The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 01, 2004, Page 8, Image 8
8 Game/Schedule
WOMEN’S TENNIS vs. UT-Chattanooga, 2:30 p.m.
MEN’S TENNIS vs. North Carolina, 2 p.m. Tuesday/
Pnntaot BASEBALL vs. Furman, 5 p.m. Wednesday
c»UI I la01. MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Kentucky, 8 p.m. Wednesday
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Georgia in
E-mail us at gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu the SEC Tournament, 6 p.m, Thursday
Howell out for season with injury
I
PHOTO BY DAVID STAGG/THE GAMECOCK
Center Rolando Howell is assisted as he
walks off the court after breaking his wrist.
BY JONATHAN HILLYARD
THE GAMECOCK
Rolando Howell’s USC basketball ca
reer came to an end Sunday after
Carolina’s team doctor said Howell’s
broken wrist will sideline him for the
season.
Howell injured his wrist during
Saturday’s 63-47 win over Georgia.
Howell has overcome adversity once this
season and was playing possibly the best
basketball of his career.
“It’s a tough experience, a learning
experience,” Howell said. “I have a pos
itive outlook on things and I’m going to
play basketball again.”
Howell began his senior seasion rid
ing out a 12-game suspension for some
off-season legal issues. However, Howell
ended up missing more time than ex
pected after fracturing his foot in prac
tice before ever setting foot on the floor
in a game.
“It’s probably been my toughest year
here, but at the same time you have to
overcome adversity and I’ve been
s. through a lot of adversity,” an emotion
ally-drained Howell said in front of sev
eral reporters yesterday. “Life is full of
challenges, and I have answered all my
challenges so far, and I can answer this
one as well.”
The senior center responded to his
early season adversity by returning
from his injury to average nine points
per game and 5.4 rebounds, numbers
that would have been much higher had
Howell been in the starting lineup all
season. He fought his way into the
starting lineup in the Mississippi State
game, a contest in which he scored 24
points and pulled down 11 rebounds
against All-SEC lock Lawrence
Roberts.
Howell remained a starter and sta
tistically outplayed players such as
Roberts, Vanderbilt’s Matt Freije and
Florida’s David Lee.
“I was just doing whatever I could to
help this team win, and I think I did
that,” Howell said. “I was getting com
fortable, and it’s just tough. But it’s
something I’ll have to deal with and just
move on.”
The Gamecocks will now proceed
through their second stint of the season
without Howell, and they feel that be
ing without him early may be a bless
ing in disguise.
“Its ironic how things work,” senior
point guard Mike Boynton said. “We
were lucky to have that experience ear
ly on. I think its something we will look
forward to, because now people will def
initely count us out. We can find a way
to get it done, or we can pack up the tent
and say ‘Rolando is out, it’s over.’ But I
don’t think we have any guys who are
willing to do that.”
In filling the void that Howell leaves,
USC head coach Dave Odom will look
for post players Carlos Powell, Kerbrell
Brown, Brandon Wallace and John
Chappell to step up their game a notch.
“It breaks my heart. It breaks my
heart for him, and it breaks my heart
for our team,” Odom said. “But at the
same time you just say there are still
some good things out there for our bas
ketball team. We aren’t even finished
with the regular season and we’ve got
two postseasons to play.”
Just in case emotions weren’t stirred
up enough by the injury, Howell and
four other seniors will be honored on
Wednesday night in what will be their
last regular season home game in a
Gamecock uniform.
Carolina will face none other than
the team Howell passed up to come to
Carolina, the Kentucky Wildcats, in
front of a sold-out emotional crowd in
the Carolina Center.
Howell was 30 points shy of joining
Carolina’s 1,000-point club.
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Baseball pulls solid weekend hat trick
BY TRAVIS BOLAND
THE GAMECOCK
The No. 7 USC baseball team
(9-0) continued to flex its early
season muscle in a round-robin
tournament this weekend, de
feating Duquesne, Radford and
George Mason. The Gamecocks
were forced to play a double
header on Saturday due to in
clement weather on Friday.
USC-20 Ouquesne-2
USC opened the tournament
against the Dukes of Duquesne hy
pounding out 15 hits and scoring
20 runs for the third time in seven
games. The leader of the
Gamecock attack was senior
catcher Landon Powell who was
2-of-5 while driving in four runs.
The big blast came in the bottom
of the eighth, with the Gamecocks
on top 13-2; Powell crushed a
three-run homer deep over the
left centerfield wall.
The Gamecocks batted around
three times in the game, both in
the first and second innings and
also in the eighth. They scored
five runs in each of the first two
innings.
Billy Buckner (2-0) pitched
five innings for the Gamecocks
allowing just one run on two hits
and striking out five. The
Carolina bullpen finished the
last four innings allowing just
one more run and two more hits.
In total, USC pitchers struck out
12 batters while only walking
two.
USC-11 RU-0
Game two featured more of the
same as the Gamecocks took
down the Highlanders of Radford
11-0 in seven innings.
Once again the USC bats were
very much awake as the first six
Gamecocks reached base. Junior
Steve Pearce delivered a three
run homer as the Gamecocks
jumped on top 5-0 in the bottom
of the first.
That would be all junior Aaron
Rawl (2-0) would need as he
pitched five scoreless innings,
giving up just three hits and strik
ing out five. Juniors Jason
Fletcher, Zac McCamie and Cliff
Donald kept the Highlander bats
quieted for the remaining two in
nings, allowing one hit and strik
ing out two.
Senior Bryan Triplett and
freshman Tommy King each had
solo home runs in the fourth in
ning as the Gamecocks pounded
out 11 hits over six innings.
USC-5 GMU-0
USC finished the weekend se
ries with a 5-0 win over the
George Mason Patriots. George
Mason entered the game unde
feated and gave the Gamecocks
fits over the first three innings.
Carolina’s bats were silent un
til the bottom of the fourth when
Powell singled; junior Brendan
Winn followed with a two-run
home run to put the Gamecocks
on top 2-0. Melillo followed with
a triple and scored on a King sin
gle to make the score 3-0. Winn
Junior Chad Blackwell struck out
two in the ninth to close the door
on the Patriots.
The Gamecocks next play host
to the Furman Paladins on
Wednesday at Sarge Frye Field.
First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
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also had an RBI single in the
eighth to give him three on the
day.
That was more than enough
for junior Matt Campbell (2-0),
who pitched eight innings of
scoreless baseball. He also struck
out eleven and didn’t walk a sin
gle batter. He struck out seven of
the first 10 batters he faced.
PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK
Matt Campbell Is greeted by his teammates after a strikeout.
Gamecocks leash Bulldogs in blowout
BY JONATHAN HILLYARD
THE GAMECOCK
Many experts might have pen
ciled the USC basketball team (21
7,8-6 SEC) into its NCAA tourna
ment bracket on Saturday night,
as the Gamecocks completed a
season sweep of the Georgia
Bulldogs (14-11, 6-8) with a 63-47
victory.
“It was a great win for the
Gamecocks," USC head coach
Dave Odom said. “We will get no
call from the NCAA committee,
so we will play on."
The win marked the third sea
son sweep of Georgia Since USC
joined the SEC in the 1992-93 sea
son. The win insured Carolina of
at least a .500 record in the SEC
and stopped a two-game losing
streak in front of a Colonial
Center crowd of 17,814.
USC shot a very impressive
53.5 percent from the field and
held Georgia without a field goal
in the last 10 minutes and 25 sec
onds of the game. Carolina’s de
fense returned to dominance,
holding Georgia to its third-low
est point total of the season. The
Gamecocks scored 22 points off
UGA tumovers-and gave up zero
points off turnovers.
“We covered for each other
very well," Odom said. “We
stopped letting them penetrate so
much, and that was really key for
us."
The Gamecocks did a superb
job in making Georgia go into its
very thin bench, as three of
Georgia’s top six players had
three fouls at the half. Georgia, a
team that relies on its starters,
was forced to test its depth, and
the Gamecocks took advantage,
forcing only Josh Gonner to play
30 minutes for USC. The Bulldogs
had two players in double figures,
with senior point guard Rashad
♦
Wright scoring 13 and freshman
Levi Stukes scoring 12. Wright
played 33-of-40 minutes while
Stukes was forced to play 37 min
utes.
Breaking out of a recent quiet
streak was USC guard Josh
Gonner, who scored a game high
22 points while picking up four
steals and three rebounds.
Adding an emotional and physi
cal spark for Carolina was fresh
man forward Renaldo Balkman,
who added 10 points and pulled
down seven rebounds in a very
timely performance.
The victory may not have
come without a great price, how
ever, as center Rolando Howell
went down early in the second
half with a wrist injury. Filling
in for Howell was fan favorite
John Chappell, who was put in
following the injury and fueled
the crowd with four points, three
rebounds and a block in nine
minutes. The junior academic
All-American from New Berlin,
Wise., left the court to chants of
“Chappell, Chappell, Chappell."
“How about John Chappell," a
grinning Odom said. “Who could
not be happy for John Chappell?
Who’s worked harder? Who de
serves more? Who’s played less?
Who’s gotten less credit? Who’s
come up bigger in a time we need
ed him most? I’m so pleased, and I
can tell you everybody in our
locker room is very happy for
him as well."
The night didn’t start out posi
tive for Carolina, as the Bulldogs
jumped off to a 5-0 start and held
USC to just two points in the first
five minutes of the game. The
turnaround started at the 7:40
mark in the first half when
Carolina went on a 7-0 scoring
run to tie the game at 24. The
teams battled for the rest of the
half, with Georgia holding the
one-point halftime advantage 31
30.
The second half was all
Gamecocks, as Carolina had runs
of 16-7 and 16-0 to create a com
fortable margin. Gonner provided
some highlights for Carolina with
three fast-break slams in five min
utes to get the crowd into a fren
zy. Gonner had 17 of his 22 in the
second half. A technical foul by
Georgia’s Jonas Hayes with 7:57
put the game securely in the
hands of Carolina, and timely foul
shooting sealed the deal down the
stretch.
The Gamecocks will once
again look for the “big one” on
Wednesday night as the red-hot
Kentucky Wildcats come to
Columbia. The game will start at
8 p.m. and will be televised by
Jefferson-Pilot Sports.
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’Noles knock out softball team in Leadoff Classic
BY STEPHEN COLLINS
THE GAMECOCK
Despite winning its pool and
amassing a 3-2 record in the
NFCA Leadoff Classic
Tournament, the No. 20 USC soft
ball team (11-2) was eliminated in
the semifinals Sunday by No. 11
Florida State (17-2).
The Seminoles’ Tatiana
George hit a walk-off home run in
the ninth inning to beat the
Gamecocks 3-1. Veronica
Whootson homered to left-center
in the first to put Florida State up
1-0. USC would tie the game in the
sixth when Chrissy Schoonmaker
singled then scored on an errant
throw by the Seminoles. Both
teams were held scoreless until
the ninth inning where All-ACC
selection George homered to
score Leslie Palmer and send the
Gamecocks home. Melanie
Henkes (3-1) took her first loss,
while Casey Hunter (8-0) of the
Seminoles got the win.
The Gamecocks began the
weekend with a tough loss to No.
16 Fresno State (8-4). USC was
shut out by Jamie Southern (4-1)
of the Bulldogs and held to only
three hits. Aleca Johnson fell to
3-1 but gave up only one run on
seven hits.
After the first-round loss to
Fresno State, which was also the
first loss of the Gamecocks’ sea
son, Carolina rebounded to beat
Princeton 6-0 on the strength of
Stacey Johnson’s one hit shutout.
With the win, USC head coach
Joyce Compton improved to 900
366-2 for her career in NCAA
Division I.
Against 18th-ranked Arizona
State (18-9), the Gamecocks scored
early and often and were able to
hold off a late rally, earning them
the 5-3 victory. Carolina won be
hind a strong performance from
Melanie Henkes and the big bat
of Meghan Cornett, who went 2
for-3 with three RBIs and a home
run.
In the quarterfinals of the Gold
Bracket, Carolina won its third
straight, upsetting th<^ No. 7
Michigan Wolverines (12-5) 2-1.
Freshman Chrissy Schoonmaker
drove in the winning run in the
eighth inning with a single to left.
Stacey Johnson allowed only one
run on six hits as she upped her
record to 5-0. As semifinalists in
the Leadoff Classic, the
Gamecocks posted a 3-2 tourna
ment record and will take on
Mississippi State in a double
header on Saturday in Starkville,
Miss., at noon.
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USC can
roll on
without
Rolando
Like many Gamecock fans, I
went into panic mode after
Rolando Howell went down with a
broken wrist in the second half of
the Gamecocks’ victory over the
Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. As
any Gamecock basketball fan
knows, the
team cannot af
ford to lose the
only “true” cen
ter it has — or
can it?
While
Rolando Howell
has made some
tremendous
SINCLAIR contributions to
Fourth-year the USC basket
journalism ^11 team the
student Gamecocks like- ,
ly will play bet
ter without him.
rails may nave iorgouen me
Gamecocks started out the sea
son without the services of
Rolando Howell. Without
Howell, the Gamecocks raced out
to an 11-1 start and had the most
impressive victory on their
NCAA tournament resume — a
win against N.C. State.
The Gamecocks are a young
team, rich in talent and lacking
only in experience. Players like
Tre Kelley and Renaldo Balkman
have really stepped up their con
ference play.
The absence of Howell makes
it easier to get these young play
' ers more experience playing to
gether. It also allows talented
youngsters like Brandon Wallace
and Tarence Kinsey more min
utes and opportunities to con
tribute.
In fact, early in the season, the
biggest problem may have been
implementing Rolando Howell
into a lineup that was already
playing well without him.
While Howell led the team in
rebounds, he was simply incon
sistent in other areas. With
Howell, you are always unsure if
you will get the guy who single
handedly lit up Mississippi State
or the one who could not score
against Arkansas.
Despite being one of just two se
niors on the team, Howell is
fourth in scoring average on the a
team. There are three players that
are within one field goal of his
scoring average per game. With
the minutes Howell was getting,
these three players will pick up
the scoring slack for the
Gamecocks.
While impressive scoring out
bursts against Alabama and
Mississippi State were encour
aging, the fact is that Howell re
ally has not contributed overall
this year any more than several
other players currently riding
USC’s bench.
The Gamecocks have always
played great defense, with or
without Howell. In fact, many
fans seem to enjoy the full-court
press the Gamecocks have used
almost to perfection this season.
Whether Kerbrell Brown,
Tarence Kinsey or Brandon
Wallace get a majority of Howell’s
minutes, the press should be more
effective considering that all of
these players are quicker than
Rolando Howell.
Do not get me wrong. USC will
certainly miss Rolando Howell.
Despite injuries and suspensions,
Howell has been one of the best
Gamecock basketball players for
the past four years. Howell pro
vided the Gamecocks with re
bounding and a legitimate pres
ence inside.
The one tnrng Howell brings to
the table that most Gamecocks
lack is experience and senior lead
ership. Howell can still provide
these things to the Gamecock bas
ketball team without playing a
single minute.
This Wednesday against
Kentucky, I will cheer as loud as
anyone when Rolando Howell is
announced on Senior Night. The
contributions of Rolando and Ivan
Howell, Mike Boynton, and
Kerbrell Brown cannot and
should not be overlooked.
The time was near for the
Gamecock basketball team to be
gin life without Rolando Howell
anyway. If Just came a few game s
earlier than expected.