Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Lady G A^ - BiF^ flpliitt HMBM? *^B|pl HBa8hk<y^ jg|g||ir ^mip^^f^i W^Jr u Mlllip? jjMML* - ' v. >rPf'L'" ' : J-m* VBBH |P^?fi^r^' v ' ; ' - V ^^BglgflN1! Bf-S W. ?f'* V >? ^^^112??^ f'5i ^f:'^ ^g'.&^|?^/v^*!^%Bji8B^B ^nH ..ViPSgjaBtSf USC coach Pam Parsons f/a and to the excited crowd I Gamecocks defeated Tenni Coliseum. A smiling Cheryl / coach. Intrar From Staff Reports Because of an increase in team entries this year, the intramural basketball league has undergone a major face lift. Add to that the fact that last season's champion University Union along with other top ten teams such as E.J.C. will not be participating this, and you U ~ ?1 c * ? nave me piuspt'cus ior a very interesting season. Not only will the Gamecock league be eligible for the postseason playoffs, but two of the four groupings of teams will be divided into divisions for the first time. The fraternity league has a Garnet and Black division, and the Gamecock league will feature a Talon, Claw, Bill, Spur, Comb and Wings division. These divisions will have eight or nine teams each. The I 4 ? r-? l t:_i iiiuupt-nuciu miu uui in uiu not require separate divisions. Last year, University Union surprised everyone by making it all the way to the championship game without a defeat. In the finals, they upset heavily favored Alpha Phi Alpha, which failed in its third consecutive attempt to win the intramural title. Two years ago, the Alphas fell to Omega Psi Phi in overtime while Kappa Alpha defeated them in the 1977 final. Here are the top ten teams for the 1980 season in order of ranking: SIGMA NU ? Returning three starters from last year's team that reached the semi-finals of the intramural Dlav-offs. Sigma Nu should once again be a strong contender for the fraternity division championship. BiH Deloache, the team's leading scorer of a year ago is back as well as starters David Crigler and Women 's bai amecocks #^8BBk I >HH|HH^HHMi i^ffifllspB^ ^ph gagr JBaHiitMtoj m x:" -1 $ms- -1 Eh ' v k . . . Bpir flL. X^3MM|M|M|MMMtttta| i.'., ?- w^ir Dave RnhnrW -fiflMFrnrt shes the victory sign to her team A/ednesday night, as the Lady issee 56-52 at the Carolina \utrey stands to the left of her 1 nural bask Bryan Allen. Steve Mader will also be returning, and looks to be set for a starting position as is pledge Bob Parker, who will be counted on to fill in the void left by Tim Ballentine at center. KAPPA ALPHA ? Always one of the top teams in the fraternity division, the KAs will again be among the top contenders when the play-offs begin. Led by a high scoring trio of Billy Gause, David Estefano and Brant Bahnmuller, KA will again employ the patient style that has been so successful for them in the past. Bahnmuller should run the show from his point guard position while Estefano provides strength on the boards and Gause, a former USC varsity player, is a capable outside shooter. USC cheerleader Bevan Funderburk will also add depth to the KA team. OMEGA FSI PHI ? Relying on quickness, which has been their trademark over the past few years, the Ques should have r. ? auuuici 311U115 icaiii uutT cl^iilll this year. Despite the loss of starters Ollie Lowery and Maurice Sanders, Omega Psi Phi is hoping to match the intensity of its intramural championship team two season ago. Returning for the Ques are Walter Wheeler, Vic Adams, Derick Pinkney and Carl Dean. Newcomers include Tim Key anaijrien jonnson. * COLUMBIA HALL ? A tall quick team will be the trademark of this year's Columbia Hall team. I>ed by a big front line of Paul Brown (6-3), Dave Roper (6-3) and iketball goes big t rip Vols ii By Michelle Burchette Gamecock Staff Writer Combining an impenetrable zone defense and mental control, the Lady Gamecocks staged a second half comeback to upset fourth ranked Tennessee 56-52 Wednesday night in one of the most exciting basketball games played in the Carolina Coliseum this season. Down by as many as 17 points, Carolina refused to give up. They re-grouped at halftime, switched from a man-to-man to the zone and slowly chipped away at the Lady * ? A ? ? * vuis lo-poini naimme ieaa. By switching defenses the Lady Gamecocks forced Tennessee to shoot from the outside, stopping the inside domination of 6-3 Lady Vol Jill Rankin and her 6-5 teammate Cindy Noble. "We shut down their inside game," Coach Fam Parsons said about the zone. "We couldn't shut it down man-to-man, but it was also good strategy to play one way one half and another way the other half." JUNIOR JEAN WALLING agreed that implementing the zone is what allowed Carolina to take control of the game. "It wasn't that we couldn't handle them man-toman, but we woulc contain the lob (pass) a lot better in the zone because we had help there and we weren't afraid to front," she said. Guard Kita Johnson believes the switch allowed more steals and threw off the Lady Vols' defense. "We were really aggresive in our 2-3 zone and I think that's what slowed them up on offense," she said. "Against the man-to-man they sort of did what they wanted to but when our 2-3 started working fnr HO I fKlnlr fKo* fUn 4. ivi mo a uium nidt wao tuc tui Ulllg point in the game." ;etball fea Dave Whittington (6-5), Columbia Hall appears to be the class of the dorm division. Leading a fast breaking offense will be point guard Ben Jett. An excellent ball handler, Jett should team with 6-3 guard Jimbo Whitney to run Columbia Hall's pi coding iiiaii-Lu-iuciii ucicnac. ?/uu Guy and Curt Snider should add depth from the bench. PI KAPPA PHI ? Returning four starters from last year's 9-2 tournament team, Pi Kappa Phi should have its strongest team ever. Back for the "ping pongs" are 6-5 Manny Brunson and 6-3 Robert Lake at forward, and 6-2 Chuck Wright at guard. An important newcomer for Pi Kappa Phi will be 6-3 Sam Lake. A double-digit scorer with Snowden's play-off team last year, Lake is expected to step in at the center position. The PiKapps feature a starting five who can all handle the ball and shoot well. They already won a big victory over Alpha Phi Alpha this season. ALPHA PHI ALPHA ? With the loss of stars Leroy Buttone and Aaron Hightower, the Alphas will have a major rebuilding job to do if they are to make it to the intramural finals for a fourth consecutive season. | Major factors for the Alphas, i ? wno nave maae it to tne championship game for the past three years but are still looking for their first title, will be big center Phil Johnson, guard Daryl Haynes and forward Harry Wilkes. Johnson seems to be quicker in the middle this year while Haynes and Wilkes, who both came on me at USC i coliseur While the defensive switch definitely helped the Lady Gamecocks, the way in which Walling, Cynthia Jacobs and Sheila Foster controlled the boards also made a difference. By stopping Rankin and Noble (the Vols' leading scorer), the Lady Gamecocks cut off Tennessee's main source of points. According to Walling it wasn't an easy task. ' nanKin is strong,'' walling 'Coach Parsons told us we couldn't quit...not for a crowd like this.' Jean Walling said. "She's a physical girl and it was really hard to get around her. You just have to be physical with somebody who's that strong." /w mkm wt were scared when they started racking up points on us, but at halftime we went in and coach told us it wasn't so much of them playing great ball as it was us playing scared," Johnson said. "We knew we had to go out with more hustle and determination to win this one and wedid." Johnson was faced with taming Tennessee's quick guard Holly Warlick. "Coach Parsons assured me that I could take command of my position if I just played my best," shesaid. "Rita is easily crushed by mistakes," Parsons said. "I could tures neu during last year's play-offs, should provide most of the scoring. The Alphas will run a lot and hit the boards hard as in past years, but their lack of depth could hurt them. AFRO ? After a year's layoff from intramural competition, AFRO has fielded a contending team for competition in the independent division this season. With a small team, AFRO will be relying on the play of their strong back-court tandem of Rich Perry and Ron Johnson. Another major factor for AFRO Charitab chokes ago LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - USC charitable in college basketball V meant another game in the loss coh Florida Southern converted ei* seconds to capture a 70-62 victory ai loss of the season. Carolina was able to tie the cont when the Mocs went into a weave. Mocs the lead, and USC never score To add insult to injury a shot by ! was recovered from the rim by So no goal tending call was made. r;\MECOCK COACH Frank McC It was goaltending." But McGuire was philosophic ab They wanted the game more than w Starting point guard Kurt Alston i Southern Coach Hal Wissel said, 4,V . Mike Hayes led the Mocs with 17 17 for the Gamecocks. Florida Southern is now 13-3 on tl 11-5. n thriller see mentally she was really feeling bad so I said, 'Rita, don't do that You're as good as those girls out mere, dui mentally your're ieeling bad about things that you haven't done.' 4'I told her to go out there and just play basketball. If we won it would be great, but if we lost then there would be another time," Parsons said. "Coach Parsons told me I was letting Holly Warlick get the best of me and she knew that I could control any point guard I wanted to," Johnson said. WHILE JOHNSON'S quickness and control aided the Lady Gamecocks, Walling also helped the team. According to Parsons. Walling's experience is what kept Carolina in the game. "I've maintained all year that when the real pressure games came along Jean Walling would pull through because of experience," Parsons said. "No one can explain what experience does for a person, but in the pressure situation the girl that shone tonight had to be Jean?without a doubt." Another factor in the win was the 30-second clock. Parsons believes the half-minute time limit gives a team the chance to stage a comeback. "I love that clock because it allows a team to have lapses and then pull it back together if they can," she said. PERFORMING IN front of a spirited crowd of 5,500 also kept the team from givig up and spurred them on to a rally. "Anytime you have a crowd like that behind you there's no way you can quit," Walling said. See women, page 10 . 1 1 f 1UUK is Donzel Leaks. A member of the All-Intramural team for his play with Snowden's play-off team last year. Leaks will give his team some needed experience Andre Christian will start at a forward spot while piayer-coach Douglas Hudson will provide strength off the bench as the sixth man. KAPPA ALPHA PS I Rejoining the ranks of the fraternity division after a year layoff is Kappa Alpha Psi. Featuring All-Intramural player Kevin See Top Ten page 11 ile USC tin on road ! found out what it means to be Vednesday night. In this case it imn. | ?ht free throws in the final 30 nd hand the Gamecocks their fifth est at 62-62 with 2:29 remaining. A Kevin Darmody foul gave the fd again. South Carolina's Kenny Reynolds uthern's John Ebeling. However, luire called it "a disgraceful call. out the loss. "They were hungry, e did," he said. was out with a sprained ankle and /e had to play it close to the best." , while Cedrick Hordges also had ie year while the Gamecocks are I