The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 24, 2006, Page 9, Image 9
nu • conTinuEDFROiM
Allen started in place of
Muhammad and White.
Moore, whose chronic
back problems forced
him to quit the team for
a while last year, received
lower back massages from
a trainer during timeouts
late in the game.
The dismissals of
White and Muhammad
left Cincinnati with just
nine players in uniform.
That included Branden
Miller, a preseason walk
on, and Connor Barwin,
a freshman tight end on
the school’s football team
who volunteered to help
two months ago when
the Bearcats didn’t have
enough healthy players to
scrimmage.
The Bearcats led 37-33
in the second half when
Kelley hit a short jumper
and stole a pass under the
Cincinnati basket and drove
the length of the court for
another hoop. He followed
that with a 3-pointer and
then scored on a putback
after another turnover.
Cincinnati tied it three
times after that, the last
time at 59 with 2:22 to go
on a basket by Hicks. But
that was the last touch for
Hicks.
A layup by Kelley with
48 seconds left put USC
ahead for good.
It was finally the end of
the road for Cincinnati,
which lost its coach shortly
before the start of the
season and was plagued by
injuries.
The ruling on White and
Muhammad was announced
less than two hours before
the game and shortly before
a televised news conference
in which former Bearcats
coach Bob Huggins was
introduced as Kansas State’s
new coach.
Huggins’ former
assistant, Andy Kennedy,
served as interim coach this
season and is a candid
for the permanent j
He’s also believed to be
a finalist in Mississippi’s
coaching search. Cincinnati
officials last week hired a
consultant to help narrow
their search.
Cincinnati fans chanted
their support for Kennedy
and gave him three standing
ovations — when he came
onto the court before the
start of each half, and when
two fans who participated
in a free-throw shooting
contest during a timeout
held up signs saying, “Hire
Andy.”
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GRCCI1 • COflTinUED FROfTl 8
monster 12, a tournament
record.
The Island Green is
stressful enough, but the
18th hole provides no
reprieve. The final hole is
a 447-yard dogleg-left par
four. There is a massive
body of water on the left
side of the hole that starts
at the tee box and continues
all the way to the green.
The tee shot is difficult
enough, because, to have
a decent approach shot,
a player must hit the ball
left enough to keep it in
the fairway, but too far left,
and the ball is in the water.
The water is again in play
for the approach shot to
the green.
These two final holes
guarantee a dramatic
finish. You can almost see
the pressure and tension in
the contenders, on the final
day, as they put the ball
down on the tee. It is the
easiest test to show which
one will have the mental
fortitude to dial it in, and
to reach deep down for
that extra push it takes to
finish on top.
The Players
Championship is great
because it is the most
egalitarian of all the big
tournaments. The course
does not favor the long
ball hitters or any olayer
that may have a certain
strength in one area of his
game that can overshadow
a certain weakness.
All weaknesses will be
exposed. Any player, no
matter what type of game
they have, can win this
tournament by putting
together four solid rounds
of golf.
Of course, this is much
easier said than done. And
that is why the Players
Championship is so
exciting.
RECEIUERS • CORTIRUED FROITI8
offensive side of the ball,
and a deep pass to Brown.
Beecher was able to sustain
a long drive downfield
thanks to a couple of long
passes and hard running
from tailback Bobby
Wallace. Fellow redshirt
freshman quarterback Cade
Thompson also looked
sharp by recognizing a
few blitz packages quickly
and hitting Wallace as his
safety valve. Thompson
did, however, throw the
only interception of the
scrimmage, to cornerback
Fred Bennett.
i i i 1 nr*
i umiK Gauc aiiu luiiiiiiy
are 9oming along real well,”
Rice said. “They’re doing
a decent job throwing the
ball. They just got to learn
to read coverages a little
more, but I think they’ll be
fine, also.”
In addition to an improved
running game from Wallace,
Cory Boyd and last season’s
starter, Mike Davis, it will be
imperative for aijother wide
receiver to take pressure off
of Rice if the Gamecocks
hope to contend for the
Southeastern Conference
title next season. Rice is
already expecting plenty
of double- and triple-team
coverages.
“I have no doubt that (the
receivers) will be able to
do it. McKinley, Murdock,
(tight end) Jared Cook and
- Juan Bias / THE GAMECOCK
USC wide receiver Sidney Rice jogs with running back
Bobby Wallace during spring practice March 12.
also Noah Whiteside are
going to do a decent job on
the other side of the ball,
whichever side they’re on,”
Rice said. “Also having
Cory Boyd back in the
backfield is going to be a
big plus.”
USC will scrimmage
Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at
Williams-Brice Stadium.
USC coach Steve Spurrier
said the practice is “open to
the public, anybody that
wants to come out, we’d
appreciate it.”
“We’d like to have some
people in the stands when
.our guys are playing,”
Spurrier said. “Everybody
come out Saturday.”
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BASEBALL • COnTinUCD PR0A18
would see of the lead. As
quick as Furman’s offense
had been, USC came back to
tie the game. After an error
and some smart batting, the
Gamecocks produced their
first run off of a sacrifice fly
by Giesler; it was his first of
two RBI for the game.
In the top of the second
inning it looked as though
Honeycutt might not be cut
out to take on the Paladins.
He walked the first batter,
junior infielder Joe Daysh.
After Daysh stole second, a
fielder’s choice moved him
to third. Tanner decided
it was time to have a word
with his young pitcher.
“I thought he was
trying to be too perfect,”
Tanner said. “I told him
that now we needed to be
competitive because the
bullpen was getting ready to
warm up. And you know, he
responded.”
After that meeting,
Honeycutt’s pitching picked
up, and the Gamecock
defense responded to his
lead. Honeycutt retired the
next two batters, and in
the third he allowed one
hit and walked one batter
before retiring three batters
in a row, striking out two of
them and getting the other
to line out to senior second
baseman Chris Brown.
Honeycutt finished with
five strikeouts in six innings
pitched and earned the win.
As Honeycutt responded
to Tanner’s words on the
defensive end, in the bottom
of the second inning the
offense’ gave him some
room to breathe. After a
single, Kline stepped up to
the plate and knocked the
ball deep to right field for a
two-run homerun.
The rest of the game was
just short of flawless for
USC. Honeycutt stayed on
top of the Paladin offense,
and Furman did not score
another run in the game
until he was taken out in the
top of the seventh.
USC had hot bats to
match Honeycutt’s arm and
by the sixth inning had put
together a lead that was
insurmountable for the
Furman offense. On top of
Giesler’s two RBIs, Brown
added two runs himself
and two RBIs. Kline’s early
homerun gave him two
RBIs, and he added two
runs as well.
“We’re seeing the ball
good,” Giesler said. “So, we
just keep getting hits.”
That was a modest
assessment of the
performance the Gamecocks’
bats ended up with. The
defense stayed solid for the
entire game, and Furman
contributed to its own
demise with six errors.
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GATORS • CORTinUCD PROfTI 8
the Gamecocks have some
reason to be confident this
weekend. USC has won its
last four home series against
Florida. The Gamecocks
are the SEC’s top fielding
team, and third baseman
Neil Giesler leads the SEC
in batting average (.480)
and hits (36).
To have success against
Florida, Tanner believes
USC simply needs to
continue to build on the
progress the team has made
so far.
“We’re going to focus
on what we do best,” he
said. “We have to continue
to pitch well and hope our
offense stays -consistent.
We’ve turned the corner a
bit offensively, and that’s a
big key for us.”
The Gamecocks are
seventh in the SEC in
batting average (.304), but
they are in the top half
of most other offensive
categories. USC is also one
of the most- disciplined
teams at the plate, striking
out a league-low 83 times.
Recently, USC has begun
to heat up at the plate.
During the past ten games,
the team is averaging more
than nine runs per game.
During this span, the
Gamecocks are 9-1.
The Florida series will
begin Friday at 7 p.m. and
will match junior southpaw
Arik Hempy (1-1, 3.27)
against Florida right-hander
Bryan Ball (4-2, 3.72).
Saturday’s 4 p.m. game
appears to have the makings
of a pitcher’s duel with
freshman sensation Mike
Cisco (2-0, 1.29) squaring
off against UF right-hander
Augenstein (5-1). The 2
p.m. Sunday game will
feature junior lefty Forrest
Beverly (4-1, 4.15) against
a currently undetermined
pitcher from the Gators.
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