The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 22, 2006, Page 12, Image 12
THlfeAMECOCK
SPfTtTS
Page 12 —I— Wednesday, March 22,2006
Righteous Roosters
USCfinally wins close one, moves 1 win from repeat trip to N. Y.
Brent Kallestad
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —
Tarence Kinsey hit three
free throws in the final 26
seconds of overtime and
USC beat Florida State
69-68 Tuesday night to
keep alive its hopes of
repeating as the National
Invitation Tournament
champions.
Todd Galloway’s two
free throws got Florida
State within one with
5 seconds left and the
Seminoles stole the
inbounds pass, but
Galloway’s desperation
tn m r\i>r iirnc ki
Rocky Trice as the game
ended.
The Gamecocks (20
15) thought they had the
game won in regulation
when Renaldo Balkman
banked in a short jumper
at the buzzer with the
game tied at 58, but
officials ruled it was too
late.
Balkman’s tip-in and
Tre Kelley’s layup gave
USC a quick 62-58 lead
in the overtime but
Alexander Johnson hit
a pair of free throws
and A1 Thornton scored
underneath to tie it at
62.
js „ 11 _j_~
iveiiv v uivu ui v/r v uiv
lane again for a layup and
USC didn’t trail again.
The Gamecocks
advance to meet the
winner of Cincinnati
Minnesota on Thursday
with a spot in the NIT
semifinals in New York
at stake. They are trying
to become the first team
to win consecutive NIT
titles since St. John’s in
1943 and 1944.
Kelley scored 17 points
for the Gamecocks.
Kinsey finished with 14
points, Trice 12, and
Brandon Wallace 11
while Balkman had eight
points and a game-high
13 rebounds.
Johnson led Florida
State (20-10) with 22
points and 10 rebounds
while Isaiah Swann
scored 13 of his 16 points
in the second half.
USC forward Antoine
Tisby did not travel
because of his suspension.
Don Juan Moore / The Associated Press
USC guard Tre’ Kelley attacks the basket over Florida State’s Isaiah Swann during the first half of the Gamecocks' win
against the Seminoles on Tuesday. Kelly finished with 17 points and USC moved one win away from New York City.
Spurrier says Gamecocks on the defensive
Coach praises Brinkley, D-unit that lost Ko Simpson, Johnathan Joseph to April's NFL Draji
Hiatt (Tloore
FOR THE GAMECOCK
Tuesday’s football
practice wasn’t headlined
by highflying receivers
or speedy running backs.
Instead, defense was on
display, with junior college
transfer Jasper Brinkley
right in the middle of it at
linebacker.
“Jasper is doing well,”
USC coach Steve Spurrier
said after practice. “He’s
hitting too hard right now;
we’re going to have to slow
him down. He’s a good
looking inside linebacker.”
Spurrier feels like
tiac a /-tianaa
to help the defense in a lot
of ways, and Brinkley feels
at home in the middle of
this squad. He is excited
about what they can put on
the field in the upcoming
season.
“I feel like everybody is
doing a good job,” Brinkley
said. “Everybody is getting
better and becoming a
dominant defense for
the upcoming season.
Everybody is motivating
each other. We’re working
together on the playbooks,
getting the plays right. We
just want to be ready to play
when the time comes.”
THi* Gamecocks will need
_ i h^f.01- r>r» t-hg
side of the ball after losing
leading tackier Ko Simpson
to the NFL Draft. Even
then, last year’s defense
gave up more than 23 ppg
on more than 360 yards of
total offense per contest.
With minor adjustments,
Spurrier believes the
defense is moving in the
right direction.
“We’re slowly coming
around,” Spurrier said.
“We’re doing some new
things defensively, hopefully
that are simple. It’s a
different defense than what
we’ve done. I hope it is
more sound. Hopefully
we’re shot just standing
ornnnH anil gf’rp_ingt
trying to have our blitzes
with a purpose and trying
to protect behind them and
things of that nature.”
Brinkley is coming into
his own at the linebacker
position, and Stanley
Doughty remains the
vocal leader for the core
of this season’s defensive
line. Doughty was in the
middle of dozens of plays
at yesterday’s practice, and
he made sure the 50 fans in
attendance knew about it.
Whether he was bringing
encouragement or comic
relief, Doughty seemed
excited to be hitting.
DEFEDSE # I
Odom doesn't
get due respect
after another
20-win season
Fans should give coach
more credit for team’s <
recent 3-year record
A few weeks ago, I took
a little time off from press
row and covering Carolina
basketball to sit in the
student section of the
Colonial Center. It was the
rpmil ir_cpocr»n
finale, against
LSU and a
small but
enthusiastic
crowd watched
as USC lost
another close
game to a (
highly ranked
opponent.
While the
HLEX RILEY
Second-year
print
journalism
student
outcome was disheartening,
the comments coming from
the student section were
something I was stunned
to hear. Before the opening
tip had even occurred the
students made comments
that this would be Dave
Odom’s final home game as
the coach of the Gamecocks.
They said things such as
“Enjoy it Dave, it’s your last
time here” and “See ya later, t
Odom!” \
Two weeks later, Odom
and the Gamecocks were two
points away from an SEC
tournament championship.
Carolina made one of the
leagues most stunning runs
in history, coming from the
No. 5 seed in the East to
win three games in three
days, making them the
lowest seed to reach the title
game.
Though USC missed the
automatic bid to the NCAA
tournament, don’t think for
a minute that the committee i
had an easy time passing '
them up on Selection
Sunday. 18 wins, including
wins over teams that
ultimately became No.2, No.
3, and No. 8 seeds. But even
with all that, the Gamecocks
did make the postseason,
locking down a No. 3 seed
in the NIT. After a win
over the Western Kentucky
Hilltoppers, Carolina found
itself bound for Tallahassee
to face Florida State, an
ACC team that had been
left out of the NCAA
tournament after a near 20
win season.
With the win last night,
Odom and his team should
be very proud of the season
RILEV • 13
Aluka Berry / The Associated Press
USC walk-on Charles Gibson hauls in a pass during the
Gamecocks' spring drills Tuesday. Coa$h Steve Spurrier >
Qraised the defense after TiiacHau'c nrarti/»a-—