South Carolina holds off Ole Miss in SEC opener

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Posted 7:17AM on Thursday, January 9, 2003

COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina's Dave Odom has seen a lot in his 500 games as a coach. Few of them looked this. Odom let out a deep breath. ``This was certainly one for the ages, wasn't it?,'' he asked. Call Mississippi-South Carolina a tour through basketball history. The first half brought back memories of old-time ``Stall Ball,'' where points were scarce and defense was crucial. The second half was a testament to power on the inside and accuracy on the outside, with the Gamecocks getting enough of each to win 55-49 Wednesday night. It sure didn't look that way early on with South Carolina (7-4) getting only two field goals in the game's first 17 minutes. ``We stayed resilient, we kept fighting,'' said Michael Boynton, who had three 3-pointers in the second half rally for 13 points. ``Good things happen to people who work hard.'' Carlos Powell scored 13 of his 15 points after halftime and Tony Kitchings, back after missing eight games because of hand surgery, had 11 points and four rebounds. ``It wasn't like we were missing shots, they just weren't going in,'' Kitchings said of the team's first half. Odom said the team's solid defense kept the Rebels (9-3, 0-1 SEC) from getting any further ahead than 12-4. ``If it's 27-4 instead of 12-4,'' Odom said. ``now you've got a different psychological battle.'' Things picked up when the Gamecocks closed the half's final three minutes with 9-3 run to get within 15-13. Then the Gamecocks rediscovered their shooting touch. Powell scored 5 points and Boynton hit three straight 3s as South Carolina opened the second half with a 20-7 run to lead 33-22. Ole Miss closed to 44-40 on Derrick Allen's two foul shots with 2:31 to go. But Kerbrell Brown hit a 3-pointer for the Gamecocks and that pretty much sealed the win. ``The key to the game from my perspective is we didn't allow ourselves to lose the game the first 15 minutes,'' Odom said. ``No question about it.'' Aaron Harper led the Rebels with 16 points. Justin Reed, the team's top scorer coming in, was held to 9 points, five fewer than his average. Mississippi coach Rod Barnes said this year's team is not very deep, so when four of their starters picked up two fouls in the opening half, it took them out of their game. Allen fouled out, with Reed, Harper and guard Trey Pearson getting four each. ``It handicaps you,'' he said. ``We're not a team that's 10 guys deep, so it hurts us. That first half came close to setting a new low for modern college basketball. South Carolina shot a miserable 27.8 percent (5-of-18) for the half. Ole Miss was even worse at 26.1 percent (6-of-23). It was South Carolina's fewest points ever in a half of an SEC game, surpassing the 17 scored against Kentucky on Feb. 13, 1999. The Rebels also set a futility mark with the fewest points scored by a South Carolina opponent, bettering the 17 Tennessee hit on Jan. 8, 1997. South Carolina played its second half without starter Rolando Howell, kept on the bench after he was kicked in the head by Mississippi's Justin Reed with five minutes to go in the opening period. School officials said doctors would evaluate Howell for blunt head trauma after the game. Howell was asked in the locker room how he felt. ``We'll make it,'' he said, smiling.