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n.c.csKay. tucsdavC march 11, 1J»75 .page 8
Tourney a Success
This year’s first two-on-two basketball
tournament proved to be a major success
as twelve teams went out to match their
speed, coordination and shooting ability
against their opponents. Despite the lack
of good referees and accurate boundary
measurements, all the teams played
well. The players as well as the fans had
a very enjoyable time. Winners talked
about what strategy they would employ
on their next victims, while losers
trudged away muttering under their
breath now many touls the referee
missed. The teams were matched up and
the results were as follows;
Cook, Gardener 40, Clarke, Skyler 34.
Tom Skyler and Josh Clarke put the
pressure on early with Skyler’s outside
shooting and Clarke’s short hooks
building up leads of 16-8 and 22-14. After a
time-out the momentum changed quickly
as Cook hit from the side with short
jumpers and caught Gardener with some
beautiful assists to tie the score at
twenty-eight apiece. Clarke, Skyler
called a time-out but to no avail.
Gardener’s tough man-to-man defense
forced Clarke into taking some erratic
shots which did not hit the rim. Cook
easily layed the ball up for two points.
Skyler continued to swish from the
outside and the score was knotted once
more at 34-all. Cook’s deadly drive
provided the next six points., highest
score of any player.
Butner, Anderson 34, Hubbard, Eslick 32,
Overtime.
Mike Burtner lobbed the ball up with 46
seconds left in the overtime to give the
Burtner, Anderson duo a hard fought
victory over John Hubbard and Kurt
Eslick. Labeling themselves Fool No. 1
and Fool No. 2, Hubbard and Eslick
played a good game. Hubbard’s deadly
hook from the right comer provided the
F ools with the scoring punch they needed
to keep the game close. Eslick was left in
the clear, and though he missed most of
his shots he made eight crucial points.
Burton and Anderson concentrated on
driving for the layup and succeeded in
finding the hoop almost every time.
Hubbard and Eslick had a chance of
putting the game away as they held the
bipest lead of the game at 26-22 with one
minute left, but Anderson made a quick
steal, Eslick missed the short jumper,
and the game finished at 28-all. The
teams traded baskets in overtime and
with 15 seconds left it was 32-all. Again
the Fools had the chance of pulling it out,
but Eslick’s shot bounced off the rim.
Burton snagged the rebound and
proceeded to sink the winning basket,
capping an excellent performance
consisting of 18 points, eight rebounds,
and five assists. Hubbard finished with 24
points to top all scorers.
Parks, Schrawder, 40, Stevenson, Stuart
22.
Ernest Stuart got the tip-off and hit the
first layup of the game, but that was the
only time his team would enjoy the lead.
The Parks-Schrawder combination
caught fire and, taking advantage of
their height and good ball handling,
reeled off 16 straight points. Parks hit
consistently from outside the free throw
line, and Schrawder amazed the crowd
with fade-away jumpers and dazzling
left-hand hooks which drifted through the -
hoop.
Stevenson made good moves to the
basket, but the ball played tricks around
the rim and refused to fall. Stuart made a
■ew nice outside shots, but the team’s
lack of height was a handicap, as Mel and
Vince brought down rebound after
rebound. Ernest and Dave had one spurt
which got them within eight points at 22-
14, but a well-executed screen play, and
two quick assists from Parks to
Schrawder, put the contest beyond reach.
Mel had 18, Vince 22 for the winners,
while Stevenson ended with 14 and Stuart
eight for the losers.
Muckley, McClellan 40, Shearin Co. 26.
Good penetration and some great
rebounding on the defensive boards kept
John Frakes and Richard Hobson in close
contest with Alvin Muckley and Richard
McClellan. Though Alvin and Rich had
an eight-point lead most of the game,
Shearin’s Co. cut that to four points, at 18-
14, and 26-22. Frakes and Hobson hit a
cold spell and made only four more
points the rest of the game, as Muckley
and McClellan coasted to the lopsided 14-
point victory. The game wound up being
the most physical, with a record 11 fouls
called.
Williams, Hartig 40, Cook, Medas 28.
Tom Williams was the deciding factor
in the Hartig-Williams upset over Ron
Cook and Glenn Medas as he hit on 12 of
21 field goal attempts, and hauled down
13 rebounds. Hartig chipped in with 16
points and some fancy assists as they
rolled to their 12-point win. For Cook and
Medas, who were heavily favored to
reach the finals, it was a frustrating loss.
Ron rushed his short shots and his usual
deadly precision was gone for the day.
Medas played a good game, and had 16
points.
Williams and Hartig, playing smooth
and confident ball, ran off to a 20-8 lead
and then put on a sticky man-to-man
defense, smothering the chances of a
comeback for the top-ranked Cook,
Medas duo.
Cook, Gardener 40, Parks, Schrawder 34.
Mel and Vince, moving the ball well,
finding the open man and swishing the
outside shots, seemed as if they would
repeat their 40-22 blowout of the
preceding day as they ran up a 26-16 lead
at the half on Dave and John. The pace
of the game turned the opposite
direction, though, and Cook and
Gardener uncorked a series of plays and
awesome shooting which supplied them
with a 12-point surge, while Mel and
Vince went scoreless. Schrawder broke
the drought with an outside bomb and the
score was 28-all.
Concentrating on double-teaming
Cook, John Gardener provided the spark
that won the game as he was open for
nifty assists and short outside shots.
Dave had 26 points and John had 14, all in
the second half, to give them their second
straight comeback victory and eliminate
Parks and Cook from the playoffs.
Williams, Hartig 40, Balski, Reinhard 28.
Tonuny Williams and Bryan Hartig
continued their rampage as they both hit
70 per cent of their shots and took a 20-8
lead in the opening minutes of the game.
Balski and Reinhard fought back, but the
game was obviously out of reach at 28-14
as everything Williams threw up found
its way to the hoop, perforating the rim
for two pointers. Balski’s superb outside
touch nevertheless gave him 16 points,
while Williams hit for 22 to take scoring
honors. Hartig had 18, and Reinhard had
12 for the losers.
Muckley, McClellan
Anderson 24.
40, Burtner,
The Burtner-Anderson twosome gave
Mackley and McClellan a tougher first
half than they had bargained for as they
kept the score deadlocked with no more
than four points separating the teams.
Muckley and McClellan played a bit too
relaxed and confident, blowing layups,
throwing away good passes, and shooting
a miserable 40 per cent from the field,
while Anderson and Burtner poured in 10
points apiece to end the half down by only
four, 24-20. The tables turned drastically
the last fifteen minutes of the match, as
Muckley sizzled the net with outside
buckets and McQellan took advantage of
Burtner’s lack of speed to drive in for
twisting layups. Mike and Robert’s
offense collapsed as each sunk only one
field goal the entire last half.
SEMI-FINALS
Muckley, McClellan 40, Cook, Gardner
34.
After winning two straight comeback
victories, it looked as if the Cook-
Gardener duo might pull out another.
Sports Corner By Alvin Muckley
I
Kssay i’hoto by Bryant Arrington
Rick McClellan defending against Tommy Williams in warm-up to the
final game.
Down 24-16 at the half, Dave Cook caught
fire and hit the next 10 straight points
while feeding John Gardener with two
assists for quick baskets. The score was
evened at 32. Muckley and McQellan,
who had been playing below par, got
things rolling and hit two baskets, but
Cook came back with his deadly head
fake to score his 28th point of the game.
Muckley came back despite being
hampered by John Gardner’s pesky
defense and fired the next four points
from outside. That ended hopes of
reaching the finals. Dave Cook finished
the tournament with 88 points, averaging
a clean 29.1 a game, while hauling down
an average 11 rebounds and five assists.
FINALS
Muckley, McClellan 40, Williams, Hartig
36.
Alvin Muckley got loose for a split
second from Tommy Williams’ constant
defense and pumped in the winning
baskets as Muckley-McClellan took a 1-0
lead in the best-of-three finals. The
game, which was one of the most
physical, exhausting and evenly
matched, proved to be a real thriller as
both teams traded baskets with Muckley-
McClellan leading by a mere two points
throughout. Tommy Williams continued
to sizzle with beautiful fadebacks, short
hooks, and layups, while nailing Hartig
with assists for easy points under the
basket. Williams finished the night with
22 markers, hitting 50 per cent of his
shots. For the winners, it was Muckley
connecting from 20 feet, and McClellan
playing despite an extremely swollen
thumb and driving on Hartig for the
layup that made the difference.
Bryan Hartig swooped up an
incredible hookshot from the baseline to
tie the game at 36, but Muckley ended the
tension by dropping in the next four
points. Muckley tied Williams for high
scorer with 22 points, while McClellan
added 18 and Hartig 14 for the losers.
Muckley, McClellan 40, Williams, Hakig,
34.
Muckley and McClellan put on the
pressure in the final minutes and broke
loose from a 30-30 tie to outscore the
Hartig-Williams duo and wrap up the
title and $10 in prize money.
Hartig and Williams were well on their
way to evening the series at one apiece as
they burst to 12-6 and 18-12 leads, but
Muckley made two quick steals,
McQellan hit a jumper over Hartig, and
it was 18-all. Alvin and Rich took a 30-24
lead with 4:20 left, but the determined
6’1” Williams and 5’10” Hartig refused to
give. Tommy blocked a Muckley jump
shot, fed Hartig the assist, forced
McClellan to take an uncomfortable shot,
and Hartig drove in one-on-one on
Muckley to tie the score for the fourth
time.
Muckley and McClellan answered with
two fast breaks, and a Muckley bomb
from 20 feet put the game out of reach.
Good officiating and a sharp whistle by
Glenn Medas kept the game under
control.
Muckley sunk 22 points and Rich
contributed 18 markers to the winning
cause. Hartig had his best offensive night
with 22, while Williams, hampered by
McClellan’s defense, had a tournament
low of 12 points. The losers wound up with
$5 in prize money.
The teams’ most sincrere thanks are
extended to Mrs. Juanita Palmer, Mr.
Dave Belnap, and all the eager rkerees
who officiated. Thanks also to the few
screaming fans that showed up to make
the tournament a success.