The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 17

1 JUNE 27, 2004 jSXLlNA JOURNAL WOMEN'S GOLF C8 USBL POSTSEASON FESTIVAL At Bleentehnlal Center Saturday's Semifinals Pennsylvania 109, Dodge City 98 Brooklyn 100, Kansas 96 Today's Championship 4 p.m. Pennsylvania (22-10) vs. Brooklyn (22-10). Friday Quarterfinals Dodge City 99, Westchester 89 Pennsylvania 113, Cedar Rapids 104 Brooklyn 104, Oklahoma 93 Kansas 124, Adirondack 94 Semifinal boxscores, additional tournament coverage, C4. Kings end Cagerz' season Kansas battles back from early deficit, but Campbell, Brooklyn prove too much By BOB DAVIDSON Saltna Journal LOCAL NEWS Mike Campbell was a legend on the asphalt playgrounds of New York City before he became a collegiate and professional player.

Campbell showed the Kansas Cagerz and 1,712 of their fans how and why he gained his reputation Saturday night, scoring 44 points and hitting key shot after key shot in leading the Brooklyn Kings to a 100-96 victory in a semifinal game of the United States Basketball League Postseason Festival at the Bicentennial Center. The victory sends Brooklyn into today's championship game against Eastern Division rival Pennsylvania at 4 p.m. Brooklyn won three of four games from Pennsylvania during the regular season. "All of the games were close," Brooklyn coach Kenny Charles said. "One of the games we won we were down five with six seconds to go.

"We're East Coast guys and we don't get a lot of respect on the East Coast, so it will be fun to play this game." The bitter loss was the Cagerz' first at home this season after 16 victories and ends their season with a 21-11 record. It also dashed their hopes of winning the franchise's first USBL title. Campbell, who was 6 of 33 from the field in his two games in the BiCenter this season, was unstoppable Saturday, hitting 13 of 26 shots from the field and all 16 of his free throw attempts, making him 30 of 31 from the line in the two tournament games. He scored 32 in the second half against the Cagerz. Campbell was a finalist in the Nike Battleground competition this year in New York that matches top players from the city in one-on-one duels.

"Mike can play organized basketball, too," Charles said. "All of his shots were within the offense and he really didn't take a bad shot tonight." "He gets to the line, he did it last jiight against Oklahoma, he did it tonight," Cagerz coach Francis t'lax said. "He's a heck of a player We tried our best on him, we didn't have anybody better than Mo (Maurice Jeffers) to guard him. He's just a good The Cagerz couldn't have scripted a start to the game and as a result fought an uphill battle the rest of the See CAGERZ, Page C4 RYAN SODERLIN Sallna Journal Kansas Cagerz forward Lee Benson dunks during the first quarter of Saturday's USBL Postseason Festival semifinal against the Brooklyn Kings at the Bicentennial Center. Campbell propels Brooklyn into finals 'Silky Smooth' guard goes for 44 points; including 32 half to deny Cagerz HUEY COUNTS Ballnajoumal The first few trips down the court, Campbell scored with near impunity, 'and immediately you difference between Saturday night's Brooklyn Kings team and 'the previous night's.

LOCAL NEWS The added dimension. The reason this team is in the USBL championship game. "He's a good player," said Kansas Cagerz coach Francis Flax after watching Campbell shred his team for 44 points. "We tried our best on him. We don't have anybody any better than Moe (Maurice Jeffers) to put on him." Campbell went for 32 of his points after halftime as Brooklyn eliminated the host Cagerz in Saturday's semifinal game, 100-96, at the Bicentennial Center.

Most of the 1,712 fans in attendance went home unhappy, but few realized they watched a legend. When Campbell's not scoring points in bunches for Brooklyn he averaged 22.3 points per game for the Kings he is working the streetball circuit, where he goes by the hick- name "Silky Smooth." SLAM magazine recently named him one of the 50 best streetball players of all-time. With the Kings, though, he keeps the flash and bling to a minimum. He rarely does anything more flamboyant than dribble between his legs. Sure, he tends to shoot a lot, but he takes the ball hard to the basket, which earns him plenty of shots from the free- throw line.

And from the stripe, at least in this tournament, he has been deadly. He was perfect in 16 attempts against the Cagerz, just one night after going 14 of 15 in the Kings' 109-98 win over Pennsylvania. "Actually, this season I've had games where it looked like I didn't have a clue at the free-throw line," he said with a laugh. His prior two games at the Bicenten nial, he pretty much looked clueless from the field. During the regular-season loss against Kansas he missed 18 See CAMPBELL, Page C4 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Cards topKC in 10 Renteria's RBI single breaks tie; St.

Louis' 45-29 mark Ijest in NL By DOUG TUCKER The Associated Press INTERLEAGUE KANSAS CITY, Mo. Edgar Renteria and the St. Louis Cardinals were both lucky and good. They had good in cardinals 3 fortune in the vr ninth inning to keep Kansas City from winning and then they kept it from going to waste in the 10th, when Renteria drove in the go-ahead run in the Cardinals 3-1 win over the Royals on Saturday night. With the score tied at 1 and two on in the ninth, Mike Sweeney hit a line drive right at Renteria, who was perfectly positioned at shortstop to snare the ball and flip to second for an inning-ending double play In the 10th, Renteria singled after Albert Pujols walked and stole second against Rudy Seanez.

"We caught a huge break," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "And we took ad- That ball Sweeney hit might have gone over the fence." Said Renteria: "Bad for good for me." Before Renteria's single, Scott Rolen advanced Pujols with an infield out. "Now, in the 10th we were good," La Russa said. "We had some great at-bats.

Albert made a terrific baserunning play, a game-winning play" Mike Matheny followed with a two-out RBI single. Julian Tavarez (2-0) got the win with a scoreless ninth and Jason Isringhausen pitched the 10th for his 17th save in 21 chances. The victory improved the Cardinals' record to an NL- best 45-29 and tied them with the New York Yankees for the most wins in the majors. In in- terleague games, the Cardinals are 7-1 against Kansas City, Texas and Oakland. "Good teams, they get the breaks," Sweeney said.

"They're a great team." Seanez (0-1), the fifth Royals pitcher, went 1 innings and gave up two hits and two runs. The Royals got more bad news when closer Jeremy Affeldt had to leave the game after getting just one out in the. ninth. Trainer Nick Swartz said he either strained or tore a muscle in his rib cage and would be out a minimum of two weeks, and possibly six. The Cardinals failed to score after loading the bases with two outs in both the eighth and ninth.

Most of the night was a pitching duel between starters Woody Williams and Dennys Reyes, who each gave up one run. Reyes went seven innings and gave up just four hits, with three walks and six strikeouts. Williams went eight innings and gave up one run on eight hits, with three walks and five strikeouts. Pujols doubled leading off the fourth and scored on Renteria's double one out later. See KC, Page C2 IT 'BASEBALL: COLLEGE WORLD SERIES Pullerton Strikes first, turns back Texas Dorn delivers key double In seventh; relievers keep Longhorns off the By ERIC OLSON Associated Press lPf3) Murdty'a Scorn Today's Qanw (ESPN) iFullerlon (46-82) V8, (56-14); .1 OMAHA, Neb.

A Gal FuUerton teani that had a losing record at midseason is now one win away trom a national championship. Danuy Dorn's two-run double gave Fullertorfthe lead in the seventh inning and three relievers shut down Texas the rest of the way, leading the Titans to a 6-4 victory in the first game of the College World Series finals Saturday night. The Titans (46-22), seeking their first national title since 1995 and their fourth overall, can wrap up the bestTOf -three series with a win over the Longhorna (58-14) today. "Texas is not going to go away," FuUerton coach George Horton said. I'They're going to keep making runs at us." FuUerton has won 31 of its past 37.ga 'miBs' after starting the season 15-16.

"We had our rock bottom part of the season and then got the ball rolling," Dorn said. "We don't think so much about winning the national championship tomorrow as we do about going out and winning the first pitch and then the' pitch after that." Dorn stepped to the plate after star reliever Huston Street struck out Nos. 3 and4 batters Kurt Suzuki and RJ. Pilittere. Justin Turner and Clark Hardman had led off the See FULLERTON, Page C5 The Associated Press Fullerton's P.J.

Pilittere (left) and Kurt Suzuki celebrate aftf both scored In the first Inning Saturday against Texas. .1 I SUGGESTIONS? CALL BOB DAVIDSON, SPORTS EDITOR, AT 822-1404 OR 1-80P-827-6363 OR AT.