The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 16, 2005, Page 12, Image 12
□_3| I ) rI 1 GAME SCHEDULE
k I i WOMEN’S TENNIS at Clemson, 2:30 p.m. Wednesday
\ W L SOFTBALL vs. Tennessee, 4 p.m. Wednesday
V_X _ ^ BASEBALL vs. Arkansas, 7 p.m. Friday
Seniors refuse to let Gamecocks lose
By JONATHAN HILLYARD
SPORTS EDITOR
Here we go again. Is this really
happening? Am I watching a
rerun?
These are all comments that
flew through the minds of USC
basketball fans everywhere as
Miami junior guard Robert Hite
drilled a 3-point shot with eight
seconds to play Tuesday night in
the Colonial Center, tying the
score at b/.
Just less than four game
minutes earlier, a similar feeling
set in after the Gamecocks fell
behind by 4, 60-64. After speed
demon Guillermo Diaz made a
fall-away 3-pointer.
Carolina could have easily
folded, called it a season and sent
the seniors out losing six of their
last seven games. Enter the
Gamecock seniors, who simply
weren’t going to let it happen.
Forward Carlos Powell, who
has been the team’s physical and
emotional leader, simply didn’t
Want it to end that way.
“I didn’t want this to be my last
game,” Powell said. “I played it
like it was my last. I was just out
there having fun the whole game.”
Powell and senior teammate
Josh Gonner entered the post
game news conrerence witn wnac
can only be described as playful
attitudes. Gonner, who gave
Powell a break from being the
team’s hero by hitting the game
winning shot with two seconds
left, said it was just his turn.
“I was gonna shoot it,” Gonner
said. “I saw Carlos doing jumping
jacks under the basket though.”
“I didn’t want this to
be my last game. I
played it like it was
my last. I was just
out there having fun
the whole game.”
CARLOS POWELL
use SENIOR FORWARD
“Yeah, he could have passed it,”
Powell said.
Gonner finished with 10
points, just one game after being
held scoreless by Ole Miss in the
SEC Tournament.
Powell continued his gaudy
scoring pace, scoring 18 points to
total 69 points in the last three
games.
When asked if he was saving his
best for last, he laughed and said,
“I don’t know when my last is, but
I hope it’s in Madison Square
Garden.”
Gonner shrugged off' the
notion of having any doubt in his
ability to win the game for his
team.
“I don’t have doubts. I could
miss a thousand shots, and I’ll still
shoot it.”
“A thousand and one,” Powell
The team has been in similar
situation’s all season long, having
lost seven games by 4 or less, four
of which came to NCAA
Tournament-bound teams.
“Losing close games made us
better prepared for games like
this,” Gonner said.
“This is what we call a new
season right here,” Powell said.
Powell and Gonner were not the
only upperclassmen who stepped
up for the Gamecocks. Junior
Rocky Trice hit a crucial 3-point
play with 26 seconds left that gave
USC its 3-point 67-64 lead.
Junior Tarence Kinsey also
played a big role, hitting critical 3
pointers and finishing with 11
points in 33 minutes.
Some wondered if the team
would be motivated to play in the
second-tier tournament.
We didn’t know if this was
gonna be our last game and
yesterday was gonna be our last
practice,” Powell said. “We’re
always motivated. I make sure of
that.”
Comments on this story? E-mail
gatnecocksports@gwm.se. edu
USC beats Miami in NIT
By STEPHEN FASTENAU
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Tarence Kinsey told USC
basketball coach Dave Odom at
halftime that Miami was quicker
in person than he’d seen on tape.
In the end, senior Josh Gonner
was faster.
The USC guard raced past the
Hurricane defense to score on a
driving layup with just two
seconds remaining to give the
Gamecocks a 69-67 win in the
opening round of the.National
Invitation tournament Tuesday
night.
Miami guard Robert Hite had
tied the game six seconds earlier
with a 3-pointer in front of the
Hurricanes’ bench.
“With them celebrating, I
knew I could take it down court
and either get a good pass or get a
good shot,” Gonner said.
With the game tied 64-64,
Hite missed on a 3-point attempt.
securea me reoouna, ana
Odom called a timeout with 1:05
remaining. Senior forward Carlos
Powell then missed a shot from
the post, but Rocky Trice was able
to race underneath and snatch the
offensive rebound.
Powell got the ball back in the
corner and was able to rifle a pass
to Trice under the basket. The
junior guard made the layup, was
fouled and converted the free
throw to set up the late drama.
“That was really some
basketball game,” Odom said. “It
was a game worthy of any
tournament, regular season,
conference tournament or any
postseason tournament.”
Gonner finished with 10
points, while Powell led USC with
18 points and seven rebounds.
Sophomore forward Brandon
Wallace turned in one of his
better games, taking advantage of
constant double-teams on Powell
to finish with 10 points and seven
rebounds.
The 6-foot-9-inch sophomore
also contributed with four blocks
on the defensive end.
USC guards spent most of their
40 minutes on the floor trying to
slow down the Hurricanes’ 3
point barrage. Miami lofted 27 3
point attempts with Hite draining
five.
The Gamecocks never
managed to pull away. Miami’s
48 percent shooting from
beyond the arc kept the USC
lead from at seven points at the
most.
Leading 36-33 at halftime,
USC got consecutive Powell and
Trice layups to stretch the lead to
43-36 three minutes into the
second half. Miami countered
with a layup and a 3-pointer from
guard Anthony Harris to pull
within 2, 43-41.
USC went cold late in the
second half not converting a field
goal for nearly eight minutes but
getting five free throws. Miami
held its largest lead at 64-60 with
3:50 remaining. Gonner followed
with two free throws, and a Powell
layup with 1:50 remaining broke
the drought and tied the game at
64.
The Hurricanes, coming off a
66-65 loss against Virginia in the
first round of the ACC
Tournament, were led by Hite's
23 points. All-ACC selection
Guillermo Diaz scored 21 points
and Harris added 14. No other
Hurricane player recorded more
than two points.
USC will advance to play the
winner of the Arizona State
UNLV game. While Odom said
he was unsure where his team
would play next, he said that if
Arizona State won, the game
would be played in the Colonial
Center, as ASU will play host to a
women’s NCAA Tournament
game.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu
Softball drops 2 against Vols
By MIQUELJACOBS
STAFF WRITER
Two days after claiming a series (2-1)
against No. 12 LSU, the USC softball
team (20-12, 5-3 SEC) returned to
Beckham Field on Tuesday for a
doubleheader against No. 4 Tennessee.
The result this time was almost perfect
pitching for the opposition, as the Lady
Vols dominated the Gamecocks, 9-1 and
12-0.
Improving to 31-4, Tennessee’s pitchers
gave up only two hits in both games
combined, allowing one run in 11 innings.
In game one, Tennessee sophomore
Monica Abbott hurled in a common
dominating performance, striking out 15
of 20 batters in the game. Abbott was one
inning away from a no-hitter before
Carolina sophomore Chrissy
Schoonmaker hit a solo home run in the
top of the sixth inning. The only other
player to reach a base was junior Ashley
Smith after being hit in the head by a
pitch in the second inning. She pever
advanced past the first bag, as the next
batter struck out. Abbott’s record
improved to 21-1 for the season, with
only four runs given up and 254
strikeouts in 136.2 innings pitched.
Opposing batters have accumulated a
.098 on-base percentage on the mound, a
sign that last season’s SEC Pitcher of the
Year is still dominating.
“This was one of the most dominating
performances I’ve seen her throw,” co
Tennessee coach Ralph Weekly said. “She
made one bad pitch to South Carolina,
and they made her pay.”
The game was already over by then.
The Lady Vols first scored on a single to
center field in the second inning and
never looked back. Picking up three
more runs in the third, the offense
showed off even more in the final inning,
turning in five runs in the top of the
sixth. With two outs and the bases
loaded, junior Kristi Durant hit a two
RBI single out to center to increase the
lead to 6-0. The very next batter, junior
Katherine Card, hit one over the right
field fence, driving in the remaining
three runs.
The Gamecocks’ starter was senior
Aleca Johnson, whose record dropped to
2-2 in her first start of the season.
The second game proved an even bigger
blowout than the first, as the Lady Vols
continued swinging the bat well with 12
runs on 11 hits. In contrast, the
Gamecocks managed only one hit on
freshman pitcher Megan Rhodes, who
recorded seven strikeouts in five innings.
The top of the second inning was
enough to do the Gamecocks in after a
homer to begin the inning put Carolina
behind. Four more runs, two batted in by
Durant, ensued on freshman pitcher Kate
Pouliot, who dropped to 5-4 on the
season. The Lady Vols did not quit there,
scoring two more in the fourth and five
runs in the fifth to finish the scoring.
Durant went 5-8 on the day, scoring
seven batters for Tennessee. Card also was
a strong force for the Lady Vols, going 4
8 with seven RBI and two home runs,
both in the final inning of each game.
“Card and Durant both had exceptional
♦ Please see SOFTBALL, page 13
One man’s
journey into
the heart of
the tourney
Listen, it’s time to be honest
here. It’s the week after spring
break, and I’ve had a rough
weekend. I’ve got nothing. All
jokes aside, I’ve got nothing. So I
did what any young man in need
of advice would do: I asked
Stephen Fastenau. “Fear not,
young Jake, for you can always
write about the NOVA
Tournament,” he said. Well, all
righty then.
The first
thing I
noticed about
the bracket is
that the odds
of Chicago
No. 1 seed
Illinois being
in the Final
Four are about
the same as
the odds of
finding me in
the Mary Kate
and Ashley
Olsen group
on Facebook:
very, very high. I hey are in a
pretty weak bracket with two
overrated teams, Oklahoma State
and Arizona, as their only real
competition. Plus Dee Brown is
single-handedly bringing back
knee-high socks for the first time
since Keith Van Horn did it in the
mid-’90s. I respect that.
The second thing I noticed is
that the odds of Albuquerque No.
1 seed Washington being in the
Final Four are about the same as
the odds of finding Best Buy
running uassinea aas in rue
Gamecock looking for Carolina
football players: very, very low.
Georgia Tech, Louisville, Gonzaga
and Wake Forest could all easily
beat Washington if they get the
chance. The only reason I want
them to stay is so I can hear Digger
Phelps say the phrase “U-DUB” a
few more times. He kills me.
In the Syracuse regional, all the
“experts” have already given
North Carolina a free ticket to the
Final Four. I like their chances,
but it won’t be that easy. With a
potential third-round matchup
with Florida and fourth-round
matchup with Connecticut or
Kansas very likely, the Tarholes
will have to play their best. I think
Florida can give them a great
game. Matt Walsh is finally
starting to heat up, and he is
dating a Playboy Bunny. I’m not
sure if this helps his cause or hurts
it. On one hand, I’m sure he
wants to win, but on the other
hand, how many other guys in
this tournament could say “Oh
well, we lost. I guess I’ll just go
out with my Playboy girlfriend
tonight instead of basketball”?
That is some serious anti
motivation.
In the ACC tournament,
North Carolina wasn’t exactly
flowing smoothly, but I know
one thing that was: Rashad
McCants’ poopie. (Did I just say
poopie? College journalism — I
love it!). McCants was suffering
from an “intestinal disorder” and
was struggling to regain his ,
midseason form. I’m not sure
about you, but if the game is on
the line and my best player is
shooting free throws, I want
holding his butt cheeks together
i i
♦ Please see BROOM, page 13
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
USC senior forward Carlos Powell
led the Gamecocks with 18 points.
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
USCfreshman shortstop Lisa Longo
prepares to fire the ball to first base in a
game earlier this year.
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
Miami’s Robert Hite is stopped short of the basket in the Gamecocks’ 69-67 victory against the Hurricanes in the Colonial Center.
I_ —I _
JAKE
BROOM
SECOND-YEAR
POLITICAL
SCIENCE
STUDENT