Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / March 24, 1988, edition 1 / Page 8
Part of Elon University Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
8 THE PENDULUM Sports Christians down Pembroke By Jeff Marcin Sports Writer Eton’s baseball completed its “spring break” with a perfect 6-0 record, as the Fightin’ Christians downed conference foe Pembroke State 18-2 on Sunday. Elon is now 15-3 overall and 3-0 in the con ference and district following last week’s wins. The Christians began the week with a 4-1 win over Fairmon State on Monday. Freshman Mike Beckon’s two-run homer in the first inning, and the pitching of Bobby Hunt and Doug Zachary paced Elon to the win. The Christians traveled to Mt. Olive on Tuesday and Mars Hill Wednesday and will travel to Pfeiffer on Saturday before retun ing home Sunday to face High Point in a 2 p.m. contest at Newsome Field, located at the north end of the campus. Golfers place third n By Norman Perduk Sports Writer The Elon College men’s golf team placed third in the Max Ward Invitational tournament. It was held Monday and Tuesday at the Alamance Country Club in Burlington. Guilford, the SAC-8 Con ference and District champions for the past three years, easily out distanced the 24-team field by 22 shots with a two-day total of 608. Western Carolina finished second at 630 and the Elon Col lege "gold” team third with a score of 643. Guilford was led by Lee Porter and Mike Hutcheon who tied for individual honors at 146, four over par. Fairmont State and Methodist rounded out the top five. The gold team’s next event is the Camp Le- juene Invitational this coming weekend, and on April 4 and 5, they will travel to Williamsburg, Vii^inia^for the William and Mary tournament. GET HIM OUT! The Fightin’ Christians number 22 looks to catch the ball and get another out as Elon went on to beat Pembroke 18-2 last Sunday. Photo by Kathy Meadows Just another “game of your life” Wes Durham Sports Writer Every so often a game is played or an event occurs that will give people that saw it a memory that will last forever. Whether you like it or not Elon’s 99-95 loss at High Point on March 8 was that kind of game. During the regular season Elon had won both games and, in the process, claimed the regular season Carolinas Conference crown for the first time in some 16 years. By the way, the Fightin’ Christians and the Panthers finished the year with identical 12-4 league marks. Sports Beat The two regular season games were so good that everyone tied in with the conference tourney in Salisbury, almost wrote Elon and High Point into Saturday’s finals before the event started on Wednesday. But on the way to the big dance. Elon was stunned by Wingate in the opening round, to force fans to wait six days for the game they wanted to see all along. During that time span, the Panthers of Jerry Steele went on to win their second straight CIAC tournament. Then finally after all the waiting, Elon and High Point were forced to play to decide who would advance to the District 26 finals, and the right to go to Kan sas City for the NAIA National Tournament. After a 91-76 Elon win in January, and then a 77-71 Fightin’ Christian overtime victory in ear ly February, how were these two conference powers and old rivals going to play a better game? Much to my amazement and , I’m sure to everyone else who saw the game, Elon and High Point battled all night to a seemingly endless verdict. But you knew while you were sitting or standing there watching the contest that you were seeing something special. How special or lasting was it? That is awfully hard to say, but you just had a feeling this was a game people were going to talk about long after you had left Elon for other venues in your life. After the first half, Elon had a 10-point lead. But as friend and foe walked around High Point’s Alumni Gym at the break, the talk was not about who was winning the state primary in the “Suf)er Tuesday” election. Conversation was of the first half play of either team, and how you just knew High Point was going to come back and take it to the wire. When the second half started, the Panthers got right back into the game, and for moments in the second 20 minutes, they led Elon by as many as five. But as regulation time counted down, the two teams were tied at 82 each. In the closing seconds, Elon had a chance to win it, but never got the shot off. Alas, for the second straight meeting, Elon and High Point were going to need an overtime to decide the winner. In the fifty-minute session,Elon surged ahead and, with less than thirty seconds left, the Fightin’ Christians led 91-88. In fact, with only two seconds left, Elon held that three point lead. Then, almost as if the game turned into a George Lucas fan tasy film, Brian Branson went to the foul line to seal the win with a one-and-one chance, and only two ticks left. Branson, who earlier in the night had his streak of 39 straight free throws broken, missed the first shot. Chris Winland pulled down the Panther rebound, took two dribbles to his right, and then let fly with a shot that he would never make again in his life or anyone elses. But on this night, in the game that you’ll remember forever, Windlan’s 67-foot prayer was answered. High Point had sent this game into another overtime, and Elon would now have to over come the biggest knockout punch of the night. In the second extra period, the two teams stood toe to toe and battled to the finish. Senior Steve Rage tied the game at 95 with a V( I EacI one deni Iiniv look Tt Trus blla acad three-point jumper, but that’s all Elon could muster in the final stages of the game. While Winland’s basket had something to give to this game, it was also the play of others on each side that added flavor to this contest. Maybe you remember Panther center Roy Smith stuffing home a rebound in the first half, or Elon’s Brian Branson working like a coal miner getting ready to be laid off under the basket for a shot or rebound that may decide the outcome. Or maybe it was Denard Barnes’ three-point shots in the first half, that while in the air were as beautiful as any painting from Rembrandt or Picasso. Maybe its best for you to remember what you wish. But IH always recall the game, not as an Elon loss, but for what it had in its fifty-minute span. Certainly, when you look at it from that point, you feel very priviledged to have been there. NE stai R) Ci Bi
Elon University Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 24, 1988, edition 1
8
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75