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THlU&AMECOCK SPORTS Page 8 Vy _ L, -jL ^—y Friday, Jan. 13,2006 With tough conference losses to Tennessee, Ole Miss, Carolina eyes Georgia before SEC road trip to Vanderbilt and Kentucky fflatt flloore For THE GAMECOCK The Gamecocks watched yet another close game get out of reach in the second half, losing their second straight Southeastern Conference game. Only three days after letting their conference opener slip away at the hands of Tennessee, USC watched Ole Miss take a tied halftime game Wednesday and turn it into a 12-point lead with a little less than seven minutes to play. TT T I Wasted Opportu Bruce Neuman / The Assoc iated Press USC guard Dwayne Day covers his face after the Gamecocks fell short against Ole Miss on Wednesday. Carolina lost to the Rebels 63-68. Junior guard Tre’ Kelley kept Carolina in the game, scoring 8 of Carolina’s last 12 points, but Bam Doyne of Ole Miss connected on two free throws with nine seconds, left, giving the Rebels the 68-63 win. Doyne led the Rebels (12 3, 2-0 in the SEC) in scoring with 2 3, and big man Dwayne Curtis added 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks in their sixth straight win. USC (9-6, 0-2) had its shot with 12 seconds left, as sophomore guard Dwayne Day’s game-tying 3-pointer missed, and Doyne got the rebound for Ole Miss. Senior guard Tarence Kinsey led the Gamecocks with 18 points, and junior forward Renaldo Balkman seemed to come out of a recent slump as he scored 12 along with Day. Balkman did not start the game, however, as coach Dave Odom went with a different, much smaller lineup than usual. Junior guard Bryce Sheldon started his first game as a Gamecock and senior center Antoine Tisby was also inserted into the starting lineup. It marked the first time junior forward Brandon Wallace did not start this season, as he recorded 2 points and two rebounds in only five minutes of play. It was the second time Balkman did not start. The Gamecocks shot 34.5 percent from the field, but they were able to make a comeback in the second half as they connected on 23-of 29 free throws and forced 16 turnovers. Mississippi managed to shoot 50 percent from the field, and they were 20-of-26 on free throws. USC ended the first half with a 7-0 run in the final two minutes capped off by a Kinsey 3-pointer. But the Rebels started the second half with an 8-2 run of their own, and they never trailed after that. The Gamecocks come home to face the Georgia Bulldogs Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Colonial Center before they hit the road to face SEC foes Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu USC prepares for Bulldogs Carolina limping into Georgia game after tough losses in tow SEC contests, still looking for first conference victory of season Stephen Demedis For THE GAMECOCK Following two consecutive Southeastern Conference losses, USC’s men’s basketball team (9 6, 0-2) will return home for Saturday afternoon’s game in search of its first conference win against a team experiencing similar struggles: the Georgia Bulldogs (10-5, 0-2). USC opened its SEC campaign with games against Tennessee and Ole Miss. In Oxford, Miss., the Gamecocks produced their worst shooting performance of the season. The team shot 35 percent from the floor, including 27.6 percent in the second half and 11 percent from beyond the 3 point arc. The performance came after USC coach Dave Odom promised that changes in the starting lineup would be made because of lackluster performances. “We needed a shakeup; we needed a change; we needed a different slant,” Odom told reporters after the loss to Ole Miss on Wednesday. “I thought our team had a chance to win the game. I really did.” The changes appeared to produce little change for the Gamecocks, as they posted a below-average scoring night. Carolina has shot a combined 42 percent from the floor in the past two games. The Bulldogs have recently experienced similar woes. In its SEC opener against Florida, the team shot 39 percent from the floor. Against Tennessee, Georgia hit 28-of-57 shots, but failed to make a field goal from the floor in five of the last six minutes of what was a close game. The Bulldogs ultimately lost, 89-76. Both teams will look to their leading scorers for an offensive jump-start. For Katie Kirkland/ THE GAMECOCK USC’s Renaldo Balkman and Tre’ Kelley play defense against Georgia’s Levi Stukes in last season’s game in Columbia. the Bulldogs, that spark will likely come from junior guard Levi Stukes. Against Tennessee, Stukes was held to 8 points after going 3-of 6 from the floor and was in foul trouble for much of the game. During" USC’s two-game losing skid, senior forward Tarence Kinsey has remained Carolina’s premier offensive threat. The senior guard put up 18 points in both games and is averaging 15.9 points a game. USC could also receive a boost from guard Dwayne Day. Against Ole Miss, the sophomore took advantage of the increased playing time by contributing 12 points. Day is a Georgia native and was recruited by the Bulldogs as a senior in high school. • If anything, history is on the side of the Gamecocks. USC leads the all-time series with Georgia, 43-41. The Gamecocks have won the past four games by a combined score of 281-217. During the last meeting, Carolina won by 7 points, 60-53, after shooting 51 percent. The game is scheduled Comments m this story? E-mail' gamecocksports@gwm. sc. edu