St. Cloud Times from Saint Cloud, Minnesota • Page 13

Daily Times, St. Cloud, Minn, 13 Sports March 27,1979 MSU's zone birdcage crushes Indiana State SALT LAKE CITY (AP Coach Jud Heath-cote calls it a "Matchup Zone" and can't explain how it works without a blackboard and lots of chalk. But it succeeded where all else had failed this season it beat Larry Bird and Indiana State, and helped make Heathcote's Michigan State Spartans the 1978-79 NCAA basketball champions. "We are elated," the Michigan State boss said in the wake of a 75-64 victory Monday night over the top-ranked Sycamores, defeated for only the first time in 34 games. "I can't describe my feelings." With Earvin Johnson scoring 12 points and Gregory Kelser nine, Michigan State carved out a 37-28 halftime lead.

Then unheralded Terry Donnelly suddenly got hot to help the Spartans score the first seven points after intermission and mount a commanding 44-28 advantage with 17:18 to play. In their unbeaten, storybook surge to the threshold of greatness, the Sycamores had trailed by as many as 11 points several times and rallied to win. But never had they been down by 16, and never had they faced "Magic" Johnson and "Special Kelser. And, hard as they tried to write a happy ending to what had been a fairy-tale season for them and Bill Hodges, their rookie head coach, they never got closer than six. With 10:05 remaining and Johnson shackled with three fouls and Kelser with four, Bird muscled through the air-tight Spartan defenders to hit a short jumper and make it 52-46.

But a Johnson free throw and a Johnson bucket made it 55-46 and returned the momentum to the Spartans, who never let go of it. At the end, Bird put his face in his hands as if to hide tears. He scored 19 points, a good game for anyone else but a dreadful night for a man who averaged almost 29 through the season and became everybody's player of the year. "We would have one man and a half on him when he put the ball on the floor," Heathcote explained the defense of Bird. "We would have a forward on him and a guard come in to help.

Our defense worked well tonight. We wanted to force the action and get into an up-tempo game." Heathcote sounded like he was seriously worried during only one stretch in the second half. "What hurt us most was Gregory getting in foul trouble," he said "We got cautious and conservative, but the Magic Man put us back together." Johnson a 6-foot-8 sophomore who may bolt Michigan State to join Bird in professional baskt-ball next season, pumped in a game-high 24 points and Kelser had 19. Donnelly, who seldom gets much attention keeping company with the likes of Johnson and Kelser, hit 5-of-5 field goals, most of them in the second half when Indiana State was making its charge, and wound up with 15 points. "Wherever he went," said Johnson of Bird, "we had two men on him.

When Greg went out we tried to slow it down and take some time off the clock. I hit a couple of baskets, then Greg came back and we got the job done." Hodges, an obscure assistant a year ago, was philosophical in dealing with his only loss as a head coach. "The Lord blessed us with a tremendous year," he said. "We have a great bunch of players. They never gave up.

I don't think they ever will. Anyone disappointed with the success we have had this year has to be a lesser man than I am. They are a team, a unit, and a family, and I love every one of them." Michigan State's victory gives the Big Ten Conference a rare basketball coup. With Indiana winning the National Invitation Tournament earlier this month, the Big Ten can rightfully claim to be the toughest basektball league in the country. "We're very pleased, of course," said Commissioner Wayne Duke.

"But we aren't going to beat our chest and boast because we know things like this run in cycles, and something we might say tonight will come back to haunt us." The Magic Man made it happen with chips down SALT LAKE CITY (APi The Magic Man, Earvin Johnson, had played with bewitching grace, but there was magic to spare in his smile as he sat down to talk about winning it all. There was a basketball net hanging like a laurel around his neck, and nothing to do but savor the sweets of Michigan State's NCAA basketball title. It was Johnson who had scored a game-high 24 points, Johnson who had picked up his flagging teammates in the second half, Johnson who had scored a crucial four-point play, and, most of all, it was Johnson who sent Indiana State to its first defeat in 34 games and the Spartans to their first national basketball championship. Continued on Page 15 0 AP Photo DePaul outlasts Penn In what perhaps was the key play of Michigan State's NCAA final win over Indiana State, the Spartans' Earvin Johnson slam dunks over the Sycamores' Bob Heaton (30). The basket was good and Heaton was charged with a flagrant foul, giving Johnson two free throws.

The four-point play turned a seven-point Michigan State lead into an insurmountable 1 1 -point lead with 5:05 left to play. Dejected Bird watches career crash-land with sub-par play k-Mfe sdlVs SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -DePaul's Blue Demons had it, then they didn't. "We made too many mistakes," said Coach Ray Meyer, "and let Penn get back into the game." Those mistakes turned a rout into a bout Monday night, and the Blue Demons had to fight for their lives in order to post a 96-93 overtime avictory over the Quakers in the national third-place game at the NCAA basketball playoffs. "We had 15 good minutes at the start of the game," said Meyer, whose team led by as many as 23 points late in the first halt. "But we made so many errors at the end of the first half that we put them back in it." Tony Price did most of the damage for the East Regional champions, scoring 21 of his 31 points to chop DePaul's once-mountainous lead to 11 at the half, 54-43.

Then some more desultory play by the West champions made it even more interesting. Suddenly, Penn had caught up to DePaul and the teams were tied at 85 at the end of regulation, thanks to a shot by James Salters with 11 seconds left. DePaul, though, woke up in the overtime period with high scorer Mark Aguirre hitting eight of his team-leading 34 points. Aguirre scored six of his points in one flurry to give DePaul a 94-89 lead and the ultimate winning point with 26 seconds left. "We didn't feel like playing for third place, I guess," said Meyer.

"We struggled through it, but we are happy to go home on a winning note." Gannett News Service SALT LAKE CITY, Utah When it was over, Larry Bird sat in a brown metal chair that was the Indiana State bench, a towel around his neck, and buried his red face in his hands. Coach Bill Hodges attempted to comfort him. Three chairs away sat Carl Nicks, his eyes staring at the floor. Alex Gilbert approached both his teammates and talked in their ear. "I told them hold their heads up," he said.

"We've got nothing to be ashamed of." The runner-up trophy was about to be presented to the Sycamores, 75-64 losers to Michigan State in the NCAA finals here Monday. A season that began in obscurity, hit high gear with 33 straight victories, ended in defeat. Forward Brad Miley, who had spend most of the evening shadowing Magic Johnson, yelled: "Come on. Everybody's going to get that trophy." Gilbert raised an index finger in the air. Miley waved a fist.

Bird's name was the first called. He took a second to react, then approached the hastily erected stand at center court. The rest of Bird's teammates joined him, and co-captain Leroy Staley held the runner-up plaque. Bird put a hand on the award for the photographers. They left as a team and walked to the section where the Sycamore fans were, held up the awards, and raised fists and No.

1 signs. Their followers cheered. Inside the locker room, Hodges told his players: "It's been absolutely a great year. And God blessed us." "We deserved everything we got," Gilbert said. "It hasn't been unreal or a dream.

We won 33 in a row. How many people have done that? We got our piece in the history books." Bird and Nicks were in the shower. Reporters crowded around Staley in the cramped, white-tiled room. "It's going to hurt every player," he said. "But I'm not ashamed to look anybody in the face." Bird dressed near the shower, keeping reporters at a distance.

He pulled a white sweater over his head. Towering over the crowd, he pulled his light blue team gym bag from on top of his locker. He bent to pick up something from inside the locker, and someone asked if he would talk to the press. He mumbled a "no" and departed. Nicks emerged from the shower in blue jeans.

He granted a TV interview before putting on his shirt. He had fouled out with 2:43 left and Indiana State down by seven. "Man, you feel like you're breaking up," he said. "That's the worst thing that ever happened to "me. I don't mind them calling fouls on me, but not cheap fouls.

"I just don't think the officiating was very good. Michigan State got a lot of breaks. That was our worst free throw (10-of-22 game of the year. Michigan State's a good team, but we played poorly. "It's not a bad feeling, because we accomplished what we set out to do.

Our No. 1 goal was just to get to the NCAAs. After every game we won, we re-evaluated our goals. "Larry just had an off night. If he was on, he would have got 40 points." AP Photo 1 Indiana State's Larry Bird found that the long arms of the law in this I "case the Michigan State zone defense were capable of putting his 1 scoring tendencies under lock and key.

Ron Charles (15) is the only I identifiable defender, but the Spartans swarmed on Bird, limiting him 1 to 19 points. MINUTE DRILL Defensive end Mark Mullaney has signed a series of six one-year contracts with the Minnesota Vikings. The pact is esentially the same offered the ex-Colorado State star last season. The United States, represented by a team from Bemidji, captured its first two draws in the World Curling Championships at Bern, Switzerland. The Scott Baird Rink defeated France 8-3 and Italy 11-5, leaving the Americans in a first-place tie with Norway and Germany, two teams it met today.

The championships continue through Saturday. Today's teaser: Who are Tom Hall, Tom Johnson and Larry Grahek and what athletic team did they represent last year? Monday's answer: City College of New York (CCNY is the only team to win the NIT and NCAA basketball tournaments in the same year, accomplishing the feat in 1950. Dave Anderson each other in Japan, thus making baseball history. The first game of the three-game series is tentatively set for March 28. Bobby Allison has finally captured the lead in NASCAR's Winston Cup standings, although he is third in winnings.

Allison's Thunderbird finished five seconds ahead of Richard Petty's Chevrolet in Sunday's 400-mile race at North Wilkes-boro, N.C. In the race for points, Allison has scored 971, holding a slim lead over Darrell Waltrip (962 1 and Cale Yarborough (932 the defending champion. Waltrip leads in winnings with Petty ($102,265 and Allison ($101,605) rank 2-3. The Minnesota Norsemen, a member of the American Professional Slo-Pitch League, opened training camp at the University of Minnesota fieldhouse Monday. Manager Rick Finke has invited 27 players including St.

Cloud's Steve Fuchs to participate in the drills. One of the players taking part in the camp is Buddy Haines, a 29-year-old infielder who was an All-APSPL selection for the Chicago Storm last season. Five more major league umpires were scheduled to testify in federal court today about their reasons for hiring an attorney to negotiate their 1979 contracts. Nine umpires testified in Philadelphia Monday that they had all hired Richie Phillips because they never had any success negotiating themselves. Meanwhile, the American and National leagues issued a joint statement charging that the umpires are trying to circumvent a valid contract in refusing to report to spring training.

The five-year contract runs through 1981, with salaries ranging from $17,500 for first-year umpires to $40,000 for umpires with more than 16 years experience, plus $53 a day for expenses. Brad Meeks, competing in the 13-14 age bracket, scored four victories and placed in three other events for the St. Cloud Swim Club in the 'B' A Winner meet at St. Anthony last weekend. Also scoring firsts for Coach Mark Johnson's team were Dayna Brant and Brent Megarry.

(Complete SCSC results in scoreboard on page The San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres will open the 1980 regular season against All St. Cloud area weightlifters still in high school are invited to compete in the third annual Warrior Co-Ed Power Meet at Brainerd April 20. There are very few formal meets for "benchers" and "cleaners," but Steve Nunnink serves as director of one of the best. In the last meet, the Gold Country Power Lifting Meet held at Apple Valley in mid-February, Mounds View's Jerry Rohde, a 242-pound junior, set state records in the press (410 pounds) and the jerk (310 pounds) in the superheavyweight division. In the 220-pound class, Brooklyn Park-Park Center's Pat Flan-der, a 216-pound senior, totaled 570 pounds and, in the 198-pound class, North St.

Paul Tartan's John Houle, a 197-pound senior, totaled 580 pounds. The meet attracted 249 entries from 36 schools. Entry forms for the Brainerd meet can be obtained by calling Nunnink at 218-829-4751 or 218-829-4880..