Feb. 12, 2003

Recap?|? Box Score

South Carolina Head Coach Dave Odom: “Our game plan was simple to formulate, yet difficult to execute. We believed that the key to our success would be built around defense. Our players knew that in order for us to win this game, we had to play effective defense. For the most part, we did that. I was proud of Chris Warren. For the second straight game, he had to defend an excellent offensive player. Matt Freije (Vanderbilt) last Saturday night, and Ed Scott here tonight. The game went to a snail’s pace midway through the second half, and not to our liking. We haven’t met some of the challenges down the stretch in the past, but we did tonight. I would have been nervous going into the final two minutes with a two point lead. That wasn’t the case. We hit some key baskets. Chris Warren hit a three, Carlos Powell hit a three and Rolando (Howell) had a dunk. Those were baskets that gave us a cushion. It was a great win for us and I felt like we beat a good team. We need to learn from this game and improve from it. We have a much-improved Arkansas team coming in here on Saturday. We challenged our team to shut them (Clemson) down and shut them down effectively.”

Clemson Head Coach Larry Shyatt: “I feel bad for our players and our team. It was an excellent game. This game meant a lot to our seniors and they really wanted to win this one and go undefeated in non-conference games. At 12-8, we have a lot of work to do. The game was pretty synonymous with the way we play and the way some of our games have went. It was 50-49 and our players had fought their way back. South Carolina played very good defense and Carlos Powell made a good shot. We missed a couple shots and then (Chris) Warren hits one. We missed three or four straight shots and had an illegal screen. We’ve had some close, disappointing losses and every time our players have been able to get out there for the next game and they’re ready. I’m deeply disappointed for our team and fans. In my estimation, this is a big-time game and we place a high emphasis on this game.”