THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23,1974
PAGE FOUR
GLANCING AT SPORTS
- bjllwilmot -
Last weekend the St. Andrews cagers put on a splendicH
poised performance in the DIAC tournament, thus going a \on
way toward annulling much of the criticism coming from tM
and other sources throughout the season. Proven especial]
faj^ was the assessment that they had no self-confidence and
would always dioke in a close game. By winning a 59-58 verdict
on Lynchburg’s home court, SA achieved what Coach Whitelev
called the “mushroom effect.” The win gave the Knights a new
confidence in themselves, as individuals and more importantly
as a team, and in the four comers offense with which they were'
so successful.
Whiteley, often criticized for his lack of game plan, developed
* a strong and complete strategy for this tournament, and stuck
by it an the way. The Knights, who had worked on the four cor
ners attack throughout the year in practice but only used it in
one game (against Warren Wilson) accepted it wholeheartedly
and executed it superbly in the tourney, knowing they had
nothing to lose, llie results were spectacular. “Nobody expected
us to run the four comers,” said Whiteley. “So the first night
when we ran it we wee successful wth it. Mayb people thought
we were playing ovr our heads, but we came right back the next
night and would have won big if we’d hit our free throws.” The
Knights won big enough, defeating Newport 62-52.
Whiteley set up his four comers offense with either Leath or
Bonds, whichever one was guarded by the weaker defensive
player (usuaUy Leath), in the middle, around the free throw cir
cle. Roberts and Haddix were the outside cornermen, with An
drews and Bonds (or Leath) along the baseline. The play which
worked most often was set up as follows: Robert would begin to
cut toward the basket and get the ball from Leath. If an opening
existed, as was the case surpringly often, he would drive for a
layup. If all alleys were closed he would return the ball to Leath,
who had by this time rotated away from the basket. If, as he
drove, Roberts was picked up by a defender from the side, he
would pass to the open man. Bonds or Andrews, for a short jump
shot. Despite the numerous passes necessary in a four comers
offense, the Knights committed only 13 turnovers in each game.
Roberts played extremely well during Uie tournament, and
certainly accumulated excellent credentials which led to his
MVP award. He led SA in scoring and assists, and brought the
ball upcourt against some strong pressure. Whiteley em
phasized that the success was due to a team effort. “Everybody
did his job and did it well. Haddix did a great job on defense.
Bonds played the best defense he’s played all year. He played
well on both ends. Bonds, Andrews and Leath did just a super
job on the boards.” A1 Leath pointed out that it was the Knights’
strong, mistake free defense, alternating from zone to man-to-
man in different situations, which kept the team in the tour
nament until the end.
By playing up to their potential, by playing together as a team
and by waiting for high percentage shots, the Knights managed
to salvage a great deal of respectability after a disappointing
season. They did this by keeping the faith-or regaining it-in
their coach and in themselves. Significantly, the two wins could
be the catalyst to turn the St. Andrews athletic program around.
The program once among the strongest in the district, has gone
disturbingly downhill in the last five years, reaching a low point
in the 1973 calendar year as the basketball and baseball teams
won two games apiece and the soccer team failed to qualify for
the district playoffs. Needless to say, things didn’t appear to be
getting any better, with or without Dean Arnold’s sympathy. But
the success at Lynchburg can’t help but impress prospects, who
see that St. Andrews does indeed have some latent potential.
With one or two big men, SA could easily be up near the top of
the conference standings within a couple of years. This and the
anticipated revival of the baseball team could have a very im
portant effect on the future of varsity athletics here, before you
dismiss this paragraph as a pipe dream, remember that
surrealistic optimism can be amazingly acciu'ate sometimes.
Bowling Tourney
Here Friday
Playing with great con
fidence and poise which belied
their sixth seeding, St. An
drews’ basketball Knights
pulled off two shocking upsets
and took top-deeded Methodist
down to ttie last ten seconds
before bowing 44-38 in the
finals of the Dixie Conference
basketball tournament at Lyn
chburg last weekend. 'Hie
Knights, adhering throughout
the tournament to Coach Tom
Whiteley's fotff comers of
fensive strategy, toppled Lyn
chburg CoUege in the first
round 59-58, then thrashed
Christopher Newport 62-52 to
gain the finals.
The game against Lyn
chburg, which had beaten SA
96-85 and 82-72 during the
regular season, was close
throughout. SA overcame the
Hornets’ advantages in height
and speed by patiently waiting
for good shots. St. Andrews
connected on 58.2% of their
field goal attempts, a tour
nament record which stood for
one night. The next night the
Knights broke that record by
hitting 61.1% against
Newport. In the three tour
nament games St. Andrews
bombarded the nets with 62
ofll0r56.4%).
The Knights got off to a
seven point lead midway
through the first half against
Lynchburg, but fell behind by
six with about five minutes
left. Calmly the Blue came
back, however, to capture a
33-32 halftime advantage. The
score remained extremely
close throughout the second
half and was tied at 53 willi un
der two minutes left. Joe
Roberts’ field goal gave SA a
two point lead. Lynchburg
pulled within one, but two clut
ch free throws by Alvin Leath
gave St. Andrews breathing
room. Mike Carducd quickly
scored for Lynchburg, but a
Roberts layup gave SA a three
point lead. Mike Baber’s
meaningless field goal cut the
margin to one. ^
Joe Roberts, the tourney’s
most valuable player, hit 7 of 9
field goal attempts and six of
seven free throws for 20 poin
ts. A1 Leath finished with 15,
A1 Bonds 12, and Ray Andrews
8. Bonds also led the team with
eight rebounds.
Buoyed by their surprising
win, the Knights blew the tall,
strong Captains of
Christopher Newport off the
court the next ni^t, taking a
comfortable 28-22 halftime
lead before exploding to an 18
point advantage lae in the,
second half. Failure to hit free
throws on the Knights’ part
allowed the Captains to cut
the final margin to 10. The
Knights won the game on the
boards, outrebounding CNC
32-23. Bonds, Leath, and An
drews grabbed 19 rebounds
among them in the second
half alone. Bonds totalled 20
points (9-12 field goals, 2-2
free throws) and 12 rebounds
in what was probably the
greatest game of his St. An
drews career. Ray Andrews
scored 16 points, while Rober
ts and Leath added 10 each.
Methodist reached the
finals "by romping past UNC-G
95-59 and edging Greensboro
College 74-71. They were
rated heavy favorites’ on the
basis of a 12-2 conference
record in regular season ac
tion, but had a great deal
of difficulty overcoming the
Knights now polished offense
and tenacious defense. SA
jumped to a quick 9-3 lead on
five points by Roberts and
four by Leath. SA managed to
maintain a lead throughout
most of the half, expanding it
to 17-11 on Bonds’ three point
play at 7:40. Late in the half,
SA put the ball in a deep
freeze, scoring only two points
in the last five minutes and
fifty seconds, and the Mon-
archs tied the scored 21-21 at
intermission.
Joe Roberts opened the
second half with a th*-ee point
play on a drive, but Methodist
soon went up by three, 31-28. A
short jumper by Andrews,
who hit 12 of 19 in the tour
nament, followed by Roberts’
layup and Leath’s two free
throws, gave the underdog
Kni^ts a 34-31 lead. Con
tinuing the trend, Methodist
ran off six straight points, af
ter which another driving
layup by Roberts cut the lead
back to 37-36. With the lead
late in the game, Methodist
used an effective zone defen
se, forcing the Knights to
press the attack and shoot out
side. Both Bonds and Roberts
missed 15-footers in the last
four minutes that could have
helped the Knights’ cause im
mensely.
By playing tremendous
defense, the Knights stayed
within striking distance, cut
ting the Monarchs’ lead to 40-
38 at the :25 mark on Roberts
jump shot. SA put on tough
pressure trying to prevent
Methodist from putting the
ball in play, and Greg Jones
fouled ^nds as he jostled for
position. St. Andrews, not in a
one-and-one situation, gained
the baU out of bonds. With 11
seconds remaining Leath was
double teamed and was called
for travelling. Greg Jones mt
four free throws to set up
Methodist’s second straight
tournament title.
St. Andrews finished its
season with a 9-15 record.
Junior guard Joe Roberts of
St. Andrews was named Most
Valuable Player in the Dixie
Conference tournament at
Lynchburg last weekend.
Roberts, a six^oot transfer
student from Lebanon, In
diana, led the Knights to an
unexpected second place
finish in the tournament.
Roberts led SA in scoring
with 48 points in the three
games, and in assists with
eleven. His contribution,
however, cannot be measured
by statistics alone. Joe, known
as an aggressive defensive
player, repeatedly hounded
opposing guards with his
quick hands and excellent
balance. Offensively, he w^
the man who had to bring the
ball upcourt, sometimes
against a fuU court press. He
handled this assignment vir
tually flawlessly.
SA’s sophomore forward
Albert Bonds was also named
to the AU-Toumament team.
Bonds scored 37 points in the
toumey and pulled down 23
rebounds, including 10 in the
second half against the tall
Christopher Newport team.
Like Roberts, Bonds hit about
60% of his field goal attempts.
Others named to the All-
Toumament team were Craig
Kniaht and Don Bouler of
Methodist and Clarence Cald
well of Greensboro College.
Bonds was also named to the
second team regular season
All-Conference team, it was
disclosed at the tournament
site. It was the second con
secutive year that second
team honors have been awar
ded to Bonds by rival coaches.
SA’s Ray Andrews received
honorable mention in this
balloting.
Thinclads
Outclassed
Andy Crowell cleared 11
feet in the pole vault, scoring
two points for SA in an indoor
track meet Monday at Lyn
chburg. His leap enabled the
Knights to beat Campbell and
Atlantic Christian which had
one and no points respec
tively. Pembroke State won
the seven team affair with
Norfolk State second.
Coach Ed Crain’s Braves
boasted the meet’s most
outstanding performer in
distance star Victor Elk,’
who won both the miles and
two mile. Elk ran the two
mile in 9:17. Pembroke’s
David RiUlips, a Laurinburg
native, cleared 6’10” in win
ning the high jump. The pole
vault was won at 14 feet by
Martin of Pembroke..*
Jacob Houge had a good run
in the 600, crossing in 1:22.7.
Despite this time he failed to
reach the final. Billy Parker
just missed qualifying for the
triple jump final.
Coach Kinne commented
that the team did about as
well aw could be expected and
stressed the stiff competition
in the meet. These men want
to improve their marks and
no doubt will do so as the
season progresses.
Last Friday at Lynchburg,
the bowling team prepped for
this week’s conference and
district action, finishing with
a 22 point third place effort to
wrap up a cumulative second
place in the final regular
season standings. The
Knights totalled 103 points for
the season, 13 behind
Methodist’s league leaders.
Lynchburg, which won on its*
home lanes, swept past N.C.
Wesleyan into third place
overall at points.
Wes Campbell played an
important role for the
Knights, averaging 193. SA’s
team scores were very com
mendable including an 885.
Jim Herring picked up a 3-7
split. However, Lynchburg,
sparked by Bill Smith and
Steve Wiley got most of the
good breaks. An indication of
the Knights’ more consistent
shooting can be seen in the
fact that most averages went
up.
SA, with four men now
averaging 170 or better, hosts
the Dixie and District 29 com
petition this weekend. To the
winner goes a trip to the
nationals in Kansas City
Coach Blackwell expects the
district winner to be one of
the Dixie Conference’s top
three. The Knights will have a
definite chance to move up
and possibly win it this
as they wiU be on their home
lanes and have been scoring
well recently. These men
have other special incentives,
not the least of which will
to top the basketballers fine
showing. .
Friday the action begins^
4:00 while the first session
Saturday starts with tW
doubles play at 8:00 a.m.
competition continuing
through late afternoon'
Students are welcome to a
tend.
Baseball - SA Vs.
Francis Marion Here
Saturda^^^^^^
COMPONENTS DON'T HAVE TO BE
SEPARATED TO GET A GREAT
SOUND.
SONY INTEGRATED
COMPONENT SYSTEMS
NOW AVAILABLE
PHILLIP'S
MUSIC MART
1408 S. MAIN STREET
THE LANCE
Knights Edged
In DIAC Final