Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Future bright despite defeat Clemson reminds us all how far we’ve come, how far we’ve got to go Step back from the ledge. Don’t drop the toaster in the bathtub. The world is not coming to an end any time soon, at least not because of a football game. I hate . , Clemson as jJ®"® much as Broom anybody. Not Third-year only do I talk Hitical ' science trash to student Clemson fans, but I do it in a newspaper that gets printed 14,000 times and displayed on the Internet for everybody to see. Last year after the 29-7 loss, I just sat in my dorm room and stared at the wall for a little while. I thought about making a Charlie Whitehurst voodoo doll, but I couldn’t find a comb small enough to apply his hair gel properly. The year before that, after an unbelievable 63-17 loss that to this, day is known as “the game that shall never be spoken of again” between my friends and I, I stumbled to my car in silence like a zombie in quite possibly the most depressed mood of my life. I looked liked Peter from “Office Space” for about three straight weeks. I’m not even old enough to legally purchase alcohol, but I’ve been forced to watch us lose to Clemson 15 times in my 20 years of existence. There was the 16-14 Rod Gardner push-off game. There was the 31-21 loss in Columbia to cap off a winless season. There was the 16-13 loss in Columbia that was thankfully the last game of what I like to call “The Sparky Woods Era,” when I first learned that being a Carolina fan was like paying money to have someone kick you in the stomach once a season, and then looking forward to next year. I got that feeling again during this year’s game. There was the time Clemson got a first down on a series that started first and 35. There was the time Chansi Stuckey fumbled a punt inside the 15 yard line and the USC offense spent three plays going backward and settled for a field goal. There was the time Blake Mitchell, one of my favorite players, became the first quarterback I can remember to throw two interceptions on one drive. There were plenty of opportunities for me to slip into that familiar post Clemson game depression, but this year was different. I’m not angry. I’m not depressed. I’m not even disappointed. This season has been full of unexpected victories, and thanks to the play of a group of overachieving young players mixed in with a group of steady veterans, Carolina has won seven games for the first time since 2001. Not only did this team full of youth and inexperience win seven games, but its four losses came to teams with a combined record of 33-10. i nai s pretty goou considering many of the players who aren’t true freshmen had a strange fascination with stealing electronic equipment and smoking things other than cigarettes. The loss to Clemson doesn’t hurt as bad as it usually does for one reason. Carolina is only going to get better under Spurrier. As he gets time to recruit the players of his choice, things will continue to improve. “We’re trying to build it the right way,” Spurrier said. “For our team to win seven games, it’s been a wonderful season.” Before this season started, I fully anticipated having to write a “well, Carolina went 3-8 this year, but there is nowhere to go but up” column at the end of the year. Instead, the Gamecocks are 7-4 with a bowl game in the near future. And still, things are only going to get better. USC mens hoops wins first 2 in new season Saui Smith FOR THE GAMECOCK USC’s men’s basketball team could not miss a 3-point shot if someone paid them to, and that ability helped through the first half. USC went 8-of-12 for 3-point shots in the first half, and 9-of-17 in the game. Coming off an 87-62 win against Western Carolina on Friday, their Sunday 85-73 win against the Toledo Rockets lifted USC’s record to 2-0. USC pulled down 18 rebounds and put up 50 points on the scoreboard, while the Rockets took down only nine rebounds and scored 29 points in the first 20 minutes. Coach Dave Odom said he thinks USC could put some more effort into rebounding. “We didn’t rebound as well as we need to over the course of the game even though we did win statistically on the boards,” Odom said. Standout Tarence Kinsey had a solid first quarter with 9 points and went 2-of-3 for 3 point shots. He finished with 24 points, a career high. When they returned to the court for the second half, the Rockets slowly broke down the Gamecocks’ 26-point lead. The Gamecocks were stuck at minutes, while the Rockets pulled themselves out of the hole. Odom noted that his team isn’t as good as how they played in the first half, yet, but that they are not as bad as they played in the second half. “They lost concentration,” Odom said. “They lost focus.” Toledo’s Sammy Villegas was on fire from the 3-point line, hitting five 3-pointers in the second half to help bring his team back. USC pulled itself together and the team’s 20-of-23 shooting from the free throw line was a huge lift for the team. Starting point guard Tre Kelley remained sure of his team. “I was confident in my guys that we would come up with the win.” “We’ll learn from that, and I’m pretty sure they’re going to break it down on film and yell at us and we’ll correct it for the next game,” Kinsey said. The team next heads to Alaska for the Great Alaskan Shootout where they start their tournament Thursday. The game starts at 10 p.m. Thursday and will be on ESPN2. rnmmrnrtnr, rftic Juan Bias/THE GAMECOCK Junior midfielder Ramon Paracat looks up the field in a game this season. USC lost to Wake Forest 2-0 in the NCAA Tourney. Rude a-Wake-ening Demon Deacons defeat Gamecocks in first round of NCAA Tournament Josh Rabon FOR THE GAMECOCK USC’s men’s soccer team ended its season Friday with a disappointing 2-0 loss at Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The loss put an end to USC’s pre tournament streak, going unbeaten in its last seven matches, and also came immediately after the Gamecocks rose to No. 17, their highest ranking of the year, in Soccer America’s top-25 poll. “Our team accomplished a lot this year,” USC coach Mark Berson said. “I’m really proud of what they did down the stretch. I was proud tonight how they mustered the energy here on the road to really take the game to Wake Forest in the early going. We were just a little bit unlucky not to get something out of it. That could have changed the game, but to Wake Forest’s credit they were able to weather the storm we created and capitalize. The (red card) call clearly changed the game, but that’s the way the game goes sometimes.” The first half ended in a 0-0 deadlock with excellent play by Wake Forest keeper Brian Edwards and Carolina keeper Mike Gustavson. Senior Ryan Deter and Junior Ayo Akinsete got looks at the goal — Deter from inside the 6-yard box — but Edwards’ sharp play kept the score tied. Gustavson, not to be outdone, stopped a Wake Forest goal with 3:36 left in the first half. Wake Forest ripped a shot 15 yards out, but Gustavson was there to knock the ball down and preserve the tie. Defender Makon Hislop saved a ball off the Carolina goal line in the 31st minute, stopping a Wake Forest goal by inches. The Demon Deacons followed the save, but the shot was high. In the 63rd minute, Hislop made a tackle on Wake Forest midfielder Justin Moose. It would prove costly, as the referee issued Hislop a red card, forcing Carolina to play a man down for the remainder of the game. “It was a call that could have gone either way,” Berson said. “It was certainly a cautionable offense. If you’re in my shoes you argue that it was a yellow, but if you’re on the other side you argue it was a red. It was clearly a call that changed the game. Wake Forest is too good to play a man down. There were other opportunities that we should have put away and didn’t.” Wake Forest was able to capitalize on their advantage twice in the remaining minutes, with junior Ryan Solle scoring his first career goal for the Demon Deacon’s in the 68th minute. Although it was his first career goal, Solle holds the school record for most assists in a season. Solle’s passing prowess became evident with only a minute to go when he sent a through ball to Wells Thompson, notching his school record and NCAA leading 13th assist of the year. With the loss, the Gamecocks say goodbye to seniors Josh Alcala, Deter, Greg Reece and ( Eric Szeszycki. The pressure is on the remaining players to continue the momentum and intensity of this year’s team into next fall and somehow make it past the hurdle that has been the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gum.sc.edu Women’s basketball starts year off perfect flliquel Jacobs STAFF WRITER Two strong second halves helped USC’s women’s basketball team post consecutive home victories against High Point and Winthrop over the weekend to open the season. The win Friday was the eighth consecutive season-opening victory for the Gamecocks and coach Susan Walvius. Carolina (2-0) used an early 25-6 run to put the High Point game way quickly. A quick hands defense led to six steals on the streak, including three by junior forward Melanie Johnson. High Point didn’t score its second basket until a fast break opportunity halfway through the first half. Freshman guard Brionna Dickerson, who did not play in the exhibition, scored her first points as a Gamecock with a jump shot at the bdzzer to pull Carolina ahead 36-17 at the half. “We had moments of playing the way I want us to play,” Walvius said. “I’m encouraged by the steals. I want our defense to create more easy onnorrun.fies for the ream.” offensively to start the second half until two consecutive offensive fouls on the Panthers led to 4 straight points by sophomore center Ilona Burgrova. Those points began an 18-4 USC scoring run that spanned the first 11 minutes of the second half. High Point never closed within 26 as the Gamecocks coasted to a 71-35 victory. Freshman forward Demetress Adams became the first Gamecock in more than four years to record a double-double in her first collegiate game, scoring 11 points and 12 rebounds. “You can see Demetress getting better and better,” Walvius said. “It’s scary how good she’s going to be for our program. I think she and our team will develop more and more as the season.” Junior guard Lauren Simms showed that last year’s season ending knee injury would not hold her back this year, posting a game-high 12 points, while Johnson contributed 10 points and five steals. The Gamecocks as a team held a 58-33 rebounding margin and swatted 11 hl"rk<; Winthrop, USC was out of its element early. The Eagles’ aggressive defense on the perimeter led to many early 3 pointers by Carolina, with most of them missing. The Gamecocks shot 1-of-ll from beyond the arc in the first half. The offensive woes put the Gamecocks ' behind quickly before struggling to a 23-20 halftime lead. Carolina implemented a full-court press in the next half that rendered a slow-paced Winthrop offense helpless. USC used the pressure to create easy turnovers and start a 13-3 run that put the game away. Carolina recorded four steals on inbounds passes in a four-minute span, limiting the effectiveness of leader Iva Milevoj, a senior point guard from Croatia that played club basketball with USC juniors Iva Sliskovic and Lea Fabbri. “Coach told us that they were a well-disciplined team,” Johnson said. “She told us that the best way to get them out of their discipline was to not let their point guard get the ball.” “It was a battle of tempos tonight,” Walvius said. “Winthrop did a great job mnrmlling rhP temnri and lot slower than we wanted it to be played. We decided in the second half that we weren’t ^ going to play that way” Carolina’s lead never dropped less than 20 after the run, sparked by Adams’ 14-point second half. The freshman led all scorers with 17 points while Johnson recorded her seventh career double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Sliskovic added 11 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, three assists and three steals in the 73 42 victory. “Johnson was the key to the game,” Winthrop coach Bud Childers said. “She got several put back, and it was a crushing blow for us. Their press during that one little stretch there during the second half caused problems. That took the game out of reach.” The Gamecocks will next compete in the Junkanoo Jam Tournament in the Bahamas. Carolina will play No. 12 Texas at 3:30 p.m. Friday. The second round opponent will be either George Washington or Purdue. The next home game is Nov. 29 against Georgia Southern.