting Alabama in the semi-finals of the SEC Tournament. Alabama ends run USC falls short in SEC tourney BY CHRIS FOY THEUAMECOCK First round: USC 69, Ole Miss 67 The USC men’s basketball team upended the Ole Miss Rebels on March 7 by doing something it struggled with-the entire season - holding onto a lead at the end. The Gamecocks overcame a late rally by Ole Miss to hold onto the 69-67 win and advance to the second round of the SEC Tournament. “I’m very, very proud of our team,” USC head coach Dave Odom said after the game. “It was a great win because it gets us in the tournament.” Perhaps the surprise of the game was the strong play of Gamecocks center Tony Kitchings. Kitchings, who has struggled this season under Odom’s new conditioning re quirements, came up big with 16 points and eight rebounds. Carlos Powell was impressive as well, with 14 points. With USC leading 67-61, the Rebels hit two 3-pointers, the sec ond tying the game with 37 sec onds remaining. Rolando Howell was quick to respond, however, and his basket put the Gamecocks up for good. Aaron Harper took one last shot for Ole Miss, but the ball rimmed out. The win ended the Gamecocks’ longest losing streak of the season (three games). The win also avenged their worst loss of the season, when Ole Miss won 71-53 in Oxford. Second round: USC 70, Kentucky 57 Carolina knew after its win over Ole Miss that it had very little time to prep for Kentucky, one of the SEC’s powerhouses, in round two of the SEC Tournament. But ♦ SEC GAMES, SEE PAGE 9 USC tops Virginia Carolina moves to second round of NIT with win BY CHRIS FOY THE GAMECOCK The USC men’s basketball team (19-14) may not have made the NCAA Tournament, hut it took no time continuing its strong postseason play. In the first round of the National Invitation Tournament last Wednesday, the Gamecocks took out a Virginia team that at one point this season was ranked as high as No. 8 in the country, by a score of 74-67. USC was led by Rolando Howell, who tied a career-high in scoring with 24 points. The sopho more forward also pulled in eight rebounds. Center Tony Kitchings finished with his third double double in four games, as he scored 10 points and had 13 re bounds. The Gamecocks played a tight game for most of the first half, but the Cavaliers padded their lead right before halftime, where they led 33-27. iviiuway mruugn me secunu half, the Gamecocks tied the match at 52 before going on a 8-0 run to take the lead for the re mainder of the game. Aaron Lucas made a basket and then made three free throws on the next possession. Jamel Bradley cushioned the lead some more with one of his four 3-pointers of the game to put USC ahead 60 52. Lucas ended the game with 16 points, while Bradley had 14. Travis Watson led the Cavaliers with 26 points and 13 rebounds. Carolina’s potent de fense was able to contain UVA’s Roger Mason Jr., who was held scoreless in the first half and fin ished with only eight points. The game marked the first time this season that Mason was held to un der 10 points. Both teams shot over 50 per cent from the field. The Gamecocks, however, shot 61 per cent in the second half. In the next round, Carolina will play host to UNLV, which de feated Arizona State 96-91. USC head coach Dave Odom, who has won the NIT before with Wake Forest, was excited about having a home game and a chance to have USC fans come out and support the Gamecocks. “The enthusiasm of the Gamecock fans is terrific to see,” Odom said. “I know our team is excited about still having the op portunity to bounce basketballs this time of the year. PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN Tony Kltchings had three double-doubles during the SEC Tournament. “We need our fans this Tuesday night against UNLV. It should be a great environment at the Carolina Coliseum.” Tickets for the game will be on sale today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Russell House. Tickets will be $6 each. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail. com If you’re going... ♦ Student tickets to Tuesday’s men’s basketball game against UNLV l are on sale today from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. in the Russell House. ♦ Tickets are $6 each. Tipoff is at 9 p.m. at the Carolina Coliseum. ♦ Tickets for tonight’s women’s basketball game can be picked up at the gates at 6 p.m on a first-come, first-serve basis (500 tickets). Baseball wins series at Mississippi State BY J. KEITH ALLEN THE GAMECOCK There was not a spring break for the USC baseball team, and while most students ventured to exotic places this past week, the Gamecocks headed to Starkville to open the SEC season with a three-game series against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The No. 4 Gamecocks (18-3, 2-1 SEC) lost the first game of the se ries Friday night, but they rallied over the weekend for a pair of wins over the Bulldogs, who dropped to 10-6-1,1-2 in the conference. Carolina’s pre-conference tune up came against Purdue and Davidson in midweek contests. USC won both games easily, scor ing 15 runs in each, and was high lighted by left fielder Garris Gonce’s two home runs against Purdue and a seven-run first in ning against Davidson. The Gamecocks started spring break with a three-game sweep of perennial baseball powerhouse Seton HalL Sunday’s 10-5 victory fea tured the first career home run for Carolina right fielder Steve Thomas. Carolina is back at home Wednesday night at 7 p.m. to play state rival Wofford. Friday: MSU 12, USC4 The Gamecocks got off to a good start, with Yaron Peters and Trey Dyson belting solo home runs for an early 2-0 lead in the second in ning. But starting pitcher Gary Bell gave up three runs in the third inning, and MSU designat ed hitter Jon Mungle followed with a home run in the fourth. The Bulldogs continued to pile on runs, winning the game 12-4. Bell (4-1) took the loss for USC and Paul Maholm notched his third vic tory of the season for Mississippi State. Carolina pitchers Bell and Chris Hernandez combined to yield eight walks in the defeat. single and a Gonce RBI double. Third baseman Brian Boucher hit a triple to right field, scoring two runs, as USC took a 4-1 lead. Taylor added a touch of late-in ning drama by walking the first two batters in the ninth inning and bringing the winning run to the plate. Left fielder Michael Brown grounded into a double play, however, and Mungle struck out swinging to end the game and secure the USC victory. Marchbanks earned the win to increase his record to 5-1. Taylor picked up his third save of the year, and Tanner Brock (3-1) took the loss for MSU. A ■ ■ IAA A B*AI ■ A Saturday: USC 5, MSU 3 David Marchbanks started game two against the Bulldogs, in hopes of evening the series at one game apiece. He, along with reliever Blake Taylor did just that, limiting MSU to three runs on five hits, and USC won 5-3 on Saturday afternoon. Mungle homered for the fourth consecutive game, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead before the Gamecocks’ bats came to life in the fourth inning. Peters led off with a single, followed by a Dyson OUllUdy. UOls IVIOU o Carolina’s bullpen picked up where starter Chris Spigner left off and helped the Gamecocks win the deciding game of the series Sunday afternoon. Spigner gave up three runs in the first inning and gave way to Steven Bondurant, who went 4 2/3 innings to earn his second win of the year. Meyer and Peters home red for USC, and Blake Taylor col lected his fourth save. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com Softball team still ranked after busy spring break USC goes 2-1 against MSU BY MATT ROTHENBERG THE GAMECOCK The No. 24-ranked USC softball team had a busy spring break, with a total of eight games against Arkansas, Furman and Mississippi State. In the first game against Arkansas, Megan Matthews kept the Lady Razorbacks guessing, as she tossed a complete game four hit shutout for a 4-0 Carolina vic tory. USC got a big day at the plate from Adrianna Baggetta, as the senior outfielder went 3-3 with a double and triple. Melissa Sandel went 2-3 with a solo home run. The Lady Gamecocks lost the second game of the series 5-2. Heather Schlichtman allowed three hits and struck out four for Arkansas. Carolina fell behind by two runs early, but the Lady Gamecocks tied it up with two runs, on a single by Amber Curtis and a pair of Razorback errors. A single by Arkansas’ Danica White brought in what proved to be the winning run as the Lady Razorbacks added two insurance runs later on. Matthews took the mound in the deciding game of the series and didn’t disappoint, as the Lady Gamecocks won 4-1. Curtis and Meghan Cornett each went 1-3 with a double and two RBIs. Carolina’s next victim was Furman, and USC swept the Paladins by scores of 8-0 and 7-0. Matthews turned in a one-hitter with nine strikeouts to earn the win in the opener. Baggetta had another big performance, going 3-4 with two RBIs, while Kim Evans went 2-4 with three runs -- Samantha Jennings also hit a two-run home run in the victo ry. Pitchers Stacey Johnson and Aleca Johnson combined for 10 strikeouts in the second game to shut out Furman. First inning singles by Baggetta, Sandel, and Cornett brought in three runs for the Lady Gamecocks. Sandel also had a three-run double in the sixth inning, while Cornett singled in the final run for Carolina. The Lady Gamecocks then traveled to Mississippi State. Despite surrendering 10 hits in the first game, Carolina scored all its runs in the first imiing and held on for a 4-2 win. Troesh hit in Evans to open the scoring with two outs in the first inning and then scored on Sandel’s single. Following a walk to Cornett by Bulldog starter Kasey Whitehead, Baggetta drilled a two-run triple. Matthews (12-2) earned the win while staving off several Bulldog rallies. In the second game, the Johnsons stifled a late comeback attempt to lead USC to a 5-2 win. Danielle Quinones drove in the first run in the second inning, while Cornett and Baggetta each brought in runners in the third inning. Amber Curtis went 2-3 with a two run home run in the fifth inning. Stacey Johnson (6-3) encoun- { tered trouble in the seventh in ning but grabbed the win, while Aleca Johnson closed out the game for her second save. The Lady Gamecocks (21-8,4 2 SEC) also had a game Sunday afternoon, which they lost 11-10. On an intentional walk attempt, Stacey Johnson threw a wild pitch which resulted in bringing Kate Jaspers across the plate for the winning run. The two teams com bined for 24 hits and 21 runs off of 330 pitches in the game. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksportsCaihotmail.com