The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 29

Tuesday, February 10, 1987 THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER PrepC-3 Finneytown's O'Leary to OSU Prep scene (v on Friday to set up a showdown for (he league title. Greenhills plays at Hughes on Feb. 20. MND-Seton tickets Tickets for Thursday night's Girls Greater Cincinnati League showdown between Seton afid Mount Notre Dame can be purchased in advance Wednesday and Thursday at each school during school hours. Adult tickets are $2 and student tickets are $1.50 for the game that will be played at Reading High School.

if ft 1 The Associated Press Mike Mendenhall (left) was co-captain with Oscar Robertson on the UC team that lost to California in the NCAA semifinals in 1959. It was the first of five straight trips to the Final Four for UC. Mendenhall died at 51 over the weekend in Jacksonville, Fla. Mendenhall' death recalls near-miss RD bids to settle dispute Track offers to pay $46,997. 17 BY JACK MURRAY The Cincinnati Enquirer River Downs has offered to settle a disputed twin twifecta payoff from the last day of the 1986 fall meeting by paying the amount of the pool that day $46,997.17 to ticket holders.

i People holding eight of the 23 tickets from that twin trifecta i Nov. 19 have agreed to the offer, according to track general manager Jack Hanessian. Hanessian said i after he made the track's proposal public Monday that he expects the other ticket holders (there were 17 in all) to agree. If they accept the offer, those ticket holders, who correctly picked the first of two designated trifecta races, would be paid $2,043.30 for each ticket just as if they had correctly picked both trifecta races. In addition, the original $46,997.17 twin trifecta pool, plus interest, will be carried over when Tthe track re-opens on April 25.

The payoff dispute occurred af- 1 ter the track advertised that the twin trifecta pool would be distributed on the final day of the fall meet. In a trifecta, bettors try to pick the first three horses in a race in order. In a twin trifecta, bettors correctly pick the first trifecta race get a chance to pick the second trifecta race. The confusion started when Eyeoftheeagle won the eighth race on Nov. 19 at odds of $17-to-l.

None of the 23 exchange tickets from the first race in the twin trifecta picked Eyeoftheeagle to finish first. Despite its advertisement, the track could not distribute the pool without violating Ohio Racing Commission rules regarding twin trifectas. So the track, claiming it inadvertently in its advertis-; ing, followed the rules and held back the pool. After hearing a complaint from two of the bettors Dec. 17, the Ohio Racing Commission had given Riyer Downs 60 days to resolve the matter of the 17 unrequited bettors.

The ORC will rule on the Finneytown's Holly O'Leary, a first team all-city selection in volleyball, verbally committed this weekend to attend Ohio State on a volleyball scholarship. O'Leary is the first female athlete at Finneytown to receive a full-ride athletic scholarship. Ohio State volleyball coach Jim Stone will sign O'Leary Wednesday morning at Finneytown. O'Leary, a 5-10 hitter, earned second-team Class AA all-state honors. She led Finneytown to its best volleyball season ever (27-2), a No.

5 ranking in the final Class AA state poll and a runner-up finish in the regional tournament. O'Leary narrowed her choices to Ohio State and Tennessee late last week. "Ohio State had made a commitment for a scholarship earlier," said O'Leary. "I based my decision on Ohio State having better academics and being closer to home." "The schools that came in after her all said the same thing, that she has unlimited potential," said Sharon Moore, Finneytown's volleyball coach. "She's coming into Ohio State with four other freshmen, and the coach has told me she has a real good chance to start as a freshman." O'Leary was a four-year starter at Finneytown.

She plans to major in a business field at Ohio State. Seton's Ann Fishburn, another first team all-city player, will sign a grant-in-aid Wednesday with Northern Kentucky University. Fishburn started on three Class AAA state championship teams at Seton. The 5-9 hitter was a second team all-state Class AAA selection this year. League races take shape With two weeks left in the boys high school basketball regular season, the area league races are taking shape.

As a matter of fact, Clermont Northeastern in the Clermont County League, Cincinnati Country Day in the Miami Valley Conference and Withrow in the Eastern Metro League have clinched at least a share of their league titles. Here's how the other are races look: Cincinnati Hills League: Cincinnati Academy of Physical Education (11-1, 1 3-3) can clinch a share of the league Now taking reservations for lunch 581-1414 3 -4 af Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated during the combination of our Opening and Holiday crowds crown with at victory over Wyoming on Wednesday. Mariemont (9-4, 10-6) would win the league title if CAPE loses its four remaining league games and the Warriors win their final three league games. Cross Country Conference: Forest Park (6-2, 1 1 -6), Walnut Hills (6-2, 1 1 -5) and Northwest (6-2, 6-9) are tied for the league lead with two games left. In the league, Forest Park has to play McNi-cholas and Amelia.

The race cannot end in a three-way tie because Northwest and Walnut Hills have to square off in the season finale. Northwest also has to play Norwood and Walnut Hills has to play Amelia. Eastern Metro League: Withrow (7-0, 11-6) has clinched a share of the title and can earn it outright with a win at Anderson on Friday. Greater Cincinnati League: St. Xavi-er (6-2, 13-4) and Purcell Marian (6-2, 15-2) appear headed for a co-championship.

St. Xavier finishes league play by hosting Elder on Friday and playing at LaSalle on Feb. 20. Purcell Marian plays at LaSalle on Friday and hosts Roger Bacon on Feb. 20.

Moeller (5-3, 11-6) has a chance at the league title if it wins its final games against Roger Bacon and Elder and St. Xavier and Purcell Marian drop both their final league games. Greater Miami Conference: Hamilton (6-3, 13-6) has to beat Lima (2-7, 7-9) at home Friday to clinch a share of the title. The winner of Friday's Middle-town (6-3, 11-6) at Fairfield (6-3, 11-7) game will clinch a share of the title. If Lima upsets Hamilton, the winner of the Fairfield-Middletown game would earn the title outright.

Metro County Conference: Woodward (8-0, 14-2) can win the title outright with a win over Mount Healthy (7-1, 13-3) at home on Friday. Miami Valley Conference: Cincinnati Country Day (11-0, 15-1) clinched a share of the league crown with a 75-71 victory over Lockland last Friday and can earn the outright title tonight with a victory over Summit Country Day at home. St. Bernard (9-3, 14-4) and Summit Country Day (9-3, 13-3) are still in the hunt. Western Metro Conference: Green-hills (7-1, 13-4) and Hughes (7-1, 12-4) share the driver's seat with two games to play.

Greenhills has to beat Taft on Friday and Hughes has to beat Taylor FREE TUNE-UP I (includes parts labor) With purchase of I Four Wheel Brake Special I Coupon Expires 2-23-87 Four Wheel Brake Special Includes: 1 Replace Brake Pads andor Linings 2. Resurface Rotors andor Drums 3. Repack Wheel Bearings 4. Adjust Brakes 5. Add or Replace Brake Fluid 6.

Road Test 7. 24 Mile Warranty Most Cart Metallic Extra $9995 10 OFF "I RYDER TRUCK RENTAL Valid onlv at Great Lakes Auto Service Coupon Expires 123187 Woodward 6th in state Woodward moved up from No; 8 to No. 6th in the Associated state boys high school basketball poll. In Class AA, Greenfield McClnin was third and Mason was ranked eighth. Woodward No.

1 in city Purcell Marian and Mount Healthy leaped over St. Xavier and Woodward maintained its firm hold on the No. 1 ranking in The Enquirer's city poll. Purcell Marian moved to No. 2, Mount Healthy to No.

3 and St. Xavier, which was defeated by Purcell Marian dropped from No. 2 to No. 4. x1 1.

Woodward 14-2(14) 2. Purcell Marian 14-2(1). 3. Mount Healthy 4. St Xavier 13 4 5.

Withrow a Moeller ll- 7. Fairfield 11-7 I. Hughes 12-4 Oak ,148 ,131 18 10 80 65 .55 34 27 20 10. Eider The others: Princeton 11, Walnut HWs Roger Bacon 7, Forest Park 5, Greenhills and CAPE 2. Site change The battle between Woodward and Withrow, old-time Public High League rivals, will be played tonight at Xavier University Schmidt Fieldhouse at 7:30 p.mv D.

ORLANDO LEDBETTtR and CAREY HOFFMAN MM FREE OIL i I vrnnnuc I With purchase of Tune-UP I Coupon Expires 2-23-87 Tune-Up Includes: v'ChampionACMotorcraft Spark Plugs VComputer Engine Report autascnsi BY MIKE DODD The Cincinnati Enquirer Mike Mendenhall is the asterisk to the story of the University of Cincinnati's first great basketball team of the Oscar Robertson era. Had Mendenhall been eligible for the NCAA Tournament in 1959, old-timers say, the Bearcats probably would have won their first national championship that year. Still, it was his upbeat personality and leadership that his former teammates and coaches remembered most Monday. Mendenhall, 51, died over the weekend in Jacksonville, after a long illness. "I remember him mainly as a go-go, enthusiastic, optimistic, we'll-win-tomorrow guy," said Ed Jucker, the Bearcats' assistant coach during Mendenhall's three varsity seasons.

"He was the type of person you need on a team because he gave the team a lift, like pumping in fresh air. "His only emotion to me was positive. He was never downcast I just think every team needs a Mike Mendenhall." "His personality was infectious," former teammate Ralph Davis said. "He kept everybody loose before the ballgame, even during the ballgame." He also was a pretty good player. Co-captain with Oscar Robertson in his senior year (1958-59), he was the Bearcats' third-leading scorer (13.5-points-a-game) on the team that lost to California in the NCAA semifinals.

(That was the first of five straight trips to the Final Four for UC). Mendenhall led the Bearcats in field goal percentage that year at 51.3. It doesn't sound like much today, but it ranked him 12th in the nation in that category in '59. He was a strong defensive player and a ball-handling guard who teamed with Davis in the back-court to set up All-American Robertson (32.6 points a game). And when teams tried to collapse on Robertson, he'd demonstrate his mastery of the 25-foot jump shot.

"He didn't shoot that much. But he kept them (defenses) honest, I guarantee you," teammate Bob Wiesenhahn recalled. "He could shoot those bombs. If they'd had a three-point rule like it is now, he'd re'-ESsSist. complaint at its Feb.

18 meeting in Columbus. "We have no jurisdiction to ad' vise these people whether or not to accept River Downs' offer," said Jay Devoll, chief investigator for the ORC. "We sent out letters advising them the commission had 'directed River Downs to settle. Other than a couple of phone calls and inquiries earlier, we don't know what all was ottered. '1 The Ohio Twin Trifecta rule, which most racing people agree needs to be revised, stated that if no one selected the eighth race trifecta, the pool would be paid to the ticket-holders who picked the first two finishers and, if no one pjcked the first two finishers, the pool would go to the ticket holder who selected the winner of the race on top in their exchange ticket.

If no one selected the winner on top, the pool would be carried over to the next meeting. "An innocent act that didn't turn out right," Hanessian said referring to the track's advertisement. "It's painful enough to have to do what were doing. We're standing up to our responsibilties. What more can we give themr have had a field day I can still picture his follow-through." Mendenhall once said his fondest memories were of helping feed Robertson for the Big O's 56-point outing against Seton Hall in Madison Square Garden and of scoring 21 points in a 1959 all-star game.

He started that game with Robertson, Jerry West, Johnny Green and Johnny Cox, and his performance helped persuade the NBA Cincinnati Royals to draft him in the third round. (He was beaten out for a roster spot by Arlen "Bucky" Bockhorn). Mendenhall, a Purcell graduate, arrived in Clifton in 1954 and appeared with the varsity the following year. But he played only two games in '55 before a kidney injury suffered in practice sidelined him the rest of the year. UC appealed to the NCAA for an extra year's eligibility and it was granted but with a catch.

The NCAA ruled he could play in '58-59, but could not appear in any post-season tournaments that season. The Bearcats compiled a 23-3 regular-season record in Mendenhall's senior year. Without him in the tournament, they beat Texas Christian and Kansas State to make the Final Four in Louisville. In the national semifinals, they lost to California (led by Darrall Im-hoff), 64-58. The Golden Bears beat Jerry West and West Virginia in the finals, 71-70, while the Bearcats beat Louisville in the consolation for third place.

"There are," wrote Dick Forbes in The Enquirer that spring, "a lot of people, including coaches and writers with no personal attachment, who feel that if Mendenhall had been in Cincinnati's lineup at Louisville, the national championship flag would now be flying from the Bearcat pole." But 28 years later, his former teammates prefer to remember Mendenhall for what was instead of what might have been. "He was a likable guy who was always enthusiastic," guard Carl Bouldin said. "He was always happy, jovial. He always looked at the good side of things," Wiesenhahn said. "He was a quality person.

We're all going to miss him." Slammers backing up Victor and Jerry." Smith, a popular hard-working player out of Louisiana Tech, played in all 28 games with the Slammers this season. A third-round CBA draft of the Slams, he averaged 7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. McCaffrey, who appears in a current Nestle Crunch TV commercial with Boston Celtic great Larry Bird, was acquired when Eaves was cut last month and played sparingly in eight games. Toney, Lloyd return to v'You See the Results of Over 50 Enatne Tests Ail Tune-up Adjustments V3995 6 Months6.000 Mile Warranty GREAT LAKES AUTO SERVICE 385-7706 9765 Colerain Ave. (12 Block North of Northgate Mall) QDGZ33 Today's CBA game Wyoming vs.

Cincinnati Tipoff: 7:35 p.m. at Cincinnati Gardens. Records: Cincinnati Slammers (14-14, 103V2 standings points), Wyoming Wildcatters (13-18, 104 standings points. Favorite: No Line. TV: None.

Radio: WPFB (106-FM). Tickets Available: At the gate. What To Look For: The Slammers, led by power forward Hank McDowell, won 13 of a possible 14 standings points during a two-game weekend road trip at Wyoming. The Wildcatters and Slammers resume their division rivarly In Cincinnati with games tonight and Wednesday night. McDowell scored 40 points (16 of 23 from the field and 8 of 11 from the free throw line) and averaged 14 rebounds in last weekend's two games against Cazzie Russell's Wildcatters.

The Wildcatters, though, have been without leading scorer Perry Young (16.7 ppg), who signed a 10-day NBA contract with the Chicago Bulls. Expect another defensive battle from the two clubs that set all-time CBA defensive marks in the Slammers' 81-70 victory Saturday night. The Wildcatters are led by Dave Pope (15.4 ppg), Ray Hall (15.3 ppg), Boot Bond (14.7 ppg), Brad Wright (10.3 rebounds per game), and John Sherman Williams (11.7 ppg). I 1S7 -mo ALL SEASON I CLEARANCE 240 ttfJCvVA I 7 SUPREME STEEL BELTED RADIAL ffldxi I rp wKSn $S)l75 ffi rul gEjJ 155 8OR13 il jS I STEEL RADIAL 1ST QUALITY WHITEWALLS IB ALL SEASON WHITEWALL 16580R13 26.41 20575R14 33.38 SVyif 17580R13 26.90 20575R15 33.87 v3 JTI 20S70R14 34.00 20575M5 37.00 18580R13 29.68 21575R15 35.06 "ftfeSA v- 20575R14 as 00 93STSR1S 40 Ml 18575R14 30.31 22575R15 37.88 1 znfMM IMP Z3S7SH1S 40.00 1957514 30.55 23575R15 37.95 3 i WHILE QUANTITIES LAST FRONT DISC OR OIL CHANGE, LUBE FR0NT END A REAR DRUM BRAKES FILTER SPECIAL ALIGNMENT mi Install new pads or shoes, resurface rotors, Our mechanics win lubricate your car's 1 repack wheel bearings, add needed fluid, chassis, drain old oil, and add up to 5 qts. Wei set al adlustable angles to manufactur- 3 Inspect systems and road test.

Most cars. new oil and Install new, quality oil filters. original specifications. Thrust angle Most cars light trucks. Diesels extra.

alignment and 4-wheel extra. Most cars. I 5 ffA9S I (Serm-MetaWc Pads Extra) IV ar ftj A. A 1 i. BY JACK MURRAY The Cincinm a Enquirer The Cincinnati Slammers of the Continental Basketball Association 'have signed guards Sedric Toney and Nigel Lloyd and cut rookies Wayne Smith and Jim McCaffrey, i Toney and Lloyd will be in uni-' form for today's 7:35 p.m.

game against the Wyoming Wildcatters at Cincinnati Gardens. Toney is expected to start tonight in place "of injured Carl Henry, who is side-' lined with a dislocated big left toe. 'Toney, former University of Dayton standout, played in all 48 games last season with the West-v em Division regular-season cham- 'pion Slammers before being called up by the Phoenix Suns for the 1 remainder of the NBA season. The Suns this season kept rookie Jeff Hornacek and let Toney go. Lloyd was released by the lowly NBA Los Angeles Clippers prior to this season.

Both he and Toney were also released before the CBA "season by Slammers coach Herb Brown. The 6-foot-2 Toney hooked on with the La Crosse Catbirds of the CBA and played in a dozen games before they cut him in late January. 6-2 Lloyd, who has played extensively in Europe the last few years, has been working out at Liruim'JEffll JIUIRftYAL DEALER home in Riverside, Calif. Lloyd was the ninth leading NCAA Division I scorer his senior year in 1982-83 at U.S. International, averaging 23.1 points.

"I'm happily surprised they were still available," Brown said. "The reason I released Toney and Lloyd in the first place was that I thought Jerry Eaves would do the job for us at point guard. They both also played a similar position to Victor (Fleming), and I didn't know if they would be happy.