| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
ATLANTA (AP) -- It took all season, but South Carolina finally
learned how to win a close one.
The Gamecocks pulled off a major upset in the Southeastern
Conference tournament Friday, getting a career-high 20 points from
Jamel Bradley and defeating regular-season champion and No. 8
Tennessee 75-68 in the quarterfinals.
|
No mercy for Vols
|
|
ATLANTA -- Tennessee can't shed its soft image as long as it loses
early in March.
For the second straight season, the top-seeded Volunteers were
bounced in the first round of the SEC tournament, this time by South
Carolina Friday.
Tennessee had an outside shot at a No. 1 seed had the Volunteers won
the SEC tournament. Any of the top four teams -- Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky
and LSU - had a chance for a No. 1 seed coming into the tournament. But a
first-round loss could drop the Volunteers down to as low as a four seed and
probably out of the South Region.
"This is a setback for us," said Tennessee coach Jerry Green, who
is now 1-3 in the SEC Tournament since he arrived at Tennessee three years ago. He's also 1-3 in three appearances in his career.
"But we have a good shot to do good in the NCAA Tournament," Green
said. "We've got to learn how to handle prosperity. We've had a lot the last
two to three years."
Tennessee has had sensational SEC regular-seasons but the
Volunteers, and Green's staff, will be ultimately judged by their March
performance.
A year ago, Mississippi State took out the Volunteers in the
quarterfinals before the Volunteers bowed out a weekend later by 30 in the
second round to Southwest Missouri State.
This year was supposed to be different, and it looked like it was
when the Volunteers swept Florida, beat Kentucky and Auburn. They even had
an 11-point lead on South Carolina at the half Friday.
But the Volunteers allowed the Gamecocks to push them around in the
lane late, gave up a three-point play and didn't get back on transition
defense. Tennessee didn't help itself with poor shooting as the Volunteers
were 3 of 15 on 3s in the second half. Point guard Tony Harris was 2 of 12,
mirroring his 1 for 14 effort in a loss to Vanderbilt.
Stars Vincent Yarbrough was 2 of 8 and guard Jon Higgins was 0 of 7.
It didn't help that Ron Slay played only 16 minutes, scoring 13 points and
grabbing five rebounds. Isiah Victor was kept off the floor, too, blocking
five shots in 20 minutes.
"They've got the best talent, maybe 1 to 12 in the nation, but
they're not that tough," said one SEC assistant witnessing the game.
The Volunteers don't take kindly to anyone questioning their
toughness but it's a natural observation with the early departures.
"We just didn't come out the way we did in the second half the way
we did in the first half," Harris said.
Meanwhile, the Gamecocks are a threat to reach the final with their
spirited play. South Carolina coach Eddie Fogler has South Carolina playing
with as much, if not more, energy than any other team in the field. He said
he's enjoying this team more than any other this season, even though the
Gamecocks suffered through a nine-game losing streak. Including the win over
Tennessee, South Carolina has won six of eight.
-- Andy Katz
|
The Volunteers (24-6), who shared the SEC title with three other
schools, failed to score in the final 4:23 after C.J. Black hit a
hook shot for their final lead, 68-67.
Now, Tennessee will have to wait until Sunday to see how much
the loss hurts its seeding in the NCAA tournament.
"This is a setback to us," Vols coach Jerry Green said. "We
have got to learn to handle prosperity, but every time someone
gives us a hit, we come back harder. I think we've got the
consistency to put a run together in the NCAA tournament."
South Carolina (15-16), the fifth-place team from the SEC
Eastern Division, advanced to Saturday's semifinals, where the
Gamecocks will meet the winner between Auburn and Florida (No. 10
ESPN/USA Today, No. 11 AP).
South Carolina's mediocre record is deceiving. The Gamecocks
lost to No. 5 Michigan State 59-56, fell to No. 12 Syracuse 77-74
in overtime, were edged by Florida 86-82, came up just short to No.
10 LSU 64-59, and fell twice to Tennessee by a total of 15 points.
But, with a lineup featuring three freshmen and the sophomore
Bradley, South Carolina came on strong at the end of the regular
season, winning four of its last six including a 77-72 upset at
Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks opened the tournament with a 69-59
victory over Alabama on Thursday.
"I'm pleased for our team, which has struggled all year but
didn't have the record to show how hard they played," coach Eddie
Fogler said. "This is the first one where we hung in there, hung
in there down the stretch."
Bradley, who is 80 percent deaf and wears hearing aids in both
ears, scored 15 points in the second half as the Gamecocks
rebounded from a 40-29 halftime deficit. The slender sophomore was
4-for-8 from 3-point range.
After scoring the game's final point on a free throw with 16½
seconds left, Bradley pumped his fists in the air and acknowledged
the cheers from the South Carolina contingent.
"I thought at the half we were in good shape," Green said.
"But we didn't play in the second half. I warned them it was not
over, but we still didn't play well."
The Gamecocks got within six points a half-dozen times in the
second half, only to be turned away on each occasion. Finally,
South Carolina got over the hump when freshman Tony Kitchings
scored off a rebound and was fouled by Charles Hathaway.
Kitchings finished the three-point play with a free throw,
bringing the Gamecocks to 62-58 with 7:51 left. He had 16 points,
one of five South Carolina players in double figures.
Bradley put the Gamecocks ahead for the first time since the
opening minutes with another three-point play. The speedy guard
broke loose on a fast break and was needlessly fouled by Tony
Harris after the layup, the free throw putting South Carolina ahead
67-66 with 4:40 to go.
Black's final basket restored Tennessee's lead and both teams
wasted opportunities over the 1½ minutes. Then, Kitchings put the
Gamecocks ahead to stay on two free throws with 2:43 remaining.
He scored again on a reverse layup and was fouled by Black,
leading to yet another three-point play with 2:05 to go. Chuck
Eidson dunked off a Tennessee turnover in the final minute to seal
the victory.
Black and Ron Slay led Tennessee with 13 points apiece, but the
Volunteers made only 24-of-65 (37 percent) from the field. Harris,
an All-SEC guard, scored only five points -- 10 below his season
average -- on 2-of-12 shooting.
"In the second half, we weren't able to knock down anything,"
Black said. "We had a hard time even making open shots."
South Carolina, which needs an improbable run in Atlanta to earn
an NCAA invitation, will be playing in the semifinals of the SEC
tournament for the third time in four years.
"On a given night, we can beat anybody," Fogler said. "Not
just play with anybody, but beat anybody."
| |
ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
South Carolina Clubhouse
Tennessee Clubhouse
|
