The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 31

'i 1 r1" THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1979- THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR -PAGE 31 10 RACKS. VAltlaETV AWAIT CHAMP CARS USAC Announces 1980 Schedule 1980 USAC Schedule DATE Apr May Jun 9 JunJJ Jul I Jul 27 Aug 10 Aug 24 So 14 Sep 28 RACEtSITg Tex.i 300. College Station, Tex. Indianapolis HO Rex Mavs ISO, Milwaukee Pocono 500, Long Pond, Pa. Id-Ohio ZOO, Lexington, Ohio Road Atlanta 200, Atlanta, Ga.

Tony Bettenhausen ISO, Milwaukee Alabama 200, Talladega, Ala. Mosport 200, Mosport, Canada Charlotte 500, Harrlsburg, N.C. couple of years ago but we just didn't have any room then," replied King, "but we ran the Formula 5000 series there and it's a fine racing facility with a good following of fans." Road Atlanta came as a surprise, but not after examining the facts. The tricky, 2.5-mile layout at Flowery Branch, is owned by the Whittington brothers of endurance racing fame, Don and Bill. the same guys that began their 'champ careers last summer at Ontario and Wednesday morning they took out their USAC license.

They even moved the Can-Am date to accommodate USAC. Nuf said? April 26. Most members would have probably preferred dropping the poor-drawing location altogether, but King still has hope. "It's been difficult for Texas to support two races and I think with not splitting the crowds Dick Conole (the promoter) will do better." Three of the races will be nationally televised and King said he was talking with three other tracks, so the possibility of expanding the schedule remains. About the only other object of note was the.

fact that only one date June 8 (Trenton and Milwaukee) conflicts with CART'S schedule. By ROBIN MILLER The United States Auto Club announced a 10-race 1980 championship schedule Wednesday and it was spiced with quite a shot of versatility for a group that was given up for dead a year ago. From April to September, "USAC will run the gamut of America's race tracks with three major road courses and a pair of NASCAR high banks joining four oval tracks for its 25th season of operation. Indianapolis, of course, is the series headliner but with appearances at Mid-Ohio, Road Atlanta, Talladega, and Charlotte, N.C., USAC is branching out from its depleted and overworked card of seven shows in 1979. they just completely repaved it," related King.

"It's as smooth as the Speedway. And they did the same thing at Charlotte recently so that won't be a problem there either." However, one important thing does loom as a problem and that's people. Both USAC and CART haven't drawn flies the last two years when they've been in NASCAR-land at Atlanta. King was asked why France thought it would be any different at the new places? "OBVIOUSLY, HE feels they can do a better job," was the reply. USAC's champ cars didn't do any gear shifting in 79 but the new schedule calls for three road races at Road Atlanta, Mid-Ohio and an old friend, Mosport, Canada.

"We talked with the Mid-Ohio folks a "I feel very fortunate to announce such a versatile schedule," said USAC President Dick King. "We're looking forward to going to new areas of the country because creating new fans is an important goal for us." Since Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) came out with an impressive 13-race slate two months ago, the pressure has been on USAC to release its plans for the coming season. And since CART has a grip on four of USAC's old standbys (Phoenix, Trenton, Michigan and Ontario), it was a certainty King's club would have to come up with new pastures to survive. THAT'S EXACTLY what happened as USAC is going to four places where they've never seen Indy cars. It's no secret that King has been talking with NASCAR czar Bill France for the past 12 months and the results of those conversations were a pair of races on the fast surfaces of Talladega and Charlotte.

The Alabama pavement has always had a "rough" reputation but King said no longer. "I was at Tallageda six weeks ago and IN ADDITION to the annual shows at "It was planned that way," said King Milwaukee, USAC is heading back to with a grin, "just in case we can get this College Station, for its opener on thing back together." Attempt With :05 Misses As Pacers Defeat Pistons STAR SPECIAL REPORT Pontiac, Mich. It took a shot of questionable judgement by Detroit guard John Long which missed the mark with 5 seconds to play, but the Indiana Pacers accepted it graciously. And when the rebound came down in the hands of Mickey Johnson, it meant a 98-97 victory at the Silverdome for the Pacers. The game, it appeared more than once, shouldn't have been that close at the end.

The Pacers opened up a 10-point lead early in the third quarter and, after the Pistons responded with a rally to take a 62-60 advantage, Indiana widened its gap once again. It stood as large as seven points with 6:41 remaining in the game and was still six points with four minutes left. At that point, Mike Bantom gave Indiana a 95-89 lead on a good drive through the lane following Johnson's assist. From there on out, though, the Pacers could only circle the wagons, failing to get a single field goal the rest of the way. Eric Money brought the Pistons back to within four points on a short jumper and, after Phil Chenier made one of two free throw opportunities, Long drove the lane following Terry Tyler's rejection of Johnson.

Long's basket made it 96-93 with 1:57 left. JOHNSON RESPONDED for Indiana, after a foul by Bob Lanier, as his two free throws boosted the Pacers' lead to 98-93. Detroit came back still one more time on a Phil Hubbard bank shot and Lanier's muscle move underneath. And then, with 10 seconds left, the Pistons had one more chance. They got possession after a loose ball foul on Johnson, set up a play during the ensuing time out and then saw Long throw up a shot from deep in the corner with 5 seconds still showing on the clock.

It missed, Johnson rebounded and Detroit's rally ended. "It wasn't an easy situation for them to be in at that point," Pacers' Coach Bobby Leonard analyzed. "We wanted to put a little pressure on them. We didn't want to let the ball get in low. With a one-point lead, if you let it get in low you can get in all kinds of trouble.

"If you put some pressure on them, like we did, it makes it tough to run a real good play. Even though there were 10 seconds on the clock to start with, they only had 7 by the time the ball came across midcourt. "WHEN YOU'RE coming across the line, then our defense is set up. I know from experience that it's tough to run anything in that situation because what-ever you run has to be quick." HOUSTON BOUND Members of the prepare to board their chartered plane for Bluebonnet Bowl-bound Purdue University football Houston Wednesday at Indianapolis International team bid farewell to friends and relatives as they Airport. (Star Photo) Detroit Coach Richie Adubato acknowledged the last play didn't go exactly as planned, as Lanier was supposed to have gotten the ball in close to the basket if there wasn't a good shot immediately available.

"John was too deep on the play," Adubato said. "The same thing happened last year. We played rookies and made mistakes. It's very frustrating, but I'll never get down." Alex English led the Pacers with 24 points on a good 10-of-15 shooting night from the field. Johnson finished with 18, while the balanced Indiana attack also showed Johnny Davis with 13, Dudley Bradley with 11 and Phil Chenier, also with 11, in double figures.

The victory was Indiana's second straight and put its record at 17-19, moving the Pacers past Cleveland and back into the Central Division's third place, five games behind Division-leading Atlanta. The loss left Detroit in the Central's last place with a 9-28 mark and was also the Pistons' eighth in a row and 20th out of their last 25 under Adubato, who replaced the fired Dick Vitale earlier in the season. The Pacers are on the road again Friday night at New Jersey before coming home Saturday night for a game against the Utah Jazz. INDIANA (91) Miri. FG FT A PF TP M.Johnson 32 4-IJ Ml 3 4 3 16 English 24 10-15 1- 2 3 1 2 Edwards 21 3- a 2- 0 I I Bradley 24 3- 4 5-1 2 I 2 II Davis 36 4- 6 5- 7 1 6 0 13 Hessett 1- 6 1-2 3 0 0 4 C.Johnson 25 1- 2 0- 0 0 3 2 Knijht 17 3-7 0-0 6 2 0 6 Chenier 26 5-11 1- 4 3 2 2 II Bantom 23 3- 7 0- 0 6 2 2 6 Totals 37-78 23-35 56x 18 IS 98 Includes 13 team rebounds.

DETROIT (7) Mln. FG FT A PF TP McAdoO 22 6-12 0 4 2 2 Tyler 36 4-10 1- 2 9 0 5 9 Lanier 39 8-20 8- 9 13 4 4 24 Ouerod 28 1- 7 0- 0 1 I 3 2 AAonev 23 1- 0- 0 1 3 2 2 Douglas 22 2- 7 2- 2 8 3 1 6 Hubbard 24 9-15 1- 1 12 0 3 19 McElroy 6 0J 81 I 0 I 0 Hamilton 17 4- 1-2 3 2 3 9 Long 23 7-19 0 4 1 14 Totals 42-105 13-20 67x 19 29 97 Includes 13 team rebounds. Indiana 24 31 25 18 91 Detroit 26 21 2S 22 97 Three-point shooting: Indiana Hassett 1-2; Detroit Long 0-1. Steals: Indiana 8 (M.Johnson 3); Detroit 10 (Hubbard 4). Blocked shots: Indiana 8 (M.Johnson 4); Detroit 7 (Tvler 71.

Errors: Indiana 22, Detroit 17. Technical fouls: Detroit (zone). Officials: Jake O'Donnell, Bill Saar. Attendance: 6,233. SOPHOMORE WDI HSOV LEAVES TEAM Tribune Names Clifford As Big Ten's Most Valuable 'Cats' Hall Refuses Comment On Reported Suspensions tions (149), most passing yardage and total offense (1,978 yards).

He led Indiana to a 7-4 record and fourth place in the Big Ten. The season was capped by a 38-37 victory over Brigham Young in the Holiday Bowl. "TIM IS A clutch performer who came through time and time again," said Indiana Coach Lee Corso. "He was as valuable to this team as any piayer in the Big Ten. He was a leader on the field as well as a great athlete." The 24 voters were the coaches, 10 veteran officials, Big Ten Commissioner Wayne Duke, Tribune sports editor George Langford, and Tribune sports writers Bill Jauss and Roy Darner.

The results were announced in Tuesday's editions of the Tribune. Chicago (AP) Indiana junior quarterback Tim Clifford has been named the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player for the 1979 football season, earning him the Chicago Tribune Silver Football. Twenty-four voters, including the 10 conference coaches, selected Clifford from among the MVPs of each school as chosen by teammates. The Silver Football has been presented since 1924. Clifford, who set four school records last season, scored a slim victory over senior tailback Dennis Mosley of Iowa.

Simpkins finished third, Laughlin was fourth and Carlson fifth. Clifford set school season records for most pass attempts (2591, most comple Lexington, Ky. (AP) Kentucky basketball Coach Joe B. Hall Would neither confirm nor deny rumors Wednesday he has suspended freshman basketball players Sam Bowie and Dirk Minniefield for one game. Lexington radio station WVLK broadcast a report Wednesday afternoon that the 7-2 Bowie, a starter, and the 6-3 Minniefield were suspended for the Notre Dame game Saturday at Louisville but would be reinstated afterwards.

NO REASON FOR THE alleged suspensions were given. Earlier in the afternoon, the Kentucky coaching staff announced that sophomore guard Dwight Anderson, a starter, had decided to leave the university for "personal reasons." Anderson, 6-3, was known to have been experiencing trouble in the classroom before the season began. Hall acknowledged Anderson's academic problems at that time and there was some question that Anderson would remain eligibile to compete. "Naturally when you lose someone from the squad you have to make some changes," Hall said of Anderson's departure. "Your depth is decreased a little bit.

We still have several guards good guards and we'll just have to see what adjustments we'll have to make." ANDERSON HAD STARTED 9 of 11 games this year and was the third-highest scorer on the team with a 10.7 average. He was named Kentucky's most valuable player in last year's game against Notre Dame. "Dwight came to me and explained that for personal reasons he was leaving the university at the end of the first semester," the Kentucky coach said. "Dwight is an exceptional player with a great future and we wish him well." The first semester at Kentucky ended last Friday, which means Anderson's last game as a Wildcat was against Purdue in the finals of the Kentucky Invitational Tournament last Saturday. 00 00 Anderson-Highland Battle Preview Of What's To Come SALE UiDATBON TODAY Sliootin The Stars It lloli Williams' SAVE 68 ON NAMES LIKE: MARANTZ MAXELL MICRO-ACOUSTICS MICRO-SEIKI MITSUBISHI NAD NORDMENDE N0RTRONICS ONKYO OSAWA QUATRE ROGERS ROTEL SAE SANYO SATIN SHURE STAX SPECTR0-ACOUSTICS STANTON SUPEREX TH0RENS TOSHIBA TRANSCRIBER TDK TEAC TECHNICS ULTRACRAFT VAN-ALSTINE VISONIK V0R ADVENT BLAUPUNKT GRUNDIG CLARION CONCORD KRIKET JENSEN PIONEER ROYAL SOUND FUJITSU SAVE 68 ON NAMES LIKE: AR ADVENT AIWA AMERICAN MONITOR AKAI AKG ACCUPHASE ARISTON AUDIO TECHNICA ACCULAB AUDIO ANALYST AUDIO CONTROL AUDIO PULSE BIC BRAHMA BARCUS BERRY RTR CROWN CIZEK DBX DB SYSTEMS DISCWASHER DCM TIME WINDOW DEN0N EMPIRE EPICURE FISHER FUJI GRADO GRAFYX GRACE JBL JAM0 JR KENWOOD KLIPSCH MXR LIIGHLAND'S STARTLING 59-58 upset over Anderson, AA knocking the high-scoring Indians out of first place in the wire service polls, dripped with all the emotion you can be sure to see later on when Anderson's big three (Madison Heights included) swap broadsides at sectional time.

Both owned identical 6-0 records going into the pre-Christmas showdown, both were ranked high by the pollsters Anderson No. 1 and Highland ninth) and, as usual, hoop-happy fans from both schools jammed the Wigwam to its capacity. Coach Bob Fuller's Highland ball club grabbed a 20-13 lead early in the second quarter, set the tempo with its familiar ball control offense and then withstood Anderson's furious full court press by sinking 13 of 17 free throws down the stretch. TWO TECHNICALS on Anderson Coach Norm Heid and center Henry Johnson, as the latter collected his fifth foul with the score deadlocked 50-50 at 2:14, poured more fuel on an already explosive situation. Five straight free throws put Highland ahead to stay.

Anderson already was smarting over the foul spread Highland shot 32 free throws and the Indians 13. "When you beat the No. 1 team in the state it's a great feeling," said Fuller who took an unbeaten Highland team to the Fort Wayne Semistate in 1976 losing to state champ Marion in a two-point heartstopper. "They are the No. 1 team in the state but not tonight we were.

"They are a team which scores 90 points a game and we wanted to see what they could do if they only scored 60. 1 thought we were able to set the tempo and if we had hit our free throws in the first three quarters it would have been a 10-point game," the Highland coach added, referring to a dismal 4 for 15 performance heading into the decisive fourth period "We were tickled to death to be down only four (29-25) at the half because we played a very poor first half," Held acknowledged. "We were beaten on cuts, we didn't play defense and we didn't execute on offense. But we came back and played great in the second half after the first two or three minutes. We won the game in my mind." HIGHLAND'S size once again dictates Fuller's smooth-working ball control game with junior Jeff Gary the tallest starter at 6-3.

Point guard Gary Delph leads Highland's balanced offense with 15.1 ppg, followed by 5-11 rebound phenom Brad Warner with 14.5 and Gary with 12.5. Norm Delph, who has had an outstanding prep career in spite of a hearing handicap, Jerry Simon and Mike Crull complete Highland's six-man rotation. Gary Delph is called the best point guard in the Hoosier state by his coach ana holds the school record for assists (323), breaking the record set by Indiana All-Star Rick Lantz in 1977. Gary dished off 12 assists in last week's big Anderson win. A 96 percent free throw shooter, Gary is also nearing that school mark.

Warner led Highland scoring with 17 points against the Indians and he needs just 85 rebounds to break Lantz' career mark. Fuller's coaching record with the Scots the last seven years is a phenomenal 113-29, including five conference championships, four city titles and the school's only sectional and regional crowns. HIGHLAND ALREADY OWNS a 71-61 win over Madison Heights in an early season game that drew over 7,000 fans. As the Highland coach says, "I don't know any place where the crowds are bigger than right here in Anderson." Fuller's Highland ball club was elevated to fifth place in this week's state hardwood ratings (Anderson slipped to third) resulting from last week's eye-popper. Highland's new gym will be the site of a four-team holiday classic Saturday with the Scots facing Hammond Gavit in the 11 a.m.

opener and Hammond Clark in the 8 p.m. finale. Lapel opposes Clark at 12:30 and Gavit at 6:30. Biggest weekend on the remaining schedule finds Highland tackling Shenandoah (a strong Henry County crew) and Muncie Central's state champs back-to-back Feb. 1-2.

MOST COLLEGE SCOUTS will be wearing out the highways between the South Bend and Fort Wayne city tourneys the next two days. Clay's 7-0 Generals open the eight-team South Bend showcase at Notre Dame against Washington at 12:15 p.m. today, with LaSalle-North Liberty, Riley-St. Joseph's and Adams-Warsaw booked in other first-round action. Northrop 6-0) is the lone unbeaten and defending champ at Fort Wayne with six games on today's schedule.

Harding faces Luers in the 10:30 a m. Coliseum opener followed by Northrop-Concordia. Elmhurst-Snider, South Side-North Side, Wayne-Dwenger and the winners of games 1-2. CRIS CRANEY'S 47-POINT blitz as Barr-Reeve whipped Vin-cennes Rivet, 81-68, broke three records. Craney hit 17 of 27 field attempts and 13 of 16 foul shots to break the school record of 38, the Barr-Heeve gym mark of 33 and the Blue Chip Conference record of 41.

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