The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 7

Warn 1 'II IK I ()( ISYII I K. KY MARCH 2, 1)7I 0 0 ecision imeiy this year; arauette aims at NCAA Mideast I. jr-Jm ft No rash a By DICK FENLON Courier-Journal Times Staff Writer This is the day that the NCAA reaches into its hat and picks the 10 "at-large" teams that will compete in its annual post-season tournament to determine the national collegiate basketball champion. The most important name to be pulled out, as far as Western Kentucky and the University of Kentucky are concerned, will be Marquette. Dismayed a year ago when the selection committee of the National Collegiate Athletic Association tapped his team for the tournament but then attempted to transfer it from its own Mideast Region to the Midwest Region for its first-round game, Marquette coach Al McGuire turned down the bid and put his team instead in the less prestigious National Invitation Tournament.

McGuire later said that he immediately regretted the action, that if he had slept on it overnight he would have gone along with the NCAA. What prevented his rash decision from being disastrous was that Marquette captured the NIT championship, beating St. John's 65-53 in the final. This season, McGuire is angling for the big fish the NCAA title. "If we get a bid, we'll go to the NCAA," he says.

"And we'll go wherever they send us." Because Marquette has a 23-0 record Bonavonture (18-4), Villanova (22-6). Houston (20-5), Utah State (20-6) and Long Beach State (21-4). Both the East and Midwest Regional will include three "at-large" teams, with the Mideast and West having two each. An educated guess is that Fordham, Duquesne and St. Bonaventure will be placed in the East Regional, with Villa-nova being moved to, the Midwest along with Notre Dame, both being joined by Houston.

This would put Utah State and Long Beach State in the West. Whichever way it goes, the NCAA must pass up some good teams among the independents and those from conferences whose champion does not automatically qualify. In the East, Massachusetts is 21-3, Syracuse and Providence, 18-6 each; in the Mideast, Dayton is 18-6 and Georgia Tech 18-7. In the Midwest, New Mexico State is 19-7 and West Texas State 18-7. If they don't get into the NCAA, those teams and others like Hawaii (22-4), Holy Cross and Georgia Tech (each 18-7) and St.

John's (15-8) will be wooed by the NIT, which also will extend bids to the second-place finishers of many major conferences. By agreement, the NCAA gets first pick over the NIT in the selection of "at-large" teams. and is second-ranked nationally, behind UCLA, it is certain to get a bid. And McGuire has not been losing any sleep about being moved out of the Mideast Region, either. On that count, Marquette's record and the likely selection of Notre Dame (17-7) as another NCAA tournament competitor figure to protect him.

Notre Dame's arena will be the site of the Mideast Regional preliminary round and it is believed that Notre Dame will be moved to the Midwest Regional to forestall a home-floor advantage. And when teams are moved from one region to another, it is the one with the poorer record which gets shuffled. Today's selection is for independent teams only. Teams affiliated with most major conferences qualify by winning their league championships. Jacksonville (22-3), which defeated Kentucky in the regional final last March and eventually fell to UCLA in the national championship game, is in line for a repeat bid to the Mideast.

Jacksonville vs. Miami The two independent teams will be matched with the champions of the Ohio Valley Conference (Western Kentucky) and the Mid-American Conference (Miami of Ohio) in the preliminary round at Notre Dame. The probable alignment has Western going against Marquette. The winner, of that game will play Kentucky, the Southeastern Conference winner, at Athens, March 18. That would send Jacksonville against Miami with the survivor facing the Big Ten Conference championOhio State, Indiana or Michigan in the other half of the Athens double-header.

Others most likely to be picked today by the NCAA, based on their records and post-season tournament are Fordham (22-1), Duquesne (19-3), St. survives in playof lievably quick, even though he's 25 pounds overweight." Hines said his team played when, it had to, notably in the decisive final five minutes. Georgetown pressed and fouled and Bethel Coolly sank the free throws or worked through the visitors' press for layups. "Tomorrow night (tonight) it'll be tougher, a lot tougher," Hines told his players. "But you beat a fine, well-coached team in Georgetown and we can do it again." The championship game will start at 7:30 (CST).

BLENDED WHISKEY 86 PROOF 65 Gordie's son, Mark, doing fine in hockey and Howe! NEW YORK (AP) Mark Howe, 15-year-old son of Detroit Red Wing star Gordie Howe, was named to the 1970-71 Junior All-American hockey team yesterday. Young Howe, a forward, plays for the Detroit Junior Red Wings of the South Ontario League. His father is the National Hockey League's career goal-scoring leader. Staff Phofo JIM McDANIELS broke two Western career records last night for total points and rebounds as he hit 39 points and grabbed 23 rebounds. Even so Austin Peay pulled a 96-94 surprise, Mac gets 2 records, but Western upset GRAIN NEUTRAL SPIRITS 01971 CALVERT DIST.

LOUISVILLE. KY. (I I 1 during the second half, and the lead changed hands several times until McDaniels hit a layup with 9:05 remaining for a 71-70 Western lead. Gradually, the Hilltoppers pulled away until it was 94-86 with 1:34 left. But Western then failed to score the rest of the way.

Stephenson hit two foul shots at 1:33, then added a layup at 1:19 and a 10-footer at :51 to bring Austin Peay to within two at 94-92. Then a steal and a 10-footer by Tom Santel at :33 tied it. Western worked for the final shot. It was taken at 10 seconds and was off, but an Austin Peay player rebounded and lobbed the ball downcourt. Stephenson and Western's Rex Bailey raced for it, with Bailey being charged with a foul.

Jim Rose tried a 40-footer for Western. It was a hair short, and McDaniels tipped it in. But the goal didn't count as the buzzer had gone off. Western wound up 15-2 in the OVC and goes into the NCAA Tournament with a 21-4 overall record. Georgetown loses Ky.

State By JOHN FLYNN Courier-Journal Times Stalf Writer McKENZIE, Tenn. For 20 minutes last night in downtown McKenzie, it appeared as if the adage about Kentucky State and Union College would hold true. Union, so the adage goes, always plays Kentucky State tough. But adages mean about as much as 6-foot-3 forwards to Elmore Smith, tucky State's brilliant 7-foot center, who took over in the second half to lead the Thorobreds to a 101-79 romp in the opening round of the District 24 playoffs of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Tournament. Kentucky State, the defending NAIA champion, led by only 44-38 at halftime, building up the hopes of host Bethel College fans, who saw their team oust Georgetown 82-75 in the opening game of last night's twin bill.

But once Smith took command and Travis Grant began tatooing the basket with his jumpers, Kentucky State put all the evidence out in the open; Bethel College, it read, is in trouble in tonight's championship game. Smith led the Kentucky tSate romp with 41 points and Grant added 25. Before the first game, Georgetown coach Bob Davis predicted that his team could win IF: "If," he said, "our quick kids are quick enough to make them look slow and if Kenny Davis is hitting. If Kenny's hitting, it won't make any difference what Bethel does because we're going to blow them out." Neither "if" materialized and as a result Georgetown made a quick exit from the tournament. Bethel, physically imposing but unable to sustain spurts of good basketball, nevertheless whipped Georgetown on the boards and got numerous follow shots.

At the same time, Davis, obviously worn out from the rigors of a 28-game season, missed nine of 18 free throws. "Can you imagine us losing because I couldn't make free throws?" asked the soft-spoken senior fxam Monticello, Ky. "Goodness, I hit 85 per cent during the season, but tonight I couldn't get anything into the basket. How do you explain it? You make free throws all your life and suddenly you can't buy one." It wasn't that bad, really. Although Davis hit only 50 per cent at the line, he made 10 of 21 shots from the floor and was the game's top scorer with 29 points.

"I'm just glad it's over," said Davis, tiredness showing in his face. "It's been this way all year, the defense handling me. I complain and the officials act as if I'm a crybaby. The only thing that made the game fun was the winning, and tonight we didn't win." 1 Davis was referring to the roughing-up he took from the Bethel defense when he didn't have the ball. "It wasn't any worse than usual," he said, "but they sure had their hands all over me." Bethel's J.

C. Popplewell, a 5-foot-8 native of Russell Springs, who de-fensed Davis for much of the game, admitted that he used his hands. "You can't let Kenny get the ball," said Popplewell. "He's some shooter. I'm from the next town over from Kenny's, and I found that out when we were in high school." Bethel coach Doug Hines, a native of Science Hill, attributed the victory to the play of 6-9, 250-pound Don Stanford who came off the bench to hit 10 of 12 shots, score 26 points and bag nine rebounds as Bethel pushed its record to 25-4.

"Stanford was my best player last said Hines, "but then he got fat. But tonight he did it all, He's unbe. GEORGETOWN 75 BETHEL 82 Union bid Courier-Journal Timet Staff Writer CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.Jerry Stephen-eon sank a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining, giving Austin Peay a stunning 96-94 upset of Ohio Valley Conference basketball champion Western last night despite Jim McDaniels' two record-breaking performances. It was a fitting victory for Austin Peay, which finished the season with a 5-9 OVC mark and a 10-14 overall record, because it was George Fisher's last game as a head coach. He's retiring after nine seasons at the Austin Peay helm.

McDaniels, meanwhile, netted 39 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to claim two school records. The 7-foot senior now has 2,091 career points, snapping the standard of 2,076 set by Ralph Crosthwaite in 1955-58. His rebounds now add up to 1,052, or nine more than Art Spoelstra from 1952-54. Ironically, McDaniels already holds the career OVC scoring record. The league mark is based on three seasons, while Crosthwaite's Western school record involved four.

McDaniels hit 18 of 33 from the field. He got 27 in the first half as Western led 47-45 at the intermission. Western coach Johnny Oldham pulled a surprise by starting McDaniels and four substitutes-Danny Johnson, Terry Davis, Chuck Witt and Ray Klemykamp. Oldham put in his regulars, though, Young and Blondet spark Murray past Middle 92-69 WESTERN 1' Player FO FT TP Rose 4 2-3 10 Dunn 5 1-1 11 McDaniels .18 3-6 39 Glover 1 2-3 4 Witt 1 0-0 2 Bailey 10-0 2 Eaton 1 0-1 2 Davis 7 3-3 17 Johnson 3 1-2 '7 Kleykamp 0 0-0 0 Totals 41 12-19 94 Halftlme Western 47-4S. Attendance 4,000.

AUSTIN PEAY 96 Player FG FT TP Santel 8 2-3 18 Kinman 10 2-2 22 Wanstrath .3 0-0 6 Stephenson 5 6-7 16 Noble 8 6-7 22 Tipton 1 0-0 2 Fry 5 0-1 10 Totals 16-20 96 percentage of 84.6 and Blondet ending up with a career field-goal accuracy mark of 50 per cent. Young became his school's seventh all-time scorer, while Blondet moved up to the No. 8 spot. In the preliminary game, the undefeated Murray freshmen ran off their 21st straight victory with a 100-72 rout of the Middle rosh. OVC standings, boxes Conference All Conference All Western 12 2 20 5 Austin Peay .5 9 10 14 Murray .10 4 19 5 Morehead 4 9 8 18 Eastern 9 4 15 8 Tenn Tech 4 10 7 17 East Tenn.

8 6 12 12 Middle Tenn. 3 11 9 15 Special to The Courier-Journal MURRAY, Ky. Murray State boosted the possibility of a bid to the National Invitational Tournament with a 92-69 romp over Ohio Valley Conference opponent Middle Tennessee last night. The win assured Cal Luther's club of at least a second-place tie in the OVC as it finished the season with a 10-4 conference record and 19-5 overall. Murray shot a phenomenal 59.1 per cent from the field with seniors Jimmy Young (22) and Hector Blondet (21) combining for 43 points.

Middle never threatened in the contest, although it did close the deficit to seven points early in the second half only to have Murray race away from there with the decision. All-OVC forward Ken Riley was the main sparkplug for the losers, scoring a game-high 29 points, hitting 12 of 19 from the field and pulling down 17 rebounds. Middle canned 40.3 per cent of its shots and was outrebounded 44-39 despite Riley's yeoman effort on the boards. The Tennessee school ended up with a 3-11 OVC mark and is 10-15 in all games with one more outing on its schedule. Young and Blondet both wrote new chapters in the Murray record book, Young finishing with a career free-throw MIDDLE TENNESSEE 69 MURRAY 92 Player FG FT TP Player FG FT TP Sumrell .....4 1-2 9 Young 11 0 0 22 Prater 5 0-0 10 Steverson 3 3-3 9 Brown 1 0-1 2 Taylor 1 3-7 5 Sykes 4 1-19 Blondet 1-2 21 Riley 12 5-8 29 Johnson 4 3-3 11 Cochran 3 0-2 6 Williams .3 0-0 6 Rainey .1 2-2 4 AAancini 7 3-5 17 Towns .0 1-2 1 Lutter 0 0-1 Totals 30 9-16 69 Totals 39 14-23 92 Halftime Murray 41-31.

Player FG FT TP Player FG FT TP Davis 10 9-18 29 Penn 5 01 10 Calhoun 2 2-2 6 Eichorst 3 0-0 6 Stewart 4 10-12 18 Reaves 3 3-6 9 Moore 2 1-3 5 Cosby 5 0-1 10 Zwick 1 0-1 2 Booker 4 3-5 11 Owen 7 1-1 15 Popplewell 2 6-6 10 Phillips 0 0-0 0 Stanford ....10 6-7 26 Totals 26 23-37 75 Totals 18-26 82 Halftime Bethel 41-39. Notre Dame 83, Dayton 82 SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) Notre Dame narrowly got by a determined Dayton team last night, escaping with an 83-82 victory on a clutch basket by AU-American guard Austin Carr. AT NOTRE DAME (83)-Carr 47, Jones 19, Pleick, Catlett 4, Sinnott 4. DAYTON (82)-Jackson 34, May 19, Crosswhlte 14, Gahm 9, Bertke 6.

Halftlme Notre Dame 49-38. Attendance 11,207. Attendance 6,000. Basketball results Overtime SEC kentucky 102, Auburn 83. KENTUCKYOVC COLLEGES Austin Peay 96, Western Kentucky 94.

Eastern Kentucky 95, Tennessee Tech 91. Kentucky Frosh 92, Auburn Frosh 84. Morehead 59, East Tennessee 56. Murray 92, Middle Tennessee 69. Murray Frosh 100, Middle Tennessee Frosh 72.

Transylvania 82, Thomas More 77. COLLEGE TOURNEYS NAIA DISTRICT 22 PLAYOFFS Central State 68, Definace 65 (SF). x-Ohio Dominican 91, Findlay 82 (SF). NAIA DISTRICT 26 PLAYOFFS First Round Elizabeth City State 94, Pembroke State 74. NAIA DISTRICT 32 PLAYOFFS Western New England 86, Salem State 74 (F).

NAIA DISTRICT 26 PLAYOFFS Guilford 106, Barber Scotia 87 (F). NAIA DISTRICT 4 PLYOFFS Stephen F. Austin 115, St. Mary's 92 (F). NAIA DISTRICT 29 PLAYOFFS Atlantic Christian 101, Lynchburg 91 (F).

OTHER MAJORS 3oston 97, Maine 73. Fairieigh Dickionson 53, Dartmouth 48. Georgia Tech 102, Tulane 74, Marshall 112, St. Francs (Ha.) 86 massachusetts 63, New Hampshire 60. Notre Dame 83, Dayton 82.

Virginia Tech 106, Georgia Southern 85 PREVIOUSLY UNREPORTED KENTUCKY HIGHS Adair County 69, Washington County 59; Oldham County 68, North Hardin 66. iife K)CrRA i r. Transylvania 82, Thomas More 77 Spici'l to The Courier-Journal COVINGTON, Ky. Transylvania parlayed balanced scoring and 47.5 per cent shooting into an 82-77 basketball victory over Thomas More last night. Everett Bass topped the Transy attack, which included five double-figure scorers, with 20 points.

Tom Probst contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds as Transy hiked its record to 21-3. After trailing by 11 at halftime, Thomas More rallied to within two points on three occasions in the second half, but could get no closer. John Wenderfer's 15 points led the losers, who ended the season with a 13-10 record. AT THOMAS MORE 77)-Wenderfer 15, Sehulte 13, T. Saalteld 11, Geraci 10, Beck 10, Albrinck 7, Erb 7, B.

Saalteld 4. TRANSYLVANIA (11) Bass 20, Belcher 14, Job 13, Probst 12, Blunk 12, Cosby 9, Clark 2. Halftime Transylvania 51-40. When the going gets hard, the whiskey should be soft. Calvert Extra.TheSoft Whiskey.

$515 45 QT. Tonight's college basketball MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE Drake at North Texas. BIG TEN CONFERENCE Indiana at Wisconsin. Purdue at Michigan State. TOURNAMENTS NAIA District 24 Final at Bethel, 8 p.m.

CST. National Junior College Region 7 At Paducah Community College Northeast (Miss.) vs. Coahoma Sue Bennett vs. Martin (Tenn.) Cleveland State (Tenn.) vs. Ellzabethtown.

Lees Junior College vs. Morrlstown OTHER TEAMS Jacksonville at Miami, Fla. 5 li tJm W.I.