Dowell Hits Right Notes, and USC Scores a Win

The first thing one wonders is how Baptist College of Charleston, S.C., got on USC’s basketball schedule. That’s the West Coast USC, not the University of South Carolina.

The second thing is why Friday night’s game at the Sports Arena wasn’t more of a blowout. Against USC, Baptist wasn’t expected to have a prayer.

But Baptist, facing a Pac-10 team for the first time, didn’t pack it in until the second half. The Bucs led for the first 12 minutes of the game and trailed by only 36-33 at halftime before bowing, 81-71, as a small but rowdy crowd of 3,448 looked on.

Baptist College, which has about 1,800 students, isn’t known as much of a basketball school. But the Bucs are trying to improve the program.

School officials thought a trip to California might help recruiting.

On the way back home, Baptist will stop off in Austin, Tex., to play Texas Monday night.

Tommy Gaither, the Baptist coach, wrote a book, “Basketball: Mediocrity to Superiority in One Year,” which was published in 1979. It wasn’t supposed to be a fairy tale, but the Bucs were 13-15 last season, 15-13 the season before.

Friday night’s game was supposed to be a confidence-builder for the young Trojans. And maybe it was for freshmen Tom Lewis and Eric Gathers.

Lewis, who made only 1 of 10 shots while playing 14 minutes in a 63-59 exhibition loss to the Australian national team Tuesday night, hit 5 of 12 in 28 minutes Friday night. He also hit 9 of 11 free throws and wound up with 19 points.

Gathers, who made 2 of 9 against Australia, hit 5 of 6 field-goal attempts against Baptist, finishing with 11 points. Gathers also gathered in 6 rebounds, as did Lewis.

Junior Derrick Dowell, a nonstarter Friday night, led the Trojans with 28 points, equaling his career high. Dowell had 28 against California last season.

Friday night, Dowell also sang the national anthem, then sat down until the game was 2 1/2 minutes old.

Dowell’s rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner was as sharp as his 11-for-15 shooting. His singing drew a resounding ovation.

Dowell, who hit his last nine shots and also grabbed 11 rebounds, didn’t start for disciplinary reasons. Dowell disciplined himself.

Because of the Trojans’ poor performance against the Australians, Coach Stan Morrison scheduled an extra practice Thursday morning at 7:30. Dowell overslept and arrived at practice too late to work out with the team. So, he told Morrison he thought he shouldn’t start against Baptist.

Speaking of discipline, it was lacking in the USC rooting section. This rambunctious group, which appropriately bills itself as Morrison’s Monsters, was hit with a technical for throwing wadded newspapers onto the court the first time Baptist had possession.

About Dowell, Morrison said: “Some of his shots were 9.6 on the acrobatic scale, and his singing was a 10.6. I didn’t know if we’d get through it. He must have set an NCAA record for longest anthem.”