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1fl THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, February 16, 2004 G 9 fTI 6 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL at Mississippi State, 8 p.m. Thursday ; BASEBALL vs. UNC-Wilmington, 3 p.m. Friday p . . MEN'S BASKETBALL at Arkansas, 3 p.m. Saturday UOn 19CL. SOFTBALL vs. Middle Tennessee State, 1 p.m. Saturday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? MEN’S TENNIS vs. Richmond, ll a.m. Saturday E-mail us at gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK in USC Invitational, Satin-day ' —. . Tournament will'showcase SEC strength Victimized by the tremendous success and tradition that SEC schools experience in football, basketball analysts everywhere seem to think the conference takes a back seat to the ACC and Big XII come basketball season. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, from top to bottom, the SEC is the strongest basketball con ference in the nation this season. Of course, Dick Vitale and others will scream “ACC this” and “ACC that.” Show me where it matters most — on the court. Just a quick glance in head-to-head matchups will show the dominance of the SEC this season. In fact, it is news when someone from the ACC beats someone from the SEC. USC is having no problems with the ACC this year, defeating the only two ACC teams it has played this season, N.C. State and Clemson. Georgia played Clemson and a Georgia Tech team that has been rated as high as No. 3. Georgia’s record against the ACC? You guessed it: 2-0. For good measure, Kentucky defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels as well. BEN SINCLAIR Florida lost to Maryland by one Fourth-year print but still defeated Florida State. journalism student Yes, the same Florida State that has defeated North Carolina, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech. Ole Miss was the only other team that bucked the trend, losing to Florida State by six. Another reason the SEC is the strongest basketball conference this year is the fact that the SEC should have just as many NCAA Tourney bids as any other conference when it is all said and done. Kentucky and Mississippi State would be in, even if they lost every game from here on out. USC and Florida should be in since both have been ranked for a good part of this season. The resume is impressive for Vanderbilt and LSU as well: Their combined record this season is 32 10. Assuming all the teams mentioned get into the NCAA Tournament, the SEC would have six teams in the Big Dance. While I have only mentioned the top six teams, Alabama and Ole Miss both have winning records and could play their way into the tournament. Even the last ' place team in the SEC East, Georgia, had an impressive win over Georgia Tech and a season sweep of Kentucky. Just look at the six best teams in other conferences. In the ACC, if aJeam were in sixth place, it would be nestled under Florida State and above North Carolina. Florida State will not even be watching the NCAA Selection Show. Despite a conference record below .500, Roy Williams will get the overrated Tar Heels to the tournament based on name recognition. In the Big XII, being in sixth place would put a team ahead of such powerhouses as Iowa State and Colorado. Sixth place in the Big East would sandwich a team be tween Seton Hall and a cream-puff West Virginia team. The point is clear. The next time you hear one of those big-shot announcers on ESPN talking about the best basketball conference, take a little pride in know ing the best-kept secret in America today. Clearly, from top to bottom, the SEC is the best basketball con ference this season. PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK First baseman and designated hitter Hank Parks hits the ball In action for USC last season. Parks did not play in the first game, but had two hits In three at-bats in the second game, scoring one run and five RBIs. He had one hit in three at-bats in the third game. Carolina makes Bucs walk the plank BY JONATHAN HILLYARD THE HAMECOCK The USC baseball team (3-0) start ed off its season with an impressive sweep of Charleston Southern (0-3) this weekend, winning three games by scores of 3-2,38-0 and 3-0. In an odd sequence of games, an ab solute hitting clinic was wedged be tween two well-pitched games. “In baseball you have a big run out put one day, and a lot of times it’s a struggle the next day,” USC head coach Ray Tanner said. “Coach Murphy’s got four or five pretty good arms over there, and the difference was that we were able to pitch as well.” USC-3 CSU-2 The first game of the series featured the aces of both pitching staffs as USC’s Aaron Rawl battled CSU’s R. J. Swindle in a clear pitcher’s duel. Rawl got off to a rough start, allowing CSU’s Jordan Haar to homer in the very first at-bat of the young season, giving CSU a 1-0 lead. Rawl would settle down, though, recording eight strikeouts in six in nings and allowing just one earned run on three hits. Offensively, USC was fairly quiet with the exception of shortstop Steven Tolleson, who went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, one on a two-run homer in the fourth inning, and two stolen bases. Tolleson matched a ca reer-high with three hits in the game. “I was lucky enough to be seeing the ball well today, and things just worked out,” Tolleson said. Reliever Billy Buckner would give up one run in relief of Rawl, but USC would hold on to win its season open er 3-2. Picking up the save in the game was junior Chad Blackwell with two strikeouts in the top of the ninth in ning. USC-38 CSU-0 After a five hour and 23 minute rain delay, the second game of the series was polar opposite from the first and third contests. The offense was abun dant for Carolina in the matchup, as it sent 30 batters to the plate in the first two innings and would end up win ning by a score of 38-0. The game set at least half a dozen school records, in cluding runs, doubles, hits, RBIs, to tal bases and margin of victory. Individually, the stats were also plentiful for the Gamecocks. Junior college transfer Brendan Winn hit for the cycle, and Steve Pearce and Kevin Melillo both had two-home run games. Also homering in the game was Michael Campbell and Hank Parks with a grand slam. Junior Jason Fletcher got his first win for USC, allowing just four hits in five innings. Completing the shutout was four other Gamecock pitchers who pitched for an inning each, recording 8 strikeouts for a game total of 17. USC-3 CSU-0 The series reverted to its origi nal form in the final game of the se ries yesterday, seeing another con test dominated by pitching. On the hill for Carolina was junior Zac McCamie, who pitched a solid sev- ' en innings with 10 strikeouts and only two allowed hits. McCamie did not allow a hit after the top of the third inning. Wielding the bats for Carolina were juniors Pearce, who went 3 for 3 with a solo home run, and Winn, who also went 3 for 3. USC’s other two runs came on walks in the eighth inning with the bases loaded for a final score of 3-0. USC will now turn its attention to a three-game series this weekend with UNC-Wilmington. First pitch on Friday is set for 3 p.m. at Sarge Frye Field. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu Gamecocks sink Commodores in SEC East contest BY STEPHEN DEMEDIS THE GAMECOCK' Thanks to a stingy defense and another packed-to capacity crowd, the No. 25 USC men’s basketball team (20-5,74 SEC) ended a two-game losing skid with an impressive win over Vanderbilt (15-6,4-6) by a score of 82-75. It was the second time this season the Gamecocks defeated the Commodores and the sixth win in seven games against their SEC East foe. Carolina posted three scorers in double figures, in cluding senior center Rolando Howell, who delivered his second consecutive double-double. The Columbia native led the team with 17 points and 12 rebounds. * Senior point guard Mike Boynton contributed 15 points of his own, all 3-pointers, despite fouling out with five minutes remaining in the game. He was also bothered by a infected spider bite and needed to be surgically treated. Freshman guard Tre Kelley came off the bench in place of Boynton and contributed a career high 16 of his own. Defensively, Howell held SEC Player of the Year candidate Matt Freije to 16 points, three points below his season average. Six of his 16 points came from the free throw line. In the last meeting between the two teams, the senior forward scorched the Gamecocks for 26 points. Vanderbilt’s offense was further stymied by a vari ation of presses by the Carolina defense. With 15 min utes remaining in the second half, the Gamecocks cre ated turnover after turnover and held Vanderbilt to four points in a five-minute time span, allowing then lead to grow as high as 21 points. Vanderbilt came out hot in the first half and hit a three to take an early lead. They then shut down the USC offense and ran their own offense unchallenged. Vandy jumped to a 5-0 lead. Carolina called a timeout, and USC head coach Dave Odom gathered his team. Boynton brought his team back and knocked down two unanswered threes. Carolina took a one-point lead and did not relinquish the lead from that point on. Carolina came out with a new starting lineup, which included freshman forward Brandon Wallace in place of the team’s leading scorer, junior forward Carlos Powell. Forward Tarence Kinsey also returned to the starting rotation in place of freshmen stand out, forward Renaldo Balkman. “I am very pleased about the way our team re sponded,” Odom said. “We made some changes in the starting lineup and for good reasons, ones I am not going to go into tonight.” Late in the second half, with Boynton drawing his fifth foul, the senior captain left the floor to a standing ovation from the crowd but only after gathering his teammates at the foul line for one last huddle. Boynton then continued to coach his team from the bench. The win could not have come at a better time for Carolina. After dropping consecutive games to Kentucky and Mississippi State, the win over Vanderbilt puts the team back on track. “This past week has been really tough,” Boynton said. “With our earlier success, the two losses wear on your mind. We had to stay focused, because with our week off coming up, we would hate to lose three in a row. This win put us back in the right direction.” This weekend’s win and Kentucky and Florida’s losses put the Gamecocks back into contention for first place in the SEC East. The Gamecocks’ next game is on Saturday on the road against Arkansas. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu PHOTO BY MARK SCHILLING/THE GAMECOCK Guard Tre Keiley scored a high of 16 points. I_ I PHOTO BY TRISHA SHADWELL/THE GAMECOCK Guard Kelly Morrone drives *^ll against Alabama. Tigers claw women’s basketball in latest SEC loss BY CHRISTOPHER JONES THE GAMECOCK Hopes for an SEC winning streak and a sweep of the state of Alabama for the USC women’s basketball team will have to wait until another time. The Auburn Tigers (20-5,8-3) ral lied from a four-point halftime deficit to win Sunday’s game against the Gamecocks 69-58 at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. USC (10-13,1 9), coming off its first SEC victory of the season Thursday against Alabama, was unable to stop the Tigers’ second-half rally. The Tigers opened the second half with a 10-2 run to take a 44-40 lead six minutes into the second half. USC responded with a run of its own, regaining the lef d before a 15-4 Auburn run put the game out of reach for the Gamecocks. Guard Kelly Morrone’s strong performance from behind the arc, 6 of-6 on 3-point shots, was not enough to overcome 16 Gamecock turnovers and solid performances by three Auburn players. Natasha Brackett led No. 14 Auburn with 20 points on 8-15 shoot ing. She was aided in her victory by teammates Le’Coe Willingham with 17 points and Nicole Louden with 11 assists. “It was a really big game,” Willingham said. “We knew that they came off a big win against Alabama, and they were going to come in here and play us very ag gressive and very hard. Auburn shot 50 percent for the game and outscored the Gamecocks in the second half 37-22. The Tigers outrebounded the Gamecocks 32-28, and posted more steals, 11-9, and blocks, 8-5. Despite being down early, the Gamecocks rallied back to take a 36 32 halftime lead behind Morrone’s 15 first-half points. However, they were unable to maintain the mo mentum gained at the end of the first half, and Auburn pulled away in the final minutes. Guard Cristina Ciocan added 12 points, bringing her to within 20 points of the 1,000-point career mark. Morrone’s 18 points contributed to her chase for 1,000 points as well, as she now sits 58 points from the plateau. The loss added another chapter to the Gamecocks’ struggles in games played at Auburn, where USC has a record of 3-9. The Tiger win also adds to their lead, 15-9, in the overall se ries between the two SEC schools. The Gamecocks’ NCAA Tournament hopes now rest on stringing together a miraculous run to the SEC tournament crown and the automatic bid it carries. The Tigers, meanwhile, are very close to clinching an at-large berth in the tournament and continue to main tain their position as one of the top teams in the SEC. USC’s next game will be Thursday in Starkville, Miss., against Mississippi State. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksp6rts@gwm.sc.edu ?'■