University of South Carolina Libraries
GAME SCHEDULE pa(r_ O MEN’S TENNIS vs. ECU, 10 a.m. Saturday ° MEN’S BASKETBALL at Florida, 1 p.m. Saturday Friday, January 28, 2005 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL at Kentucky, 2 p.m. Sunday Triple threat awaits USC in Gainesville ■ Carolina defense must contain Walsh, Roberson, Lee to win By MIQUELJACOBS STAFF WRITER In four attempts, the USC men’s basketball team has come up short in its upset bids, losing to Kansas, Pittsburgh, Kentucky and Mississippi State by a combined 20 points. The Gamecocks (11-6, 3-3 SEC) will travel to Gainesville on Saturday to try to gain that marquee road win going into the middle of the conference season. 1 he Gators have defeated every Dave Odom-coached USC team. Under coach Billy Donovan, who registered his 80th SEC victory with a win over Georgia on Tuesday night, Florida rides a 12-4 overall record and sits second in the SEC East at 4-1. With the Gamecocks seeking their First road win this season, the Gators will look to nome-court advantage as a Dig factor in the game. Florida has won the past six games at the O’Connell Center against USC, and is 20-8 all-time against the Gamecocks. “Florida is a team that has given us trouble since I have been the coach at South Carolina,” Odom said. “We have never beat them since I have been at South Carolina, so we have that mental hurdle as well as the hurdle of playing at Florida.” The entire Gator Nation suffered a deep loss last December when starter Matt Walsh injured his left ankle. Walsh, a preseason All-SEC player, was given a four-to-six-week window of return, leaving the burden on Anthony Roberson and David Lee, also All-SEC players. The Gators’ next four games featured two starting freshman and a loss to rival Florida State. “It’s always a catch-22 when you play and start freshmen,” Donovan said. “We start two of them. It is an up and-down roller-coaster ride with them because every experience they have is a new one.” Fortunately for the Gators, Walsh’s recovery came quickly as the four games were the only ones he missed before being cleared to play again with last week’s overtime loss to Tennessee. While he has still not returned to his role as a starter, he has contributed 20-phis minutes in each of the last two games to regain the triple-threat attack of Walsh, Lee and Roberson. However, Donovan said he hopes that his team does not rely on its stars to try to defeat the Gamecocks as Carolina has controlled the playmakers of every team that it has played this season. “We need other guys to step up and not defer because Walsh is back or Roberson is in,” Donovan said. “We have to be balanced. I don’t want it to be, ‘Well Matt’s back, so he’s now that guy.’ Guys have got to make plays, try and create (opportunities) and be aggressive. It must be done collectively as a unit.” The Carolina defense has indeed made an impact on opposing teams and is a big reason why many believe an upset victory is possible. Kansas’ Wayne Simien, Kentucky’s Kelenna Azubuike and Mississippi State’s Lawrence Roberts each had problems with Carolina’s defense before eventually breaking through the post players. Florida’s Lee is one of the most • physical players the Gamecocks will see this season, and Carlos Powell will need help from the other post players to contain him. i The Gamecocks shot better than 50 percent from the field in six consecutive games before cooling off against Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. Shot selection will be essential as the Gators - have difficulty overcoming a team that can match them shooting, going 0-3 in games in which opponents shoot above 50 percent. The key matchup will be Tarence Kinsey against Roberson. Kinsey has displayed great court awareness in recent games, tying for a team high in points against Vanderbilt. Roberson, an honorable mention All-American, is third in the conference, shooting 18.4 points per game witn a o 14 percentage. The mark is fourth in the conference, surpassed by league leader Powell’s .574 percent. USC needs this victory to improve its postseason resume while approaching the halfway mark of the season. After Saturday, games against ranked Kentucky and Alabama as well as a return game against the Gators stand as the only marquee opponents left on the Gamecocks’ schedule. Tip-off for Saturday’s game in Gainesville is 1 p.m. and will be broadcast by JP Sports on WIS-TV. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu f “We have never beat them since I have been at South Carolina, so we have that mental hurdle as well as the hurdle of playing at Florida.” DAVE ODOM use BASKETBALL COACH min mil iii _-----_ _-, -_- - -JE-----—•—-—*■--....,.— in——— PHIL SANDLIN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS lorida’s Matt Walsh tries to get to the basket with Tennessees Andre Patterson blocking his route in the rst half Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2005. Walsh was supposed to be out four to six weeks with an injury. Lineup changes keep players on toes ■ Odom continues to scramble starters, keep bench fresh By ALEX RILEY STAFF WRITER The bench is not where most players want to be. The bench is a sign of not having your best effort. The bench equals second-rate. The bench signals a lack being able to hang with starters. But not at USC. Carolina has relied heavily this season on a bench that runs deep with starting talent, and it was never more apparent than on Wednesday against the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Gamecocks overcame the Commodores, 68-63. Coach Dave Odom rearranged his starting lineup for the third time in as many games, this time inserting Renaldo Balkman into the starting five for the first time this season. Balkman, a member of the All-SEC Freshmen Team last year, was having a lackluster performance so far this season, averaging 6.3 points per game this season, down from his 7.1 average last year. Odom cited Balkman’s lack of spirit during the team’s practice time as the reason he hadn’t called on Balkman to start this season. Apparently, Balkman stepped up his effort, and it paid off. Odom awarded the sophomore his first start of the season, and it paid dividends. Balkman paced the Gamecock scoring attack, pouring in 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds. He also came up in the clutch grabbing a missed Gamecock shot and putting back to pull the Gamecocks within five at 46-51. On the ensuing possession, Balkman canned his only 3-ball of the game making the score 49-51. Those five points, along with six rebounds and one block, helped cap a 16-0 run that gave Carolina a lead it would not give up the rest of the game. “It wasn’t that new to me,” Balkman said. “I just came out to play ball.” While Balkman earned his start, former starter Josh Gonner found himself on the bench again after not scoring as a starter against Mississippi State. The story of the year has been Gonner off the bench. When he gets a start, the Texas native can’t seem to find the net, but off the bench he has almost assuredly hit double digits. His first game from the bench was against the No. 10 Pittsburgh Panthers, where Gonner had 15 points on 5-of 10 shooting. Those numbers got even better against Wofford as Gonner had a team-high 20 points off the bench, while he added another 13 off the bench against Kentucky.’ His most recent home date against Tennessee found him scoring 16 points off the berch, giving him double digits in every game he had to come off the bench for except LSU. Gonner didn’t hit double digits against the Commodores, but his nine points didn’t go unnoticed. However, his biggest play might have been hitting the aforementioned Balkman at the top of the key for an assisted 3 pointer in that huge second half run. Gonner had a simple explanation for his shortcomings when a starter — ♦ Please see LINEUP, page 9 r mr 1 KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK Senior guard Josh Gonner has played well off the bench recently, but has struggled when coach Dave Odom plays him as a starter. Run propels Carolina past Vandy ■ Balkman, Kinsey lead squad on 16-0 stretch against Vandy By STEPHEN FASTENAU ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR USC coach Dave Odom gave Renaido Balkman his first start of the season Wednesday after noticing a difference in the forward’s play in practice. Balkman didn’t disappoint. The 6-foot-8-inch, 210-pound sophomore scored 15 points and was a key component of a 16-0 run in the second half as USC beat Vanderbilt, 68-63. “We forced the issue for the last few days, and (Balkman) responded,” Odom said. “So we gave him the call. I think that was important.” Balkman had a layup, a 3 pointer and a blocked shot in the run, which kept the Commodores scoreless for eight minutes. Tarence Kinsey also had 15 a points for the Gamecocks, helping improve USC to 3-3 in conference play heading into Saturday’s game at Florida. “It was my first chance to go out there and start this season,” Balkman said. “I just took advantage of it and went out there and played my game.” The Commodores led 51-40 with 13:00 remaining in the second half. John Chappell hit one of two free throws and Carlos Powell followed with a 3-pointer to pull USC within seven at 51-44. Balkman’s layup and 3-pointer cut the lead to two at 51-49. A Brandon Wallace 3-pointer the next time down the floor gave the Gamecocks the lead for good with 8:15 remaining. Powell finished one point shy of a double-double with nine points and a season-high 11 rebcflinds. The senior was frustrated early by constant double- and triple teams in the post, and had only managed two points by halftime. “You just have to keep fighting,” Powell said. “You just have to do other things for the team. Second half I had to come out and lead by example.” Odom’s team found itself down 36-30 at the half, mainly because of a barrage of Vanderbilt 3-point attempts. The Commodores were 8 of-21 from behind the arc in the “You just have to keep fighting. You just have to do other things for the team. Second half I had to come out and lead by example.” CARLOS POWELL USC FORWARD first half compared to 3-of-6 for the Gamecocks. Commodore guard Alex Gordon came off the bench to can 4-of-6 3-point attempts in the half. Forward Corey Smith took m Vanderbilt’s first three shots. All were beyond the 3-point arc, and all three were good. Vanderbilt got off to a quick start with an 8-0 run that gave the Commodores an 11-5 lead. The margin grew to as many as 8 in the first half with a Shane Foster 3 pointer with less than a minute remaining. The Gamecock’s lead shrunk to two at 62-60 with 1:50 remaining in the second half. USC had pushed its lead to 7 at 62-55 with 3:04 remaining. Balkman sealed the Win with the save of a missed Wallace free throw that led to an easy Powell layup to give USC a 64-60 lead with less than a minute to go. The win pushed USC’s Colonial Center to 10-1 and was the Gamecocks’ sixth straight home win since a heartbreaking loss to Clemson on Dec. 4. The Gamecocks hit the road again Saturday, where they are winless this season. Comments on this stoiy? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edit Comeback could lead to season’s turnaround Depth could send team soaring into postseason after up-and-down start | The clock reads 13 minutes to play. A quiet crowd haunted the Colonial Center as a hot shooting Vanderbilt had just taken an 11-point lead. The Gamecocks were literally falling off the ledge that was their NCAA Tournament hopes. Losses at ranked □ teams is one thing, losses to mediocre ones at home is not acceptable to the selection committee. The team’s leading scorer, Carlos Powell, JUINMI MAIN was having hillyard z:,";;:: SECOND-YEAR of the season" ELECTRONIC scoring only two | s™ rr ,finrth: hrst hair. Coach Dave Odom had endured missed layups, errant passes into the front row and watched the Commodores shoot three pointers like they were at point blank range. So this was it, right? This was the straw that would break the camel’s back. After losing to Vandy we could all book our reservations for the NIT, correct? XT.. ... A.:_I T_ . T Corso style, back came the Gamecocks, cutting the lead to seven, five, two. All of a sudden Vandy was on an eight minute scoring drought and USC had the lead. Led by Renaldo Balkman and Tarence Kinsey USC scored an absolutely vital victory. A victory that/ just may have turned their season around. For the first time in a while, Powell struggled and the rest of the team was able to pick up the slack. Carolina got some contribution from just about everyone whether it was John Chappell crashing the boards during the 16-0 run USC went on or Brandon Wallace hitting a crucial three pointer during the same run. Even Rocky Trice did his part, hitting two key free throws late in ♦ Pl&se see HILLYARD, page 9 CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK Sophomore forward Renaldo Balkman .-drives to the basket in Wednesday’s viotory. ft