Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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UK ends USC’s SEC title run BY JONATHAN HILLYARD THE HAMECUCK After racking up much needed wins against Arkansas and LSU, the USC men’s basketball team’s SEC title hopes came to an end on Sunday against heavily favored Kentucky, with the Wildcats win ning 78-63. The two wins and one loss improved Carolina’s SEC record to 10-9 and returned a little confidence to the Gamecocks heading into the NCAA Tournament. y USC-91 Arkansas-81 In second game of the SEC Tournament on Thursday, USC stopped a two-game skid by hold ing off a late run by the Arkansas Razorbacks to come away victori ous, 91-81. The Gamecocks domi nated the first half in all aspects of play, going into the break with a 39-18 lead. The USC defense showed the same tenacity that brought early season success, holding the Razorbacks to just 5 of-21 from the field in the first half. Guard Michael Boynton led the Gamecocks to a lead as large as 24 early in the second half, when the momentum shifted toward the side of Arkansas. Despite com mitting 24 fouls in the second half, the Razorbacks clawed back into the game, cutting the USC lead to eight points with just minutes to play. USC would seal the game with clutch shooting from the tree throw line, making 28-of-36 shots from the stripe in the second half. Standing tall for the Gamecocks was Boynton, who finished the game with a career-high 32 points. His point total was the highest by a USC player since B. J. McKie’s 37 in the 1998 SEC Tournament. Joining Boynton in double figures were teammates Josh Gonner with 18 points, Tarence Kinsey with 14 pts and Carlos Powell with 13 points. “I’m extremely proud of our team,” USC head coach Dave Odom said after Thursday’s game. “It was a clutch win for us, one that we needed badly.” LSU-64 USC-85 The hands of Boynton and the rest of the Gamecocks heated up even more in an 85-64 victory over the LSU Tigers on Friday after noon. Down by as many as 15 points in the first half, the Gamecocks went on a 16-3 run at the end of the first half to cut the LSU lead to one, 40-39. “We never got a handle on our game defensively in the first 10 minutes,” Odom said. “The key was that we were able to close it down to one by the half.” The second half was all Carolina, as the Gamecocks outscored the Tigers by a ratio of nearly 2-1. USC shot an uncon scious 64.3 percent in the second half and held LSU to just 32 per cent in a dominating performance. LSU’s leading scorer Antonio Hudson was held to just seven points in the second half, a stark contrast to the 18 he recorded in the first. After going 5-of-10 from 3-point land in the first half, the Tigers shot just 3-of-15 from be hind the arc in the second. Leading the way for USC once again was Boynton, who hit six 3 pointers to total 18 points in the contest. Gonner and Kinsey each added 14 points. Kentucky-78 USC-63 The rematch was set for Carolina and Kentucky, two teams that met just 10 days before. Trying to avenge a 19-point Senior Night loss, the Gamecocks matched the Wildcats shot for shot in the first half of Saturday’s semi final. Ten first half points from Gonner and a couple 3-pointers from Boynton kept USC close de spite the Wildcats shooting 53.1 percent from the field in the first half. After being down by nine, the Gamecocks cut Kentucky’s half time lead to six and had the mo mentum going into the locker room. USC would continue to keep the Wildcats in its sights for the first five minutes of the second half, but Kentucky’s star power would help it pull away from the underdogs. UK’s Gerald Fitch came off the bench to score 19 of his 24 points in the second half. Also, a problem for USC was the inside game of Kentucky. Forward Erik Daniels had a big game for the Wildcats, scoring 21 points and helping UK to a 38-24 advantage in the paint. Solid efforts by Gonner with 17 points and Powell with 12 points were not enough to bring the Gamecocks back as they fell to the Regular Season Eastern Division Champions. “The game doesn’t explain the pride I have in our team,” Odom said after the game. “I am very proud of our team and the way that we played.,r Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK Forward Renaldo Balkman takes a breather during USC’s blowout loss to Kentucky in the SEC tournament semifinals. Wildcats predictably scratch to top of SEC pile • • PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK Two Kentucky players pump up their teammates during the SEC Championship Game yesterday. Kentucky beat Florida and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. BY WES WOLFE TilK (IAMKCOCK The Kentucky Wildcats won their 25th SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament yesterday, dominat ing Florida, 89-73. The win gives Kentucky an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. “I am delighted to win the SEC Tournament,” UK head coach Tubby Smith said. “It is a great feeling to have. Right now our team is in a great place. Our guys came to Atlanta focused and ready to play. We beat three really good teams. In my mind, Florida will definitely continue playing in the next week.” Kentucky got the game going early with a 3-pointer from guard Gerald Fitch, while a very UK friendly crowd delighted in razz ing Florida forward Matt Walsh. The crowd booed Walsh through out the game and chanted “over rated” when he stepped to the line for two free throws during the first half. Walsh hit a last-second 3 pointer to cut the Kentucky lead to 12 at the half and ended the game with a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes of play. The Wildcats took control of the game in the first five minutes, jumping out to a 13-point lead. Before seven minutes were up, UK guard Kelenna Azubuike had dou ble-digits in scoring. Fitch and guard Chuck Hayes joined Azubuike in double figures before the first half was over, with the three players contributing 40 of Kentucky’s 49 first half points. Florida had a chance to make a game out of it early, cutting the Wildcat lead to three, 22-19. However, UK subsequently went on a 9-0 run to build a lead that the team held onto for the duration of the half. The Gators, who actually shot better than Kentucky in the first half, 54.2 percent from the field compared to 45.7 percent from the field, were still down by 12 at the break. The UK lead was partially because of excellent free throw shooting, as the Wildcats hit 12-of 13 shots from the line in the first half of play. The second half was an aqti climatic addendum to the first, with Florida never mounting a serious challenge to a Kentucky team that was simply unstop pable during the conference tour nament. “I am very disappointed in the loss, but I am proud of the effort of our kids,” Florida head coach Billy Donovan said. “We fell be hind early in the first half, I think 11-2. We fought back, but we could never overcome the hole we dug. Our guys gave us all they had.” UF actually played closer with Kentucky in the second half, only being outpaced by six points in stead of the dozen from the first half. The Wildcats were able to still solidly beat the Gators in the second half by way of converting high-percentage shots. As in the game with USC in the semifinals, Kentucky found a way to get the ball in low and score, beating Florida 38-16 in the paint. “Kentucky played a great game,” Florida forward Adrian Moss said. “Chuck Hayes and Erik Daniels played well inside. Hayes is not your typical big man. He is a much smaller big man.” Daniels ended the game with eight points, four rebounds and three assists while Hayes had a game-high 23 points, eight re bounds and a game-high eight as sists. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu 'Energy, Boynton drive Carolina BY WES WOLFE TIIK flAMKOOOK The USC men’s basketball team proved it was able to play with the best in the conference in the SEC Tournament last week, but couldn’t advance past the semifinals when Carolina (23-10,10-9 SEC) dropped its match with Kentucky. Still, team captain Mike Boynton and several newcomers stepped up and played admirably in the tourney. All season, USC head coach Dave Odom harped on what a leader Boynton is and has been. The senior guard definitely gave a total effort for Carolina in Atlanta, proving Odom right on why he speaks so \ highly of Boynton and why Boynton, who was named to the SEC All Tournament team, is the first per son to speak at the postgame press conferences, when the head coach usually has the first word. The opening round game against Arkansas showcased what had been lacking in the final weeks of the reg ular season, which was energy. Carolina came out and served notice to the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee that it deserved to be in the tournament, at one point build ing a 25-point leaqt over the Razorbacks. Boynton, whose effort in the en tire tournament was MVP-worthy, put up a ridiculous 32 points. One could say that the Gamecocks expelled so much ener gy that they needed a little recharg ing before the quarterfinal matchup with LSU. For the first part of the first half, the driving force that had propelled Carolina against Arkansas seemed lacking. LSU took toted advantage of USC’s early mediocre shooting and ball handling, putting together a 15-point lead whde being nearly unstoppable on offense. “In the first half we played as if we were trying to figure out how they were going to play,” Boynton said. “We weren’t aggressive enough in the beginning.”' The team, showing a maturity that cannot be easy for such a young team to muster, put together a run at the end of the first half that placed USC in a position to win in the sec ond. Odom said in the postgame press conference that he felt the need to change up the defense against Hudson and did so, taking guard Tarence Kinsey off and putting Boynton on. Boynton put the kibosh on Hudson in the second half, limit ing him to only two more field goals. Boynton was unconscious from the other end of the floor as well, putting up six 3-pointers in his sec ond 39-minute effort, showing ex cellent stamina. In the second half, the floodgates opened and Carolina was able to put away the Tigers. The energy and good defense that served USC so well in the LSU game didn’t happen against Kentucky. The Wildcats stuck it to Carolina, and there seemed to be nothing Boynton nor any of the Gamecocks could do to stop the UK juggernaut. In deference to Boynton, though, playing two consecutive, 39-minute, high-scoring games is taxing on a body, although Boynton wasn’t mak ing excuses. “I wasn’t as fresh as I was Thursday, quite frankly,” Boynton said. “I played 39 minutes every game, so I was out there pretty much the whole time. And that does kind of wear on you, but that didn’t cost us the game. I’m not going to use that as an excuse as to why I didn’t play well.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecpcksports@gwm.sc.edu Fanfare fun for all SEC Tournament showcases basketball-related activities BY JONATHAN HILLYARD ,Tllk liAMKClICK Whether a Bulldog or Gamecock, Wildcat or Gator, everyone was given a chance to enjoy last week at the Southeastern Conference’s SEC Fanfare in Atlanta. Located in the Georgia World Congress Center, just steps away from the Georgia Dome, the Fanfare provided an opportunity for fans of all ages to enjoy the SEC Championship experience. With activities that range from nailing a 3-pointer, to getting Charles Barkley’s autograph, to watching a youth basketball tournament, the Fanfare kept anxious fans busy during the tournament. “The event is great for the kids,” Rob Otiwanna from Hopkinsville, Ky., said. “I am glad the SEC is making an ef fort to get youngsters involved in the game.” Basketball hungry dads who couldn’t find a babysitter didn’t have to stay at home for last weekend’s festivities. The SEC has focused on a younger audi ence in the last few years and the SEC Fanfare is no excep tion. Basketball oriented sta tions such as the Dr Pepper 3 point shot, the BC Powder buzzer beater and the Alltel Slam Dunk introduced many youngsters to the game of bas ketball and the Southeastern Conference. The event also fea tured a youth basketball tour nament on a full-size court in the center of the conference center. Of course, with the cor porate sponsors, the $6 admis sion and the SEC Store, the conference made plenty of money with the event. Moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas weren’t stuck shoot ing threes or trying to beat the buzzer. This year’s Fanfare had plenty for the adults, featuring the 2004 Chick-Fil-A legends. Names like Charles Barkley, Todd Day and Dale Ellis flood ed the Fanfare and fans of old flocked to the scene. Fans got to hear 6ne-on-one interviews with their favorite stars of the past in the Chick-Fil-A Press Box and still catch their fa vorite team’s game at the SEC TV Time Out Grill. The nearly full-fledged restaurant featured multiple TVs so the SEC faith ful wouldn’t have to miss a minute of the tournament ac tion. The Fanfare also played host to team pep rallies throughout the weekend. The Big Blue faithful of Kentucky flocked in great numbers to the event to enjoy the festivities and cheer on their beloved Wildcats. Fans of other teams found the Fanfare an alternative to sulk ing after a rough loss. Regardless of the colors you were wearing or the outcome of the games, the SEC provid ed quite a Fanfare of activities. Comments on this story?E mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu