The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 22, 2002, Page 8, Image 8
3 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, March 22, 2002 GAME SCHEDULE
"111 'V \ | "X W I ^ C N BASEBALL vs. Florida, 7 p.m. Friday
■ mi II IfllWl WOMEN'S BASKETBALL vs. Drake in Raleigh, N.C. (NCAA),
CONTACT US I-J I I ' I 1 11:30 a.m. Saturday
I I I I \ I 1 SOFTBALL at LSU, 2 p.m. Saturday
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? | \ ^ll | k I BASEBALL vs. Florida, 4 p.m. Saturday
E-mailusatgamecocksports@hotmail.com ■ FVy MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Syracuse, Tuesday
NIT QUARTERFINALS
TICKET TO NEW YORK
GAMECOCKS WIN OVER
BALL STATE SETS UP
GAME WITH SYRACUSE
Ball St. 47
~£| USC 82
BY CHRIS FOY
THE GAMECOCK
The USC men’s basketball team
had the opportunity last night to
play in the NIT quarterfinals for
only the third time in its history.
The Gamecocks lost the first two
times, but the third time was the
charm against Ball State.
Carolina took no time in gain
ing control of the game and boast
ed a 48-12 halftime lead before
holding on to win 82-47 and ad
vance to the tournament semifi
nals in New York City. The
Gamecocks (21-14) have now won
four of their past five games.
After the game, USC head coach
Dave Odom credited his team’s ef
fort all season with the way they
played.
We beat an excellent basket
ball team tonight,” Odom said.
“The difference [in the past five
games] is in performance, not ef
fort. All year, our team has been
consistent in effort.”
Rolando Howell’s layup 14 sec
onds into the game started an of
fensive onslaught for the
Gamecocks. USC went up 7-0 be
fore Lonnie Jones hit a jump shot
to put the Cardinals on the board
7-2. The Gamecocks then went on a
41-10 run that put the game beyond
reach for Ball State.
The 12-point total in the first
half was the Cardinals’ lowest in
a half all season, and it was the
lowest total the Gamecocks have
held an opponent to all season.
Carolina shot 51 percent in the
first half, while Ball State shot a
dismal 18.5 percent.
The Cardinals saw a little more
success in the second half, outscor
ing USC 35-34, but it was too late.
With about five minutes to go
in the game, fans started a “We
want [John] Chappell” chant right
before Odom sent him and the rest
of the squad that hadn’t played
onto the court.
The Gamecocks had five players
score in double digits for the sec
ond straight game. Jamel Bradley
had 17, Chuck Eidson and Carlos
Highlights
♦The 36-point halftime lead
(48-12) was the largest of the
season for USC.
♦USC’s defense held Ball State
to their lowest first-half output
total of the season.
♦Carolina had five players in
double figures for the second
consecutive game. (Eidson,
Kitchings, Bradley, Petravicius,
Powell)
♦A total of 20,355 fans packed
the Frank McGuire Arena for
USC’s two NIT home victories.
♦The Gamecocks shot a
season-high 94.4 percent from
the free throw line, connecting
on 17 of 18 shots.
Upcoming NIT
Action
Friday, March 22
Villanova (19-12) atTemple
(17-14), 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 23
Tennessee Tech (27-6) at
Memphis (24-9), 2 p.m.
Powell each had 15, Marius
Petravicius scored 10 and Tony
Kitchings tallied 12. Kitchings also
nabbed eight rebounds in the game.
The Cardinals had two players
score in double digits. Forward
Theron Smith scored 12, while
Patrick Jackson picked up 11.
USC scored 24 of its points off
22 Ball State turnovers, and 27 of
Carolina’s points came from the
bench.
With the win, USC is now 9-7 all
time in the NIT. The Gamecocks
will face Syracuse on Tuesday
night in Madison Square Garden.
Senior guard Aaron Lucas re
joiced in the win but was already
looking ahead.
“We still understand what’s
ahead,” Lucas said. “We’re not go
ing to get complacent as far as this ,
one night is concerned.
“But, at the same time, we had an
other opportunity to show the fans
we could play well... and send this
historical arena out on a good note.”
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
-V
PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN
Carlos Powell helps cut down the net
after the Gamecocks defeated Ball
State to make it to the NIT semifinals.
PHOTO BY CANDI HAUGLUM
J Aaron Lucas had eight assists for USC.
PHOTO BY CANDI HAUGLUM
Above: Jamel Bradley celebrates the
Gamecocks’ blowout of Ball State in
the NIT quarterfinals Thursday night.
Bradley was one of five USC players
who scored in double digits for the
second consecutive game.
Right: USC men’s basketball head
coach Dave Odom addresses fans
after the game. Odom has brought the P*
Gamecocks to the NIT semifinals In
his first season at the helm.
PHOTO BY CANDI HAUGLUM ’ll
i
PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN
Cocky towels himself off after working the crowd during a
timeout. The mascot is currently starring in a commercial
on CBS for Anheuser-Busch.
Winner
Commercial
puts Cocky in
the Final Four
BY J. KEITH ALLEN
THE GAMECOCK
The USC men’s and
women’s basketball players
have been playing their hearts
drinking and driving.
Cocky shot the commercial
in Los Angeles earlier this year
and thought that the use of
mascots would be an effective
tool to reach college students.
Cocky stars alongside other
mascots such as the Maryland
Terrapin, the Michigan State
Spartan, the Penn State
Nittany Lion and even the
Clemson Tiger.
uui, trying iu au- „v . .. . i ne DC
vance to the YOU Want It tO Winner” commer
championship of happen SO bad, cial is not Cocky’s
their respective and everything first foray into the
tournaments. But , „ . acting world,
one Gamecock al- W3S SO ClOSe. But The jovial
ready has his it W3S Still 0-11.” Gamecock was
ticket punched all featured in an
the way to the ““VL™ ESPN
Final Four. SportsCenter spot
Cockv is star- in 1997. co-star
ring in a nationwide television
commercial as part of
Anheuser-Busch’s “Be A
Winner” program.
The spot airs throughout the
NCAA Tournament on CBS and
tries to promote responsibility
to student drinkers over 21.
Cocky said he was proud to
associate himself with the
brewer to encourage safe cele
brating and ward against
ring with, among others, Roger
Clemens, Evander Holyfield
and then-Senator Bill Bradley.
The commercial ended on a
sour note for the mascot, how
ever, after he was run over by
New England Patriots quar
terback Drew Bledsoe. The
commercial can still be viewed
on www.espn.com.
♦ COCKY, SEE PAGE 9
BASEBALL
No. 4 Gamecocks
smash Wofford
i M
W Wofford 6
0 USC 15
BY JAMES STARNES
THE GAMECOCK
All-American candidate Drew
Meyer led the USC baseball team
to a 15-6 drubbing of the Wofford
Terriers on Wednesday night at
Sarge Frye Field.
Meyer reached base and scored
on four of his five plate appear
ances, stole three bases and drove
in a run as No. 4 USC improved to
19-3 on the season.
Freshman southpaw Matt
Campbell, pitching two scoreless
innings and striking out five, reg
istered his first win of the season
for the Gamecocks. Carolina struck
quickly by scoring four runs in the
first inning, including a two-run
home run by junior third baseman
Brian Buscher. The Gamecocks
added two runs in the second and
one run in the third, and by the end
of the fifth, the score was 11-0.
Trey Dyson led off the fifth with
a monster home run clearing the
Palmetto trees just left of center
field and sailing into the night.
Through six innings, Wofford
(15-9) did net have a base hit de
spite having the bases loaded in
both the first and sixth innings.
Terriers right fielder Travis
Wilson finally got Wofford’s first
hit when he led off the top of the
seventh with a single. Six Wofford
players went on to reach base in
the inning, and third baseman
Matt Lein capped off the big in
ning with a three-run homer to
make the score 11-4.
Wofford was able to add two
more runs in the eighth and
threatened to make a comeback.
That notion was quickly forgotten,
however, as USC added four more
runs in its half of the inning to
make the score 15-6.
With one out, two men on, and
the Terriers looking to make it a
little too interesting in the eighth,
USC head coach Ray Tanner
brought in junior Chris Spigner.
Spigner walked the first batter he
faced to load the bases, but then
he struck out the next two to ex
tinguish the threat. Spigner then
pitched a perfect ninth and struck
out two more batters.
Every player that started for
Carolina got at least one hit, as
♦ BASEBALL, SEE PAGE 9