The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 24, 2006, Page 8, Image 8
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THiH&AMECOCK
SPfPTS
Page 8 I — L. ■ ^3 Friday, Feb. 24, 2006
Bulldogs squeak by Gamecocks
Dmw OAk^ / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
USC forward Brandon Wallace tries to stop a shot attempt by Georgia’s Mike Mercer in the second half of Thursday’s
game. Georgia’s Billy Humphrey hit a game-winning putback with 26.1 seconds remaining to give his team the win.
Balkmans last-second jumper off the mark
as Georgia holds on to heat USC in Athens
George Henry
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATHENS, Ga. — Billy
Humphrey made amends as
best he could for Georgia.
“I guess it was like an
apology to our team and our
fans and our coaching staff,”
Humphrey said.
Along with fellow
freshman guard Mike
Mercer, Humphrey was
coming off a one-game
suspension for violating
an unspecified minor team
rule.
His game-winning putback
with 26.1 seconds remaining
ended the scoring as the
Bulldogs beat USC 48-47
in a sloppy Southeastern
Conference game Thursday
night.
The teams combined
for 38 turnovers, including
one by the Gamecocks’
Tre’ Kelley and another by
Georgia’s Kevin Brophy in
the final 2.1 seconds.
“I think what we saw
tonight was two teams that
played hard, but it wasn’t a
pretty game,” USC coach
Dave Odom said. “They
were trying so hard to win.
They locked themselves up.
We were tight. We couldn’t
pass or shoot.”
Renaldo Balkman missed a
17-foot jumper at the buzzer
that would have won it for
the Gamecocks.
Mercer scored 11 points
and Sundiata Gaines 10 for
the Bulldogs, who swept a
season series from USC for
the first time in three years.
Humphrey, who grabbed
the ball after Levi Stukes
missed a 3 -pointer from the
right corner, scooped in a
shot past two defenders. He
finished with 8 points.
“All I was thinking
is, ‘We’re down one,”’
Humphrey said. “Anything I
throw up is good.”
The Gamecocks (14
12, 5-8 SEC) have lost two ^
straight. They couldn’t hold
a 47-46 lead after Brandon
Wallace hit a 3-pointer
from the right corner
with 2 minutes 23 seconds
remaining.
USC’s suffered a season
low in points and a season
high in turnovers. It’s hard to
believe this team also swept
No. 12 Florida this season.
Georgia (15-11, 5-8)
ended a three-game losing
streak in the series with
a 64-61 overtime victory
on Jan. 14. The Bulldogs
had dropped three straight
entering Thursday.
“This was a critical win for
us,” Georgia coach Dennis
Felton said. “Our guys were
hungry. We were kind of
stumbling and bumbling
offensively, especially in
the first half. But we gave
the kind of over-the-top
performance on defense
that got us back on track
tonight.”
The teams combined for
a 6-for-35 performance on
3-point attempts. Guards
Levi Stukes of the Bulldogs A
and Tarence Kinsey of the ^
Gamecocks combined to go
0-for-11.
Kinsey led USC with
15 points. Wallace had 14
points and 12 rebounds.
Despite taking possession
with 21.7 seconds remaining,
the Gamecocks couldn’t get
off a shot until Balkman’s ill
fated jumper. Younes Idrissi
blocked Kelley’s baseline
runner out of bounds with
11.3 seconds left.
Kelley then committed
his fourth turnover from
the same spot on the floor, 0
men • 9
Baseball prepares for Dukes
Freshmen Cisco
to get first start
against Duquesne
today in opener
Robert Cdrli
THE GAMECOCK
Freshman Mike Cisco
will have his first start on
the mound this weekend,
and the Duquesne Dukes
will have their first game
of the season at Sarge Frye
Field at 3 p.m. Friday.
The 5-1 USC baseball
team will be searching
for consistent batting
after the past two series,
which were saved by
nearly perfect pitching
performances and a team
earned run average of
1.29. The Gamecocks sent
the Radford Highlanders
packing last Sunday after
a two shutout and three
game sweep.
“I’d like to see more
offensive balance,” USC
coach Ray Tanner said.
“You’d think you’d see
more hits with numbers like
that.”
i ne taame.cocK onense
was hardly balanced Feb. 28,
2004 when they last played
the Dukes. The offensive
slugged its way to a 20-2
victory in a home round
robin tournament.
This season, however,
the Gamecocks aren’t
averaging more than five
runs a game and have a .255
team batting average. The
Dukes’ batting average last
season was .285.
Although the Gamecocks
lead the all-time series 10
0, Tanner won’t take the
Dukes for granted. “We
have some teams coming in
this year that are looking at
taking a shot at us,” Tanner
said.
Tanner will continue to
count on freshmen Justin
Smoak, Reese Havens and
Cisco to fill the voids
left by Steve Pearce,
Brendan Winn and Steven
Tolleson. Smoak and
Havens are batting .263
and .2 50, respectively,
after last weekend. Cisco
earned his start after
pitching two flawless
innings against Radford
on Sunday.
“I’m just going to take it
just like any other game,”
Cisco said. “I’m going
to look at how I have to
execute pitches. I’m going
to go in there the same way
as out of the pen.”
The No. 13 Gamecocks
will be leaning on their
less-experienced players
more as they approach their
Southeastern Conference
opponents in late March.
But the focus is now on
the young Dukes, who have
only five seniors on their
roster.
I have high expectations
for everyone, and for
freshmen I expect them to
play good,” Tanner said.
USC looks to improve
its 64-2 record in February
that dates back to 2000. The
series continues at 1:30 p.m.
on Saturday and 1 p.m. on
Sunday.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwmi.sc. edu
Meg Gaillard/ THE GAMECOCK
Pitcher Forrest Beverly has won both of his starts
this season with the most recent a six-inning no-runs
performance against Radford. The Gamecocks take on
Duquesne this weekend. The first game is today at 3 p.m.
at Sarge Frye Field.
Nick Esares / THE GAMECOCK
USC guard Stacy Booker looks to pass during the
Gamecocks 79-47 win against MSU on Thursday.
Women take care
of Mississippi State ^
Rebounding, forced turnovers lead USC
to blowout SEC victory on Senior Night
Tom Benning
STAFF WRITER
Despite 25 turnovers
and a sometimes-stagnant
offense, USC’s women’s
basketball team coasted
to a 75-47 victory against
Mississippi State (6-20,
1-12) Thursday night.
“You have to fe&el good
as a coach when you can
throw the ball around
the gym as much as we
did today and win by 30
against an SEC team,”
said iUSC coach Susan
Walvius. “This was the
tightest I’ve seen our
team play in awhile, and
.Men • 9