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The Blue Banner
Volume 37 Issue 6
The University of North Carolina at Asheville
Features
The Roots play hip-hop show
■ see page 2
Miscellaneous
“Dirty Pig”
■ see page 6
March 20, 2003
WAR BEGINS
P
The UNCA men’s basketball bench watch as the Bulldogs and Texas SouthernTigers fight for the lead in the final minutes of the game
Bulldogs win thriller
Andre Smith leads UNCA to overtime victory in NCAA Tournament opener
against Texas Southern^ advancing to a game against top-seeded Texas.
Jason McGill
Sports Editor
The UNCA men’s basketball
;am needed overtime to defeat
the Texas Southern University
(TSU) Tigers 92-84 in UNCA’s
ever appearance in the
NCAA Tournament Mar. 18.
A crowd of 7,711, including
approximately 100 UNCA sup
porters, watched the Bulldogs win
their NCAA play-in game held
1 Dayton, Ohio.
Jolene Haymans, a junior po
litical science major with second
ary education licensure, took a
bus that left UNCA early Tues
day to make the 14-hour round
trip to Dayton.
“To be able to watch it was really
a once in a lifetime chance,” said
Haymans. “Close games are always
nerve-racking. This one happened
to go our way and no UNCA fan
could be happier right now.
“You could really see a collabora
tion between the freshman spunk
and energy and the senior wisdom
and leadership. It just came to
gether better than ever.”
The Bulldogs are the first team
from the Big South Conference
(BSC) to win an NCAA Tourna
ment game and only the third team
in NCAA history to win their match
after entering the tournament field
with a losing record.
The Bulldogs ended the BSC sea
son with an overall record of 14-16
and 7-7 in conference play but won
the BSC Championship and earned
JOLENE HAYMANS/GUEST PHOTOGRAHER
Chancellor Jim Mullen and Vice Chancellor Wayne McDevitt
look on as the Bulldogs advance in the NCAA Tournament.
a trip to the NCAA Tournament
after dethroning four-time defend
ing champion, Winthrop Univer-
Senior point guard Andre Smith
played 40 minutes and used his
team-high 28 points to lead the
Bulldogs past the Southwestern
Athletic Conference (SWAC)
Champion Tigers.
Smith’s stellar play included grab
bing six rebounds and dishing out
four assists.
Ten of his 28 points came during
an overtime period in which Smith
carried the Bulldogs and UNCA
never trailed. Smith’s performance
came off the heels of earning BSC
Tournament MVP honors.
“We got in the huddle, and my
teammates told me ‘it’s your time,”’
said Smith. “They were looking to
me and I just wanted to help my
“I just looked at it as if we were
going to lose. I was going to lose
with an empty gun.
“When it got to overtime, just as
we got back to the bench, some of
the coaches said, ‘Are we going to
lose in overtime?’ We said we
wouldn’t. That’s just been our
motto.”
The Bulldogs earned the win in
true team effort with even scoring
and rebounding. Sophomore for
ward Bryan McCullough chipped
in 15 points and nine rebounds
before fouling out at the end of
regulation.
Senior center Ben McGonagil
scored 12 points and pulled down
five rebounds, ending his streak of
four-straight double-doubles, be
fore fouling out in overtime.
Senior guard Alex Kragel knocked
down 3-7 from beyond the three-
point arc and finished with 14
tied McCullough with a team-high
nine rebounds. Sophomore forward
Joseph Barber started and gave the
Bulldogs 11 points to go along with
his three offensive rebounds.
Sophomore forward Allen Lovett
played his best game of the season
as he led the Tigers against his
former team with 28 points on 10-
20 shooting and a game-high 14
rebounds.
Lovett played for UNCA during
the 2000-2001 season before tran
ferring to TSU for personal re
sons. Lovett left the game shortly i
overtime with a leg cramp.
The match featured 14 ties and 11
lead changes as both teams struggled
to make a decisive run. TSU’s n;
point lead in the second half
the furthest either squad could pull
away.
The Bulldogs used three clutch
three-pointers from Kragel ti
into the Tiger lead ^fter losing a
four-point lead at the half.
They key to the Bulldog wi
came poor free throw shooting
down the stretch by the Tigers.
TSU went 14 of 31 to shoot 45
percent, well below their season
average, while the Bulldogs shot 65
percent from the charity stripe.
“We just didn’t take care of busi
ness,” said Lovett. “We wanted
play Texas and now we’re going
home. They didn’t outplay us, they
just made their free throws.”
The Bulldogs enjoyed a four-point
lead with 17 seconds remaining ’
regulation, but missed two of four
free throws down the stretch t
the game.
Junior Tiger forward Lionel Willis
forced the overtime after tipping'
a Lovett miss with three seconds
left on the clock.
See BULLDOGS Page 10
Hussein refuses to heed
Bushes 48 hour deadline.
U.S. begins air strikes of
‘selective targets’ in Iraq.
Dearborn McCorkle
President Bush addressed the na-
ion at 10:15 p.m. last night con
firming the beginning of military
action against Iraq.
“American and coalition forces are removed.”
the early stages of military opera-
)ns to disarm Iraq, to free its
people and to defend the world
from grave danger,” said Bush.
“Using chemical, biological or, one
day, nuclear weapons obtained with
the help of Iraq, the terrorists could
fulfill their stated ambitions and
kill thousands or hundreds of thou
sands of innocent people in our
country or any other. Before the
day of horror can come, before it is
late to act, this danger will be
In recent months, the Bush ad
ministration has indicated a rela
tionship between the Iraqi govern
ment and the A1 Qaeda, who
Air strikes began against “selective claimed responsibility for the Sept.
targets of military importance” in 11 terroristattacks. Hussein poses a
Baghdad about 5:30 a.m. Thurs- threat to the United States and its
day (9:30 p.m. ET Wednesday). interests by possibly supporting
Coalition forces fired cruise mis- future terrorist attacks against
siles against “a leadership target of Americans, according to Bush,
opportunity,” according to “The United States of America
CNN.com. has the sovereign right to use force
FI 17 Stealth fighters and “mul- in assuring its own national secu-
iple cruise missiles from U.S. war- rity, said Bush,
ships,” were fired in a “decapitation “That duty falls to me as com-
attack” targeting Saddam Hussein mander of chief by the oath I have
before the war officially started, ^worn, by the oath I will keep.
according to CNN.t
Whether the mission succeeded is
not yet known.
Missiles also struck Iraqi cable re
peater sites, comand and control
and at least one A1 Ababil
surface-to-surface missile launcher,
according to CNN.com.
Seventeen
Iraqi sol
diers surren-
U.S. troops
Wednesday.
Bush told
the Ameri
that efforts
with Iraq
had failed
address
Mar. 17
Bush gave
Hussein and
leave Iraq
Recognizing the threat to our coun
try, the United States Congress
voted overwhelmingly last year to
support the use of force against
Iraq.”
The United States has spent
months arguing its case for war
against Iraq to the United Nations.
“Last Sep
tember, I
U.N. Gen
eral Assem-
the world
this dan
Bush
No
vember 8
the Security
Council
COURTESY OF GOOGLE.COM
Saddam Hussein refused to leave Iraq.
iution 1441,
finding Iraq in material breach of
its obligations and vowing serious
end,” said consequences if Iraq did not fully
and immediately
disarm.”
The United States and
Britain faced strong opposition to
war by permanent U.N. Security
Council members France, Russia
and China who argued for further
inspections and efforts at diplo-
“For the last four and a half
months, the United States and our
allies have worked with the Secu-
litary action.
“All the decades of deceit and
elty have now reached
Bush in his speech.
“Saddam Hussein and his sons
must leave Iraq within 48 hours.
Their refusal to do so will result in
military conflict commenced at the
time of our choosing.”
The Iraqi government’s aggres
sive tendencies and support of ter
rorists networks presents a danger
to peace, according to Bush.
“The regime has a history of reck
less aggression in the Middle East,”
said Bush. “It has a deep hatred of rity Council to enforce that council’s
America and our friends and it has longstanding demands,” said Bush.
aided, trained and harbored terror
ists, including operatives of A1
Qaeda.”
Bush cited Hussein’s past use of
chemical and biological weapons,
intelligence indicating the Iraqi gov
ernment continues to possess and
conceal these weapons and its ac
tive aiding of terrorists groups as
justification for a military strike.
“The danger is clear,” said Bush.
“Yet some permanent members of
the Security Council have publicly
announced that they will veto any
resolution that compels the disar
mament of I raq. These governments
share our assessment of the danger,
but not our resolve to meet it.”
The United States, along with
Great Britain and Spain, decided
See WAR Page 10
Serving UNCA Since 1982
WWW. unca. edu/hanner