Ffthraarr 24. 1976
Quakers Cage Falcons!
by Chris Benfey
"That", said one of our
cheerleaders, "was a tough
game!". But should it have
been? The Pfeiffer Falcons
flew into Greensboro with the
worst record in the Carolinas
Conference. Guilford led the
CC with a 9-2 record. It was
the last regular season game
for the Quakers and everyone
expected an easy win.
For the first few minutes the
game looked more like football
than basketball. One team
carried the ball down the floor,
fumbled, and switched into
reverse, as the other team
recovered the fumble and
went the other way. Guilford
managed to stumble to a 9-2
lead when Ray Branch
intercepted a pass and
gleefully dunked the ball at
the other end.
The Quakers held on to that
seven-point lead as the half
wore on. I watched the radio
sportscaster remove his
sportscoat without closing his
mouth, then allowed my
attention to drift back to the
ballgame.
Guilford's defense was
crumbling, and its offense was
hardly offensive. The score
was 25-18, then it was 25-23;
then with seven minutes left
Pfeiffer had tied the score at
29. The lead seesawed for
awhile and the two-year-old
sitting next to me fell asleep.
JThen a Falcon fouled a
Quaker. The Pfeiffer coach
complained. The official called
a technical. The Pfeiffer coach
complained about the techni
cal, and received a second
one. "Show your colors, Ref!"
shouted the Pfeiffer fan next
to me (The two-year-old on his
lap was now wide awake).
Branch made the free
throw, Kennedy connected on
both technicals, and Guilford
pulled ahead to 41-37 with
three minutes left in the half.
The Quakers seemed confi
dent, calm and collected
throughout the first half, but
found themselves behind at
the buzzer, 50-45.
They drank some coffee
over halftime, and came back
with an inspired man-to-man
defense. The press bewildered
the Falcons and, with five
minutes gone in the half,
Guilford was up by three,
61-58.
Then the game started
seesawing again, 65-64, 68-68.
I chatted with the fellow
behind me about the plight o
the Guilford cheerleaders
Barbara Duboise, senio
captain of the squad, had beei
recognized earlier for he
contribution to school spirit. 1
will be remembered that she
and the rest of the squad have
beencriticizedfrom within and
without the Guilford com
munity. Let me put in a few
words in their defense. First,
each of them can do a
cartwheel. Second, they suc
cessfully executed a pyramid.
Third, they seemed to me very
enthusiastic, if not always
very inventive. Is it their fault
if they don't "lead" anyone?
You can hear from anywhere
in the gym, despite the
modest size of the squad. The
poor girls listened in dismay to
the thundering mob of Pfeiffer
cheerleaders of both sexes,
thumping the floor, beating
tambourines, and sweating
like squirrels.
The score was tied at 76.
Mike Cheery squeezed in a
basket and drew a foul. Then,
with five minutes remaining,
something happened to the
Guilford fans. They responded
ecstatically to the cheerlea
ders. I tried to figure out what
was going on. The Quakers
had dropped into a 1-3-1 zone,
and the Falcons were tossing
the ball about in the
backcourt. Behind by three,
they needed a good shot.
The noise was deafening.
Organized cheers disintegrat
ed into a constant roar.
"Every time we stand out
there waving our arms",
Coach Jensen explained, "it
makes the crowd go crazy".
The noise got so loud that the
JmwM
women at Mary Hobbs gave
up trying to study, and turned
on the radio to listen to the
sportscaster (who had just
smoked a cigarette without a
break in his commentary).
The noise was so loud that
the Falcons couldn't hear the
falconer. For Pfeiffer, things
fell apart. The coach got so
rattled he complained about a
call, and picked up another
technical.
After the foul shots Guilford
was up by five, 83-78. A
minute later, Gary Devlin took
off from the free throw line,
and didn't land till he had
flown past the backboard,
tossing in a basket on the way.
Guilford won comfortably
an uncomfortable game,
89-80.
When Branch bowed out
with a few second left, he
received an ovation from the
crowd. In his last game at
Guilford he had scored 34
points and pulled down 18
rebounds.
It was also the final regular
season game for seniors
Johnny Ralls and Robert
Kent.
Guilford, with its win
Saturday, won the regular
season championship of the
Carolinas Conference. The
Quakers go on to compete in
the conference tournament
next Friday and Saturday.
They also have an automatic
place in the NAIA District 26
tournament a week later.
IMM ' j^^SSk
1 \
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Spring
Guilford's soccer team is
competing in the North
Carolina Spring Soccer League
and it opened up the season
this weekend with two wins.
Saturday, the Quakers'
opposition was the Piedmont
Soccer Club and after falling
behind early in the game,
Guilford prevailed, 8-3.
PSC took a 2-1 lead in the
early stages, but behind the
scoring of Carolina transfer
Bobby Propster, Paul Chap
man and Ken Boone, the
Quakers overtook the visitors.
The Guilford offense domi
GUILFORD COLLEGE BASEBALL SCHEDULE 1976
Feb. 29 West Vj. Institute ot Technology H
March 1 West Va. institute of Technology H
March 4 Methodist College (Double Header) M
March 5-13 (Spring Break)
Maich 14 Slippery Rock State (Double Header) H
March 17 Salem College (Salem, w. Va.) H
March IB Liberty Baptist College H
March 20 Duke University (Double Header) A
March 22 franklin and Marshall College H
March 23 Catawba College A
March 24 HampdenSydney (Double Header) A
March 25 Liberty Baptist College A
March 27 St. L.iwreiKe Univ. (Canton, N.V.) I
March 29 A & T State University
April 2 Atlantic Christian College
April 3 Lenoir Rhyne College H
April 5 Atlantic Christian College A
April 7 Catawba College H
April 8 Winston-Salem State A
April 9 A & T State University A
April 11 F!lon College A
April 13 Pteitter College
April 14 St. Andrews College H
April 15 Lenoir Rhyne College A
April 16 Mars Hill College (Double Header) A
April 18 High Point College
April 20 Pfeiffer College
April ?1 Winston-Salem State M
April 24 Davidson College A
April 2b High Point College A
April 27 St. Andrews College A
April 28 F.lon College H
Home games during week days start at 3:00
All doubieheaders start at 2:00
Regular Saturday and Sunday yames start at 2:00
Stuart Maynard, Etasebali Coach
Page 11
nated Sunday's match with
the Greensboro Soccer Club.
The Quakers won, 3-1, on
goals by Chapman, Steve
Hicks and Cary Spicuzza. The
game was tied 0-0 at the half,
and Chapman's penalty shot
broke the ice early in the
second period.
Greensboro was unable to
score until the 38 minute
mark.
Guilford is now 2-0 and
plays again Sunday. All games
will be held every Sunday and
home games will be played on
the football field.