The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 21, 2003, Image 7
GAME SCHEDULE
POMTAPT TN BASEBALL vs. Duquesne, 3 p.m. Friday
LCW i 1 U O MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK at USC Invitational, Saturday
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? MEN’S BASKETBALL at Georgia, 2 p.m. Saturday
E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Auburn, 3 p.m. Sunday
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Gamecocks extend streak
PHOTO BY MARK BISSET/THE GAMECOCK
Tony Kltchings takes a free throw during the Gamecocks’ win over
Tennessee. Kltchings led USC with 21 points and eight rebounds.
I I
Tennessee co
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BY NICK YOUNG
THE GAMECOCK
Coming into a rematch with
red-hot Tennessee, the USC
men’s basketball team had one
goal in mind: contain UT su
perstar Ron Slay.
And at the game’s most im
portant stage, they achieved
that goal and won the game 77
63.
Tennessee was coming in on
a seven-game winning streak,
its longest in two years.
Carolina came in on a streak of
its own, winning three in a
row, two of which were SEC
match-ups.
Carolina (11-11, 4-7 SEC)
started the game off with a 9-0
run opened by a Kerbrell
Brown 3-pointer and capped by
Rolando Howell’s dunk.
Tennessee (15-7,7-4) then an
swered with a run of its own as
it went on a 12-3 streak, with
four of the Volunteers’ points
scored by C. J. Watson.
“I think our early start was a
key,” Carolina coach Dave
Odom said. “You teach your
team that you get off on a lead
like that, and though you want
to try and keep the lead, reali
ty tells you that they’re going
to come back and the water’s
going to level out.
“You have to guard against
deflation when that happens,
and I felt that we did a really
good job of that.”
After nine minutes of play,
Slay finally scored his first bas
□ ket of the night
on an easy
layup.
Near the end
of the half,
when
Tennessee was
leading 27-26,
_ „ Carlos Powell
Powell ,
and Tony
Kitchings de
cided to take matters into their
own hands. Powell hit two 3
pointers and Kitchings added
four points to end the half with
a 10-1 run and gave USC the
lead at 36-28.
“It was a hard-fought first
half,” Odom said. “I thought a
key was at the end of the half,
when we were up 31-27, and
then we took it up to eight
points at the half.”
Things continued the
Gamecocks’ way in the second
half, as they opened with a 16
3 surge. Kitchings, who also
had eight rebounds, led the run
with seven points.
Kitchings, an Aiken native,
played a big role in putting the
game away; he scored 21
points for the Gamecocks. A
little more than four minutes
into the second half, he
blocked an attempted Slay
layup. Five seconds later, he
did it again as Slay tried to
dunk the ball. Moments later,
a frustrated Slay received a
technical foul after arguing a
call with the referee.
Many factors played a large
role in the containment of
Slay, but the main factor was
Howell.
“Rolando Howell drew the
majority of the charges on try
ing to contain him. I don’t
think anyone ever stops him,”
Odom said. “I think Ro would
be the first to tell you that he
had a lot of help from his
friends tonight,°but Ro did the
bulk of the work.”
One of those friends was
Kitchings, who played weak
side defense and often would
rotate to help whoever was
guarding Slay.
Slay finished the game 10
for-24 from the floor and scored
23 points. Sixteen of them came
after South Carolina went
ahead 52-31 with 14:35 remain
ing in the game.
Carlos Powell and Chris
Warren scored 17 and 14
points, respectively, for the
Gamecocks.
Carolina’s next game is on
the road against Georgia in
Athens on Saturday. Tip-off is
at 2 p.m.
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Baseball
needs to
regulate
drug use
SHAWN ROURK
GAMECOCKSPORTS@HOTMAIL.COM
League should get a clue
after pitcher’s death.
It is apparent that the days of
athletes eating raw eggs and malt
ed milkshakes to beef up or eating
salads and fruit to lose weight are
over.
Monday morning, Baltimore
Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died
of complications because of a heat
stroke he suffered during spring
training in Florida. His death, al
though tragic, should bring about
many changes in Major League
Baseball’s drug policy. It seems
that intervention in this case, like
many other cases in this country,
will have to come after someone
loses his life.
Although toxicology reports
won’t officially be released for a
few wee'ks, medical examiners
said they think Bechler was tak
ing the drug Xenadrine, an over
the-counter weight-loss supple
ment that contains ephedrine.
Ephedrine speeds of the heart
rate and makes the body unable to
cool itself. It has been banned by
several organizations such as the
NFL, NCAA and the International
Olympic Committee. So the ques
tion is, why isn’t It banned in
MLB?
Don’t you think the MLB would
have gotten a clue from the other
leagues? After the NFL and the
NCAA lost players because of
ephedrine use, one would think
that someone in baseball would go:
“Hmmm, maybe we should ban
this substance.”
The Major League Baseball
Players Association, however, has .
been steadfast against any drug
testing for such drugs as ephedrine.
In an interview with Baseball
America magazine about drug use
in the league, union head Donald
Fehr said the players association
needs to see what it needs to do
concerning random testing of
players and whether or not it is
needed.
Not needed? It’s obvious that it
is needed. How many more people
have to drop dead before they’ll get
the point that random drug test
ing is needed?
The average salary for a baseball
player is close to $1 million. I think
that for that much money, many
people would be happy to urinate
in a cup. It doesn’t seem like that
big of a deal, really, when the kid
down the street has to do the same
thing and he works at McDonald’s.
The point is, players are grown
men and should be able to make
these decisions for themselves.
But because they cannot, the
league should put programs in
place that would clean up the
game and protect its players from
themselves.
Frankly, I think the league
should hit the players over the
head with a rolled up newspaper
and say, “No.” Then, they should
rub the players’ noses in the drugs
like they are training a dog. Maybe
then they would get the point.
Rourk is a first-year print
journalism student.
* Odom pleased with USC’s
success, but not satisfied
BY BRAD SENKIW
THE GAMECOCK
A week and a half ago, the USC
men’s basketball team seemed to
be at its lowest point in years.
The team had lost seven straight
games going into the Vanderbilt
game, and a 14-point thrashing of
a streaking Tennessee team was
not on their minds.
Fortunately for the
m, Gamecocks, they got just that on
Wednesday night.
Carolina has won its last four
games by an average of 12.5
points per game over Vanderbilt,
Clemson, Arkansas and the Vols.
USC head coach Dave Odom
was happy with the team’s per
formance, but thinks improve
ment is still needed to keep the
winning streak going.
“I’m very, very pleased we
beat a good team tonight,” Odom
said. “I thought we did it with
style and class. Three wins is not
something ‘SportsCenter’ is go
ing to focus on. But our team is
playing better. I’ll be the first to
tell you that. I don’t think it’s
anything to be amazed at.”
Odom expects the Gamecocks
|rto play even better against
• Georgia on Saturday and says
practice and time have gotten the
team together.
“I think it was in us all along. It
was just a matter of getting
everybody together. We’re doing
what we are supposed to be doing
right now. We are not doing any
thing exceptional,” Odom said.
The goal now for Odom is to
show his players what they did
right and what they need to work
on.
- “You want to keep them moti
vated,” he said. “You want them
to know that you’re pleased, but
there is a huge difference be
tween being pleased and satis
fied. I certainly am not satisfied.
We didn’t finish the game like we
really wanted to.”
Much of Carolina’s improve
ment over the last few games can
be credited to Chris Warren’s
performances coming off of an in
jury. After returning with a slow
start against Kentucky and LSU,
Warren has scored in double fig
ures during the four-game win
ning streak, averaging 16.3 points
per game during that span.
“I’m just playing every game
like it’s my last,” Warren said.
“It’s my last year, and I’ve got
nothing to hold back. It’s been
working out for me.”
Warren also thinks winning
has become easier because of
team play.
“We are just moving the ball
better, sharing the ball. We don’t
care who scores or how many
points guys are scoring. We just
care that the Gamecocks are win
ning at the end of the 40 min
utes,” Warren said.
Tony Kitchings is another se
nior that has picked up his play
as well. In the last three home
games, Kitchings has scored 48
points, including 21 points
against Tennessee.
Carlos Powell broke out of a
mid-season shooting slump
against the Vols, going 7-for-15
and scoring 17 points, including
two big 3-pointers.
Carolina has had four players
scoring in double figures in three
out of the last four contests. USC
has done this by focusing less on
the 3-pointer and putting the ball
in the hands of their post players.
After what looked to be a ter
rible season, the Gamecocks are
slowly turning it around. With
two tough games coming up
against Georgia and one each
against Florida and Vanderbilt,
USC knows what it needs to do to
keep the winning going.
“We take them one game at a
time,” senior guard Chuck
Eidson said.
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SPORTS CHALLENGE
THE CHALLENGE: Matt Brad Jill Johnny Shawn David
The Gamecock’s readers and Rothenberg Senkiw Martin Haynes Rourk Anderson
staff test their sports knowledge Sports Asst. Sports Editor in Photo Page Reader of
with predictions of the Editor Editor Chief Editor Designer the Week
weekend’s games. (Rankings (33-17) (34-16) (33-17) (33-17) (31-19) (35-15)
are from the Associated Press.)
3 Texas at 16 Oklahoma State Texas Texas Texas Okla. St. Texas Okla. St
6 Kansas at 5 Oklahoma Kansas Kansas Kansas Kansas Kansas Kansas
14 Xavier at 25 Dayton Xavier Xavier Xavier Xavier_Xavier Xavier
Fresno State at 17 Creighton Creighton Creighton Creighton Creighton Creighton Creighton
Mo.-K.C. at Oral Roberts_ORU ORU UMKC ORU UMKC ORU_
19 Miss. St. at 2 Kentucky Kentucky_Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky
•Alabama at TennesseeTennessee ^Tennessee_Alabama Tennessee Alabama Tennessee
Auburn at Ole Miss_ Ole Miss Auburn _Auburn Auburn Auburn Auburn
Florida State at Clemson Clemson Clemson FSU FSU FSU_Clemson
USC at 22Georgia Georgia Georgia use USC USC Georgia
73-64 69-63 68-65 76-75 72-64 75-67
lam WEEK’S WINNER: Corey Garriott (6-4) - Garriott, editor of The Mix, barely escaped with the win this week,
pulling the tiebreaker over Reader of the Week Heather Simmons, who also finished 6-4. Simmons lost because
she predicted USC to win by three points, while Garriott said the Gamecocks would win by five points.
Matt Rothenberg was denied victory, after all, and he finished in a four-way tie for third place with Brad Senkiw, Jill
Martin and Page Designer Staci Jordan. The Reader of the Week has now pushed ahead for the overall lead.
WANT TO BE READER OF THE WEEK? E-mail your selections next week to gamecocksports@hotmail.com. If
you'te picked and have the best record, you’ll win a’free Gamecock T-shirt and be able to talk all the trash you want.
Harris lifts Carolina
over the Bulldogs
BY SHAWN ROURK
THE UAMECOCK
Justin Harris’ 4-for-5 perfor
mance lifted 12th-ranked South
Carolina over the struggling
Citadel Bulldogs on Wednesday
at Joe Riley Park in Charleston.
Harris hit a two-run homer
that started a four-run third in
ning, after Kevin Melillo drew
his only walk of the game to lead
off the inning. Two RBI doubles
by Nick Gardiner and Bryan
Triplett gave the Gamecocks a
comfortable lead for the re
mainder of the game.
USC (5-1) added two more
rims in the top of the fifth inning
when Hank Parks hit a single to
center field and batted in
Landon Powell and Trey
McDaniel to put USC up 6-3. The
Gamecocks added one more in
the sixth to give them a 7-3 lead.
The Citadel (0-3) added two
more runs in the seventh and
eighth innings off reliever
Steven Bondurant, but it was
not enough to overtake USC.
Aaron Rawl pitched six
strong innings to hold off the
Bulldogs and gain his second
win of the season. He had a sea
son-high 10 strikeouts and only
one of the two walks allowed by
USC. Sophomore Matt Campbell
recorded five strikeouts and got
his first save of the season. All
three Carolina pitchers com
bined for 18 strikeouts in the
game, which ties the school
record.
The Gamecock’s hitting has
been warm in the past few
games. They had 30 hits in the
two games of the Berkeley Co-op
Shootout this past weekend and
racked up 14 in their win against
The Citadel. Powell went 3-for-4
with a walk, while Gardiner
went 2-for-4 and picked up his
fifth RBI of the season. Harris
also'upped his season total for
RBIs to seven.
Going into the game, Melillo
was riding a .500 batting aver
age in the past two games.
However, he went Q-4 against the
Bulldogs and dropped his season
average to .471.
Next, the Gamecocks will
play host to Duquesne in a three
game home stand that starts
Friday.
This will be the season opener
for the Dukes, who went 26-23
last year including a 10-10 per
formance in the Atlantic 10
Conference. Duquesne will look
to ride the back of Pete Maropis,
who was recently named by
Baseball America Magazine to
the All-Atlantic 10 team. The 6
foot-l-inch junior led the team
in almost every offensive cate
gory last season. Maropis fin
ished last season with a .361 bat
ting average, 11 home runs and
46 RBIs.
USC will start Friday with
left-handed pitcher David
Marchbanks on the mound. In
his last outing against Old
Dominion, he went seven in
nings to record his second win
of the season and lowered his
ERA to 1.88. The Gamecocks will
start freshman Conor Lalor for
the first time this season on
Saturday, and Campbell, who
has a 5.79 ERA, will get his sec
ond start on Sunday.
First pitch on Friday is sched
uled for 3p.m.
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Gamecocks to take on Auburn
BY TRAVIS BOLAND
THE GAMECOCK
The USC women’s basketball
team will continue its quest for a
first-round bye in the SEC tourna
ment when it takes on the Auburn
Tigers Sunday at the Carolina
Center.
Carolina (18-6,6-5 SEC) enters
the game coming off a big win over
the Arkansas Razorbacks. But
right behind the Gamecocks in the
standings, the Tigers (17-7,5-6) en
ter the game coming off a near-up
set of third-ranked Tennessee, los
ing 59-56 to the Lady Volunteers.
Leading the way for the Tigers
this season is sophomore guard
Natasha Brackett, who leads the
team with 16 points per game.
Junior forward LeCoe Willingham
leads the team in rebounds with
6.5 per game.
Carolina comes into the game
fighting for one of the top four
spots in the SEC. The Gamecocks
are led by Jocelyn Penn, who is
tops on the team in points per
game. Penn was announced to be
one of 20 finalists for the Naismith
College Player of the Year Award.
The Gamecocks will also rely
on Cristina Ciocan, who is second
on the team in points and leads the
team in assists with 193. Petra
Ujhelyi, who will go for another
double-double to add to her SEC
leading 10 so far this season.
Tip-off is set for-3 p.m., a
change from the original sched
ule to accommodate the IFMA
Freestyle Motocross event at the
Carolina Center earlier in the
weekend.
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