The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 29, 2002, Page 7, Image 7
^ THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, March 29,2002 7
PTT-1 £sj game schedule
f'nMT'Af’T TTQ I 3 I \ I y ' I ' BASEBALL vs. No. 13 Alabama, 7 p.m. Friday
VjUIN L1\\j 1 UO | ■ ■ | ^ | WOMEN’S TENNIS at Auburn, 2 p.m. Friday
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I 1 / I I Ik# MEN’S TENNIS vs. Auburn, 2:30 p.m. Friday
E-mailusatgamecocksports@hotmail.com —I— B B Fn—/ SOFTBALL at Tennessee, 4 p.m. Tuesday
FALLING SHORT
GAMECOCKS CANT OVERCOME TIGERS’ LEAD
Ijjps Memphis 72
JPK.
0 use 62
BY RICK FREEMAN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK - Earl Barron
scored a career-high 25 points and
tournament MVP Dajuan Wagner
had 16 as Memphis won the NIT
with a 72-62 victory over South
Carolina on Thursday night.
Wagher, Memphis’ star fresh
man and a possible lottery pick in
the NBA draft, may have played
his last college game.
Tigers coach John Calipari
thinks Wagner could be one of the
first 13 players taken if he leaves
this year and one of the first three
players taken if he leaves next
year.
The blue-and-white-clad con
tingent of Memphis fans stood and
chanted "One more year! One
more year!” when Wagner was
taken out of the game with 47.3
seconds left.
For Calipari, the champi
onship accomplished something
he wanted to get out of the way at
this time last season. The Tigers
lost in the NIT semifinals last
year, and Calipari was hoping
they would make the NCAA tour
nament this year. But the Tigers
lost five of their last seven, in
cluding a first-round loss to
Houston in the Conference USA
tournament.
uanpari saia earner mis weea
he felt snubbed by the NCAA tour
nament. Before Tuesday’s semifi
nals, he said advancing would be
"validation.”
First-year South Carolina
coach Dave Odom was bidding for
his second NIT title in three years.
He won the tournament with
Wake Forest in 2000.
Rolando Howell had 20 points
and 15 rebounds for the
Gamecocks, who shot just 8-of-18
from the free-throw line.
The Gamecocks (22-15) stayed
close in the first half, but didn’t
score in the second until Aaron
Lucas sank a free throw with 15:50
to play.
Lucas scored South Carolina’s
first field goal of the half with 13:25
left. But by then, Memphis (27-9)
was running away with it.
Barron, who played last sum
mer in China for the United States
in the World University Games,
was perfect in the first half. He
tied his season best by halftime
with 19 points on 9-of-9 shooting.
He also made the only free throw
he took.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN/THE GAMECOCK
Dave Odom, who became USC head coach from Wake Forest, saw his first season with the Gamecocks end without his team
making the NCAA Tournament. But the Gamecocks made a strong showing in the National Invitational Tournament and made It
to the final before losing to Memphis.
A long and
winding season
The Gamecocks have seen many
highsand lows during their first
season under head coach Dave
Odom. A look at the Gamecocks’
year:
Nov. 19: Chaminade 74-61W
Nov. 20: Duke 56-81 L
NOv. 21: UCLA 77-89 L
Nov. 26: ETSU 83-66 W
Nov. 28: at Wofford 64-49 W
Dec. 1: Colorado St. 66-58 W
Dec. 3: Providence 67-48 W
Dec. 6: Georgetown 70-68 L
Dec. 8: at Clemson 81-57 W
Dec. 18: S.C. State 69-50 W
Dec. 20: The Citadel 73-57 W
Dec. 28: Charleston So. 86-41 W
Dec. 30: Mercer 88-52 W
Jan. 5: at Florida 69-60 L
Jan. 12: Kentucky 51-50 L
-Jan. 16: at Arkansas 62-60 W
Jan. 19: Vanderbilt 51-60 L
Jan. 23: at Tennessee 94-60 W
Jan. 26: at Ole Miss 53-71 L
Jan. 30: Georgia 80-67 W
Feb. 2: at Kentucky 74-91 L
Feb. 5: Florida 63-72 L
Feb. 9: Tennessee 72-54 W
Feb. 13: Alabama 51-52 L
Feb. 16: at Vanderbilt 66-43 W
Feb. 20: Louisiana St. 66-53 W
Feb. 23: at Auburn 46-50 L
Feb. 27: at Georgia 75-82 L(OT)
March 2: Mississippi St. 57-64 L
btu lournameni
March 7: Ole Miss 69-67 W
March 8: Kentucky 70-57 W
March 9: Alabama 57-65 L
NIT Tournament
March 13: at Virginia 74-67 W
March 19: UNLV 75-65 W
March 21: Ball State 82-47 W
March 26: Syracuse 66-59 W
Thursday: NIT Championship:
Memphis 72, USC62
Box Score
SOUTH CAROLINA (22-15)
Eidson 0-7 0-0 0, R.Howell 10-18
0-3 20, Kitchings 4-13 1-29,
Bradley 3-10 1-2 8, Lucas 3-10 4-7
11, Powell 1-5 2-4 5, PetraviciusO
0 0-0 0, Boynton 1-5 0-0 3, Warren
0-0 0-0 0, Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Land 0
0 0-0 0,1.Howell 2-2 0-0 6, Konare
0-0 0-0 0, Chappell 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 24-70 8-18 62.
MEMPHIS (27-9)
Massie 2-2 2-4 6, McFadgon 1-6 4
4 7, Diarra 1-1 0-0 2, Burks 0-7 4-4
4, Wagner 6-112-3 16, Barron 11
14 3-3 25, Rice 1-2 0-0 2, Wise 5
12 0-0 10, Roots 0-0 0-0 0, Erwin
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-55 15-18 72.
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Opening Day: the
other April 1 holiday
i_^ jmmmv_j
J. KEITH ALLEN
GAMECOCKSPORTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Major League Baseball
is about to begin again.
It’s the most wonderful time of
the year. The curtain rises on
the 2002 Major League Baseball
season Sunday night when the
Anaheim Angels take the field
against the Cleveland Indians.
It seems like only yesterday
when Luis Gonzalez’s single won
the World Series for the Arizona
Diamondbacks, but the “Boys of
Summer” are back at work
again. Commissioner Bud Selig
has promised to play nice and not
interrupt the season with a
lockout, and the four or five
teams with a realistic shot at
winning the Series have re-tooled
for the upcoming campaign.
Opening Day is a holiday of
sorts, (well, this year it is—it’s
called Easter) when all the stands
are packed, the ballparks are
shining with fresh paint, and even
the Expos are tied for first place.
After Sunday’s lone game, most
teams will get down to business on
Monday afternoon. Across the
country, meetings will be canceled,
strategies will be devised, and lies
will be told—all to join the rest of
the hooky-playing nation of
baseball fans soaking up the
beauty of Opening Day.
Opening Day is like running
down the stairs on Christmas
morning to find the stack of
presents under the tree - you
can’t wait to tear them open to see
what’s inside. You’ll invariably
come across the presents that you
asked for (the Yankees), some
♦ ALLEN, SEE PAGE 8
The Citadel upsets No. 4 USC
Citadel 5
BY STEVE SHULER
THE GAMECOCK
Going into Charleston on
Wednesday night for a matchup
against The Citadel, the fourth
ranked USC baseball team was
counting on little more than a
tuneup for its upcoming series
against No. 13 Alabama.
However, The Citadel had oth
er ideas.
Bulldogs shortstop David
Griffin hit a bases-loaded double,
and pitcher Paul Williams al
lowed only one run in 7 1/3 in
nings, as The Citadel defeated
Carolina 5-1.
The Bulldogs (13-11) started the
scoring in the second inning,
when second baseman Jon
Aughey was brought home on a
single by left fielder Josh
Stackley.
PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN/THE GAMECOCK
USC catcher Landon Powell runs toward second base during a win earlier this season over East
Tennessee State. The Gamecocks fell to The Citadel on Wednesday.
The Citadel threatened again
in the third, loading the bases
with one out. However,
Gamecocks reliever Aaron Rawl
struck out Matt Dean and
Aughey to end the inning.
Carolina (21-5) was silenced
early and often by Williams’ bril
G
liant pitching. Williams allowed
only three hits through the first
seven innings.
The Bulldogs took a significant
lead in the sixth inning. Aughey
struck out swinging but ad
vanced to first on a wild pitch. He
then took second and third on an
error by USC third baseman
Brian Buscher. Dean also
reached first on the play and later
stole second.
Catcher Will Coker then sin
gled to score Aughey.
♦BASEBALL, SEE PAGE 8