The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 28, 2005, Page 8, Image 8
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.
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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