Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

si*)' THE GAMECOCK * Monday, January 13,2003 11 ”|—v “|—v rri GAME SCHEDULE PrAATTAPHn TTQ u wm B I W ' I ' ’ MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Auburn, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday UU1N lrxLi I UkJ B—^ I B B—< fl MEN'S TENNIS at SEC Indoor Championships, Thursday-Sunday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? ' I \ / I I I k I E-mailusatgamecocksports@hotmail.com JL V^/ \_L fVV WOMEN S TRACK at Virgmia Tech, Thursday-Fnday Basketball teams start SEC play Men’s basketball team wins SEC opener against Ole Miss, but road woes continue # BY BRAD SENKIW THE (JAMECOCK The South Carolina men’s bas ketball team struggled once again on the road at Kentucky’s Rupp Arena on Saturday night. USC re r mains winless on the road this sea son after a late game rally came up short and the Gamecocks fell 62-55. Carolina was led by Kerbreli Brown’s PoweM 19 points, 17 of them during the second half. Carlos Powell and Chuck Eidson chipped in 17 and ^ 11, respectively. Kentucky shook off a slow start and shot 48 percent from the field. USC once again struggled offensively, shooting only 38 per cent and going to the free-throw line four times. USC had no interior defense, as Erik Daniels led Kentucky with 19 points on a 9-for-12 shoot ing performance. Marquis Estill added 12 points and five rebounds for the Wildcats. “Daniels was the difference in the game,” USC head coach Dave Odom said. “He was much more effective in and around the bas ket. He finished 9-for-12 (from the field). That’s pretty efficient, I’d say.” ut><j trailed oy ta at naittime .and by as much as 21 during the second half. Carolina rallied late in the game, but couldn’t rid it self of cold shooting. The Gamecocks were 6-for-28 from the three-point line. “We were too passive on of fense,” Powell said. “We were set tling for passing the ball around the perimeter instead of pene trating their defense.” South Carolina looks to get back on track Wednesday at the Carolina Center against the Auburn Tigers. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8 vs. Ole Miss South Carolina came out cold against Ole Miss in the beginning ^ of the first half, when it scored four points during the first 17 minutes. The Gamecocks fought back dur ing the second half, when Powell scored 13 of his 15 points to lead the Gamecocks to a 55-49 win. It was the first SEC game of the year for Carolina, and the team has remained unbeaten at home. USC used a strong defense and 11 points from Tony Kitchings in his first game back after he suf fered a hand injury early in the season. Jan. 2 vs. The Citadel The Gamecocks took care of The Citadel, winning 66-50, with ^ Powell leading the way with 20 Mi ^-IW SBj FILE PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN/THE GAMECOCK USC center Tony Kltchings, left, pictured during a game last year, returned from a hand injury and forward Rolando Howell, right, suffered blunt head trauma against Ole Miss. points. Michael Boynton added a career-high 14 points, as Carolina cruised late after a shaky start. USC’s defense held the Bulldogs to only seven field goals during the second half. Dec. 22 vs. Colo. State South Carolina blew an early lead on the road in Fort Collins, Colo., where it lost to the Rams 81-67. Rolando Howell led the Gamecocks with 21 points and eight boards, and Powell chipped in 14, as the Gamecocks dropped their fourth game out of their last five. Colorado State hit 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to stay unbeaten at home. Dec. 19 vs. Wyoming Carolina never found its rhythm on the road in Laramie, Wyo„ against the Cowboys, as the Gamecocks lost 77-63. Brown had 14 points and Eidson scored 13, but it wasn’t enough for South Carolina to get its first road win. Marc Bailey led Wyoming with 19 points, 12 of those during the first half. Dec. 16 vs. Wofford South Carolina avoided a scare to take control late against the Wofford Terriers for a 70-59 win. Howell and Powell scored 16 points apiece, and Eidson grabbed a career-high 12 re bounds. Wofford led by four early in the second half, but a 13-0 run by the Gamecocks put USC on top for good. It was Carolina’s 19th straight victory over the Terriers. Dec. 8 vs. N.C. State The Gamecocks offense strug gled late once again as they lost to the surging Wolfpack 76-64 in Raleigh, N.C. Powell’s 19 points weren’t enough to stop the hot shooting of North Carolina State as it went on a 17-3 run in the sec ond half. The Wolfpack was led by Julius Hodge’s career-high 26 points as the team shot 59 percent in the second half. Brown added 15 points for the Gamecocks in the loss. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com Gamecocks drop close game to No. 11 Arkansas, but finish 7-2 over winter break BY MATT ROTHENBERG AND NICK YOUNG THE GAMECOCK After opening its SEC schedule on a high note, the 13th-ranked USC women’s basketball team quickly suffered its first lost in league play. The llth-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks got past Carolina on Sunday afternoon in Fayetteville, Ark., where they won 67-58. The victory was the 400th for Razorback head coach Gary Blair, and it was a great Morrone effort on the part of Arkansas to overtake the Gamecocks. USC began the game on a 7-2 run, but Razorback Dana Cherry brought the home team back into the thick of things. Arkansas (14-2,1-0 SEC) briefly held a one-point lead during the first half before Sarah Burgess’ 3 po inter that gave the Gamecocks the lead. Both teams traded bas kets, as the two went into the half tied at 29. During the second half, Carolina and Arkansas remained neck and neck, but Kelly Morrone’s 3-pointer put the Gamecocks up 46-44. Down 59-55 with less than two minutes to play, USC committed several fouls under its basket to allow the Razorbacks to extend their advan tage. Cherry and Ruby Vaden each scored 14 points to lead the Razorbacks, while Jocelyn Penn scored 19 points and grabbed 13 re bounds for USC (13-2,1-1). Koretha Johnson added 15 points for Carolina in the defeat, and Petra Ujhelyi contributed five assists. The Gamecocks will continue their play on the road as they trav el to Nashville, Tenn., for a Thursday-night showdown with the Vanderbilt Commodores. Jan. 9 vs. Miss. State The Gamecocks faced off. against the Lady Bulldogs of Mississippi State in a match that pitted the SEC’s two top scorers in USC’s Penn and MSU’s LaToya Thomas. USC won its third straight SEC opener 83-79. Throughout the game, the Lady Bulldogs led by double digits, but USC charged back when Penn re turned to the game late in the sec ond half after having picked up several fouls. Carolina was down 14 points at halftime, but battled back to shoot 65.5 percent in the second half. With 53 seconds left, USC’s Burgess made a brilliant assist to Johnson for the game-winning lay-up. Five Gamecocks, led by Penn and Ujhelyi, scored in double fig ures in the win. FILE PHOTO BY CANDI HAUGLUM/THE GAMECOCK. Gamecock senior forward Jocelyn Penn set a school record with 51 points against the Stetson Hatters. Against S.C. State, Penn broke the USC record for most steals In a career. Jan. 4 vs. Stetson This might go down as one of the biggest nights in Penn’s ca reer; the Carolina senior scored a school-record 51 points in a 101-39 victory over Stetson. The 51 points also tied an SEC record and made Penn the nation’s scoring leader with 28.2 points per game. Penn became the first player to score 50-plus points in a game since Jackie Stiles in 2000. Following the game, Penn was named SEC Player of the Week, her second such honor this season. Burgess added 11 points and four steals in the Gamecock win. Dec. 31 vs. S.C. State Penn stole the show and a record as the Gamecocks beat the South Carolina State Bulldogs 85 42 on New Year’s Eve. Penn recorded four steals to go along with her 19 points, and broke Rita Johnson’s 20-year-old record of 298 career steals. Morrone and Ujhelyi had season highs in points with 18 apiece. USC began with a 28-8 run and led 39-13 at halftime. Dec. 29 vs. Alcorn State Penn became only the fourth woman in USC history to score more than 1,500 points, grab 500 rebounds and have more than 200 steals after a put-back gave her 1,501 career points in a 96-52 win against Alcorn State. Five Gamecocks scored in double fig ures, with Penn’s 28 points lead ing the way. Dec. 27 vs. Temple USC helped lengthen Temple’s four-game losing streak, downing the Owls 57-39. During the game, Penn continued her assault on the record books, as she scored 16 points to move past her sister, Annie Lester, on USC’s all-time scoring list. Four USC players scored in double digits, as the team shot 42 percent from the field. Dec. 20 vs. No. Carolina The Gamecocks met the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Myrtle Beach ACC-SEC Beach Ball Classic. Four starters fouled out ♦ BASKETBALL, SEE PAGE 12 Strong leaves Gamecocks for SEC rival Gators by matt rothenberg the CAMECOCK USC football head coach Lou Holtz had to fill more holes, other than those left by the graduated seniors, on his team this winter. It is not uncommon for college football programs to lose members of their coaching staffs, and the Gamecocks are no exception. When defensive coordinator •Charlie Strong took a similar po sition with Florida shortly after Cosh Christmas, Holtz found his replacement in just a matter of days. Linebackers coach Chris Cosh was elevated to the co ordinator position and will take the reins of a group with plenty of young talent. Strong’s departure to the Gamecocks’ SEC rival didn’t leave a bad taste in the mouth of Holtz, who encouraged Strong to go if the position with the Gators frould be a positive career move. “I have the utmost respect for Charlie, both as a coach and as a person. I really hate for Charlie to leave,” Holtz said, “it’s like losing a member of your family. He’s done so much for me and the South Carolina program. Charlie said that he felt that this was in his best interests professionally, and I hope he made the right deci sion.” Cosh will begin his fifth season at USC and praised his predeces sor, whose plans Cosh wants to im prove on. “Charlie Strong did an out standing job with the defense here, and I want to continue that im provement,” Cosh said. “We have some outstanding young defensive players in this program, and we plan on playing fundamentally sound and aggressive defense that takes advantage of the skills that our players have.” To fill Strong’s other role as de fensive line coach, Holtz tabbed Jerome “ Jappy” Oliver for the job. Oliver spent the past eight seasons at the Aii* Force Academy under the legendary Fisher DeBerry. The newcomer says he is thrilled to be a part of Holtz’s staff at Carolina and will help Cosh with the young and upcoming de fensive line. “Excitement is the word that best describes how I feel about joining the South Carolina pro gram,” Oliver said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to work for someone like coach Lou Holtz, who is a legend in the coaching profes sion. The South Carolina program presents a tremendous opportuni ty and I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and going to work.” The spot Holtz has yet to fill is that of Joker Phillips, who coached USC’s receivers for a sea son before he moved back to Kentucky, his alma mater. Phillips will be the Wildcats’ re ceivers coach and recruiting co ordinator. Gamecocks Honored SEC coaches and the media rec ognized several USC football play ers over !the winter. Moe Thompson, Lance Laury and Nashan Goddard were named Freshman All-America by the Sporting News. That trio, along with Troy Williamson, was select ed to the SEC All-Freshman Team. The conference’s coaches picked senior nose guard Langston Moore as second-team All-SEC. Moore and junior offen sive tackle Travelle Wharton were named first-team All-SEC by the Sporting News, as well. USC’s All-Star Seniors Some graduating Gamecocks will extend their season by a game after being selected to the post season all-star games. This past weekend, fullback Andrew Pinnock played in the East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco. Pinnock rushed for 1,803 yards and scored 27 touchdowns during his time atUSC. Fellow seniors Corey Jenkins, Cedric Williams, Rashad Faison and Dennis Quinn will play in the ♦ FOOTBALL, SEE PAGE l2 FILE PHOTO BY CANDI HAUGLUM/THE GAMECOCK Charlie Strong, right, has left USC to take over as defensive coordinator at Florida. He was replaced by linebackers coach Chris Cosh.