The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 13, 2006, Page 8, Image 8
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.
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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