The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 7

r-r THE COURIER-JOURNAL LOUISVILLE, KY. THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 1992. VCU holds off rally by Racers, wins 91-90 UK knocks off Vandy 84-71 as Mashbum leads the way By PAT FORDE, Staff Writer NASHVILLE, Term. It's time to rename this town. Mashville has a nice ring to it.

Jamal Mashburn once again did everything for the University of Kentucky basketball team, dominating around the basket in the second half of an 84-71 UK victory last night over Vanderbilt. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound sophomore was the king of all indoors, recording 21 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and six steals as UK snapped a four-game losing streak in Memorial Gymnasium. The streaking Cats won for the seventh straight time in improving to 13-2, 4-0 in the Southeastern Conference. "Our execution in the second half offensively, defensively and on the backboard was as good as we've had in a long time," UK coach Rick Pitino said. "We concentrated on making seven or eight passes and then get it into the big fella." Vanderbilt coach Eddie Fogler banked on getting big minutes from his starting five, but they appeared to hit the wall with about five minutes left in the game as the deeper, fresher Wildcats pulled away.

Vandy was down just 67-64 with 5:22 left when UK came up with a big four-point play. John Pelphrey made one free throw, then missed a second. Dale Brown procured the rebound, kicked it off to Richie Farmer, who kicked it to Pelphrey for a three-pointer from the top of the key his only successful three on the night. That made it 71-67, and although Vandy freshman Ronnie McMahan answered with a three-pointer, UK outscored the Commodores (8-5, 1-3) 13-4 to finish out the game. "We hung in there for 30 minutes, and then Mashburn was just terrific," Fogler said.

"We got worn down, I think, and he didn't wear down much. "They're good. They're really good. A Final Four possibility, no doubt about it." As dominant as Mashburn was, he couldn't have done it without big plays by Farmer (a double-pump, leaning jumper in the lane with the shot clock on Brown (a follow-up of his own miss), and just about everybody else. Depth, once again, was a key factor for UK.

Vandy relied on veterans Kevin Anglin, Bruce Elder and Todd Milholland in staking a 38-33 halftime lead. It was only the second time this year that Kentucky has trailed at halftime. Anglin proved particularly tough for the Wildcats to cov- See MASHBURN Page 3, col. 1, this section By DAVE KOERNER Staff Writer MURRAY, Ky. Virginia Commonwealth, the poster child of hard-luck college basketball this season, came away with the upper hand last night as it outlasted Murray State by a familiar margin, 91-90, in a non-conference matchup.

VCU, a new member of the Metro Conference, has lost four games by one point this season including three in the final two seconds and had to weather a spunky performance from Murray to improve to 8-5. Murray, which trailed by nine points with about 14 minutes to go, pulled within 87-85 following Frank Allen's three-pointer at 0:23. VCU's Rod Ladd then hit two free throws to make it 89-85. Then after Murray guard Jamal Evans sliced the lane for a layup, VCU center Sherron Mills sank two free throws at 0:09 for a 91-87 lead. Reserve guard Bo Walden buried a three-pointer with one second left for Murray (4-10).

The Racers, of the Ohio Valley Conference, had drawn within five at 1:24, but Eric Atkins' two free throws 36 seconds later pushed VCU's lead to 85-78. Murray closed to five again on Darren Hill's eight-footer with 30 seconds left, but Ladd's two foul shots stretched the Rams' lead back to seven. Then with 26 seconds remaining, Walden hit two free throws to pull Murray within 87-82. Then, following a VCU turnover, Allen drilled a long three-pointer from the right side, bringing Murray within 87-85. Sophomore forward Kendrick Warren powered the Rams with 25 points.

The loss overshadowed outstanding efforts from Murray center Popeye Jones and Allen. Jones, the nation's leading rebound- er, cleared 17 rebounds two above his average but hurt VCU most with 27 points. Allen finished with 24 points, becoming the 21st Murray player to reach See VCU Page 3, col. 1, this section Snii ifrf i e. tH, i nr i i itii- lifTi ii I ASSOCIATED PRESS Vanderbllt's Todd Milholland went over the top to snatch a rebound away from Glmel Martinez of Kentucky.

fov of tries to get out of the cellar Global warming Harmon gets career rolling with Shooters PROBABLE LINEUPS Game time: 8:05 p.m. EST. Site: Freedom Hall. Series: Louisville leads 1-0. Last meeting: Louisville won 68-61 on March 20, 1985, in Freedom Hall.

Favorite: Louisville by 6. Television: Radio: WHAS-AM (840). Louisville (8-3, 0-2) Pos. Player Ht WL CI. Rb.

PI F-Greg Minor 6-6 200 So. 6.9 107 F-Dwayne Morton 6-6 195 So. 4.4 14.7 Cornelius Holden 6-7 205 Sr. 7.4 9.4 Keith LeGree 6-1 180 Fr. 3.7 8.3 G-Everick Sullivan 6-5 190 Sr.

4.4 14.7 Reserves James Brewer, 6-3, 69; Troy Smith, 6-8, 5.6; Brian Hopgood, 6-10, 4.4; Derwin Webb, 6-4, 4.9; Kip Stone, 6-4, 5.3; Tremaine Wingfield, 6-7, 3.6; Mike Case, 0.0; Jason McLendon, 6-8, 1.3; Doug Calhoun, 6-5, 0.0. South Florida (10-3, O-l) Pos. Player Ht WL CI. Rb. PL F-Fred Lewis 6-7 200 Sr.

9.6 15.5 F-Bobby Russell 6-5 210 Sr. 2.8 7.7 C-Gary Alexander 6-7 230 Sr. 11.8 16.5 G-Radenko Dobras 6-7 185 Sr. 3.2 20.1 G-Demck Sharp 6-1 180 Jr. 2.0 155 Reserves David Williams, 3.5; Gerard Arcement, 6-5, 2.4; Corey Allen, 6-0, 2.3; Scott Roczey, 6-9, 1.1; Landon Edmond, 6-7, 0.5; Jarvis Jackson, 6-7, 1.5; Chad Dollar, 6-1, 0.3.

By RUSS BROWN Staff Writer Now that the University of Louisville basketball players have dispatched the No. 4 team in the nation, they can set their sights on the No. 6 team in the seven-team Metro Conference. The 25th-ranked Cardinals (8-3) have spent the last Wi years on the bottom in the Metro. They lost their first four conference games last season, never got out of the basement and finished last for the first time with a 4-10 record.

They've started out in the same position this season by dropping their first two league contests, at home to Tulane and at Virginia Commonwealth. But tonight See OF TRIES Page 5, col. 1, this section Baseball Giants hope to be in San Jose in '96 By GEORGE RORRER Staff Writer This may not be just another one of those now-you-see-him, now-you-don't Jerome Harmon stories. Maybe his controversial basketball career finally is about to go ballistic. Harmon is proving his game is what University of Louisville fans hoped it would be when coach Denny Crum recruited him out of Gary, in 1987.

It's just that in what could have been his senior season, he's displaying it for the Louisville Shooters at Louisville Gardens instead of for of at Freedom Hall. After a slow start, Harmon has become one of the Global Basketball Association's stars. Even in a new league of undetermined quality, he is putting up numbers that are hard to ignore. Harmon is away from the academic rules and subcommittees that dogged his collegiate existence. He's soaring in the free-flying, man-on-man world of pro basketball.

He led the Shooters in scoring for 10 consecutive games before last night's at Mid-Michigan, topping 30 points in six of them. He was averaging 21.8 points overall, 25.2 over the past 20 games and 30.3 over the latest 10. The 6-foot-4 swingman also was averaging 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals. He had made 51.2 percent of his field-goal attempts and 72.9 percent of his free throws. Just as important, he's answering questions raised by his spotty past.

National Basketball Association talent consultant Rich Steinlauf of New York City believes teams have been leery of STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL HAYMAN Jerome Harmon, left, has shown the drive to become the Shooters' leading offensive force as he tries to prove he has the skills to play In the NBA. $185 million stadium in northern San Jose by the beginning of the 1996 season. Again, the move will be up to the voters. The Giants, who moved from New York after the 1957 season, have been looking for several years for a San Francisco Bay area alternative to Candlestick Park, where the team has struggled with frigid winds and fog since 1960. Their Candlestick Park lease expires after the 1994 season.

"I have said that it has been my desire all along to keep the team in the Bay area, and we're going to do it," Lurie said. "All the factors needed for a good park are here." The Giants were unsuccessful in three See GIANTS Page 2, col. 1, this section From AP and Gannett Dispatches SAN JOSE, Calif. The San Francisco Giants yesterday unveiled a fourth and perhaps final plot to escape from their windy prison in Candlestick Park. This time, the Giants are making a break for San Jose, about 50 miles to the south.

"I feel confident for the first time that the home (needs) of the Giants will be satisfied," owner Bob Lurie said during a news conference. "We have struggled through this process for what seems like 100 years but I feel good about this. I can't wait to see the first shovel in the ground." Thwarted by a lack of voter support in three previous tries, the Giants hope this time to move into a proposed Harmon because he sat out three of his four collegiate seasons for one reason or another. "They want him to prove at a lower level that he can play and be counted on," said Steinlauf, who ranked Harmon as the No. 11 prospect in last spring's draft only to see him go undrafted.

Translation: A guy whose career has been derailed as often as Harmon's must be either dumb, a malingerer, a bad actor or a head case. None of the above, says Shooters coach Johnny Neumann, who is uniquely equipped to judge. Neumann, too, has a quirky past. He played just one year at the University of Mississippi, leading the nation in scoring, and then turned pro. There were at least as many Johnny Neumann jokes then as there are Jerome Harmon jokes now.

"From my experiences, maybe I can help him," Neumann said. "I tell him exactly how it is, and he listens. I can't say a bad thing about Jerome as a player and as See HARMON'S Page 6, col. 4, this section INSIDE -a Sports People High school basketball College basketball Scorecard South Carolina gets its first SEC victory See Page 3 LOOKING BACK 27 YEARS AGO JAN. 16, 1965 Australian middle-distance runner Ron Clarke sets the world record of 13 minutes, 34.8 seconds, a mark he would lower four more times.

Walsh reportedly taking Stanford job See Page 5 .2 .2 .3 .4 .6 .6 Pro basketball Thoroughbred racing 'i i.e-UKi 4i i urn A it mi rti it A nftj.rt if iti A.