The Paducah Sun from Paducah, Kentucky • 45

THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 1969 SUN-DIMOCRAT, PADUCAH, KY. paci rirniN i ilMrray Stuns Eagles To Gaiir NCAA Berth Racers, Marquette Clash Saturday At. SIU Sports Arena JERRY ATKINS, Sun-pemocrat Sports Editor. BOWLING GREEN, March 5-Unbelievablell! They said it couldn't be done. Playing a Cinderella role all the way from last December ILL tUN DIMOCRAT IPOTt iOITO through March the Murray State -University Thoroughbreds proved beyond a shadow of doubt that they were No.

1 In Racers In National Limelight Never In the 47-year history of Murray State University has the Ohio Valley Conference. immediately following the game chanting "We're Number One." Coach Luther, commenting on the MSU game plan after the final horn, praised his team for Murray, fighting overwhelm r-' -x yt a more colorful and crowd-pleasing basketball team been field ing odds, pasted Morehead State University 94-76 here tonight before an overflow crowd of 13,000 a "tremendous defensive effort." to earn the right to represent "We concentrated on getting the league in the NCAA playoffs. the ball inside and we did it the second half," Luther said. "We Coach Cal Luther's Racers, ed by tne Thoroughbreds, than the one currently in the national limelight. Coach Cal Luther's upset-prone Racers turned on the flood lights with smashing M-71 victory over favored Morehead In the E.

A. Diddle Sports Arena on the Western Kentucky University campus In Bowling Green Wednesday night. For Luther and assistant coach Bennie Purcell, a former Racer star himself, the victory meant their second appearance wanted to go to the goal with 23-5 in all games this season, the ball. We controlled the ball very well the second half, com hi I i will take on highly regarded Marquette (22-4) in the opening round of the NCAA Mideast Re ing up with several cheap baskets. We knew if we could keep them their offensive gional Saturday afternoon.

The clash, to start at 5:05 signals to Virden while Hector Blondett (behind Young) heads downfloor and Jim Stocks (left) looks on. One Morehead performer, Jerry Conley, is on the floor while two others, Ron Gathright (42) and Bobby Hiles (32) watch from a distance. Murray won the battle 94-76. ammuu HERE, HERE, HERE-Murray State's Jimmy Young (12) calls out to the Racers' Claude Virden (with ball) after the MSU star pulled down one of his 15 rebounds during Wednesday night's OVC playoff with Morehead at Bowk big Green. Murray's other guard, Frank Streety (10), also In the NCAA playoffs.

Crowned OVC co-champions along with Morehead after the two Kentucky universities posted 11-3 sea basket we could stay with p.m., will be tne second game of a doubleheader in the South- sonal records against league competition, the Racers' accom em Illinois University Sports plishment at Bowling Green earned them the right to represent Murray used a couple of strong offensive efforts in the first half to pull out front by 8 Arena at Carbondale. the eight-team league in the national tournament The showdown was the second straight for Luther and Pur- For the winner in that game, Tornado Salves Stall Tactics points" at two different intervals. the 'Southeastern Conference champion Kentucky Wildcats but not for most of the young Thoroughbreds. Last tied with East Tennessee, each with 10-4 league marks, for the OVC crown and then lost a 79-75 heartbreaker In the will lie in waiting in the Mid east Semi-final at Madison, Morehead scored the first 4 points, but the Racers came back with the next 6 to grab an early lead. The game was tied four times playoff.

The Buccaneers entered the NCAA first-round game the following Thursday. and dumped Florida State, 79-69, before losing to Big Ten Con Oak. 49 33 Both Murray and Morehead To Topple Lone ference champion Ohio State, 79-72, In the Mideast Regional finished the regular season with 11-3 OVC marks, thus forcing the in the first 20 minutes, the last time at 25-25 with just over 6 minutes remaining. Sophomore center Ron John extra game. It was the second Paducah Tilghman, 21-3 on the From the field, the Tornado straight year MSU has been In By GEORGE CHANCELLOR S-D Staff Writer The Lone Oak Purple Flash, came out on top in all categories.

In the rebounding department, year, will meet Heatn tnaay night in the second round of scored on 16 of 22 attempts while Lone Oak connected, on 11 of 28., semifinals. A 69-57 loss to MarquetteMurray's first-round opponent Saturday night in the SIU Sports Arena at Carbondale fol-' lowed for the OVC representative in the consolation of play. Wednesday night's playoff was brought about by season- volved in the league playoff but unlike last year, this one son cashed in a free throw to give Murray a one point lead playing a deliberate, slowdown ball game, stymied Paducah was successful. Second District play. The game will be the first tournament com Jackson and Hall shared scor Tilghman, led by Stan Hall and Elmer Jackson, who grabbed 10 and "11 carooms, respectively, The Racers dropped a 79-75 de-! Tilghman for two quarters Wed with 6:36 remaining.

Murray never trailed again. Six Ravers hit in double fig ing honors for the night, each cision to East Tennessee in the petition for the Jets, who drew collected 27 rebounds to 11 for collecting 13 markers. nesday night, but the Blue Tornado came on to win 49-33 and extra game at Richmond last a bye in first round pairings. Despite the delaying tactics, the Purple Flash. ending pressure victories, by both Murray and Morehead.

The Racers needed a triumph over OVC pre-season favorite Western ures, as the spirited MSU quint burned the nets on 33 of 66 field March. the Tilghman strength simply At the free throw line, Tilgh advance to" the second round in the Second District Basketball Shooting 50 per cent from the The Purple Flash, through for the season, finished with a regu in their finale last Saturday night in the MSU Sports Arena attempts, and 28 of 34 free man hit on 17 of 23. Lone Oak proved too much for the scrappy Lone Oakers and the Tornado throws. lar nlav marts nf 15-8 Tournament made 11 of 13. and they responded with a well-earned 99-85 triumph before an overflow crowd of home folks.

The Eagles Journeyed toJohn- floor and a fantastic 82 per cent from the charity line, the red hot Racers literally ran the The game, played before a Virden, undoubtedly a I cut favorite for OVC "Player of near capacity crowd at the Pa son City, Tennessee Monday night, forced with a "must" win in order to tie the MSUjjulnt and they responded In flying favored Eagles out of the E. A. the Year," bettered his average ducah gym, was the third meeting for the two teams this sea Diddle Arena, neutral site of the by 4 points with a 27-poInt ef 1969 playoff. fort. Blondett and Johnson fol son and the third victory for colors with a 77-67 victory.

See Page 6-A Report About Tickets After holding a 6-pornt, 44-38, lowed closely with 16 and 15 re Tilghman. Tilghman topped its lead at halftime, the Racers saw cross county rivals 82-72 in spectively, Stocks added 13, Young 11 and Junior guard the Eagles trim the margin to 2 points, 46-44, in the first two game played at Lone Oak and 82-58 in a clash on the home Frank Streety 10. Yjjg showdown game, scheduled on a neutral the fifth playoff in the history of the OVC to determine the league's minutes of the second half. court. Morehead's Jerry Conley and Following a a timeout, representative in the NCAA Western's spacious Ron Gathright were the only 'v ik yj i kk' -j ul S-s kk rk IJ.k Lone the tip, set the pattern it was Diddle Arena was picked as the site, and.

lew league omciais Eagles in double figures. Murray's sparkling sophomore guard Jimmy Young banged in anticipated an overflow crowd at Bowling Green. Virden also led both teams in to follow for three quarters by an 18-foot jumper, and junior rebounding with 15, but the pow stalling for nearly three minutes standout forward Claude Virden But, a crowd It was and it's a good bet that over half erful and taller Eagles bettered before Fred-Harned got open underneath and netted the first followed with a 16-foot jumper, the overcapacity 13,000 fans there were Murray State sup-: the MSU effort 51-41. Thirty seconds later senior 6-7 The MSU cheering section mostly students- The Racers played the game shot of the game. reserve center Jim Stocks, who without co-captain Don Funne- stretched from floor level to the top of the beautiful Western Arena and the Racer yellers and there were a few Tilghman came- right back with a two-pointer by Ronnie turned in a very strong per man, junior defensive sparkplug, Lee.

yellers there smothered the entire side of the gymnasium. formance, dropped in-a layup to push the Racers back out Hollis Hughes, followed with Fenneman suffered a shoulder separation in an early-week practice session, but is expected to be ready for Murray's NCAA front by 8 points, 52-44. one from the charity stripe, Morehead, too, had a good number of enthusiastic students The two OVC kingpins traded on hand, but fortunately for members of the press row in front made it 3-2 and gave the Purple Flash, what proved to be their clash Saturday. of the Eagle cheering section-especially us MSU supporters final lead of the game. they settled down midway through the second half when the MURRAY fgm-a ttm-a a pair of buckets before brilliant sophomore forward Hector Blondett dropped in a pair of layups in less than 30 seconds to give the Racers a 60-43 advantage with 12:57 remaining in The first stanza ended with Tilghman in front by a narrow Racers put their coveted victory away, and most were gone home when the game was over.

They started leaving, in fact, i fr SknMjaaHMMM mmmmtmmm0 'mini LMMaaaMMWAWMtiiiM 7-6 intermission, the with four minutes remaining in the clash, Virden 10-23 7-9 Blondett 7-10 3-3 Johnson 4-10 7-S Young 4-1Q 3-3 Streety 4-6 3-3 Romant O-l 1-1 Stocks 4-5 5-6 Wilson O-l 1-3 Stevenon O-l 0-0 Tiler 0-0 04) Morehead is no stranger to the playoffs, having figured In Blue Men could only manage -a 15-13 lead against the stalling the game. three of the four played prior to Wednesday's battle. Murray's From there on, the spirited Lone Oak offense. engagement last year took care of the other, so the 1969 con Thoroughbreds left little doubt Lone Oak continued to play Elmer Jackson. Others in the photo are John Powell (42) of the Flash and Ronnie Lee (21), Ronnie Rose (10) and Stan Hall (40) of the Tornado.

Tilghman won 49-33. (Staff Photo by Carl Manning) testants were experienced in the "extra'Lgame, ONE, TWO, THREE STEP-Lone Oak's Hollis Hughes (22) appears to be In the midst of a ballet step during action in the Second District high school tournament at Paducah, Tilghman Wednesday night. Actually, he was trying to block a shot by Tilghman's deliberate ball in the third quar Totals 33-M 11-14 MOREHIAD fgnt-a ft m-s as to the outcome of the rivalry clash. Everything seemed to drop in favor of the Racers rb 15 7 0 a 6 1 0 0 41 rb 7 13 13 3 4 3 i 0 3 a 51 ter, but found itself at a nine point disadvantage, 25-16, as the Green 3-3 Luther, named Racer head coach in 1958, has coached Gsthrttht 4-10 6-7 while the Eagles, pressing to Jackson 4-11 1-3 Murray teams through 10 straight winning seasons (including period ended. catch up, stumbled into error this one), following a 10-15 mark in us nrst campaign.

Hlles 3-8 3-3 Conley 7-33 3-4 rnrnett 3-13 3-3 In the final period the roies after error Through Wednesday's playoff game, the spirited Racer mentor were reversed as Lone Oak, at Byars 3-4 04 With 6:20 remaining in the owns a 162-107 won-Ioss record at Murray and a 91-58 0-0 Hueseman tempting to close the gap with time running out, came out in game, the Racers led by 17, 71- effort over fellow OVC coaches. Umberger Day Williams Harney 55, and MSU students began to 1-3 04 04 1-3 04 11-14 44 38 1-3 34 04 M44 a full court press and was forced to take the came to the Blue chant, "Goodbye Morhead, Good His first OVC championship came in 1964 when the Rac Totals bye Morehead." 8084 3876 Murray Morehead Tornado. ers posted a 16-9 seasonal worksheet. The Racers lost a high-scoring opening-round decision to highly-regarded Loyola of .5 With 4:11 remaining and the As the game opened up in the final quarter, the two teams Racers on top by 18, 78-60, MSU Chicago. cheerleaders snake-danced a scored a total of 31 points, equa Area Sports On Radio Thursday.

March The 1968-69 record is the best for a Murray team since the 1942-43 team nosted a 23-3 showing and the razzle-dazzle long banner saying "Where Are ling their total three period out i oust I I Kentucky You, Big Six, Now That We Need I a. mt. i I put. "exhibitions of the current unit really has things buzzing in the iuu. ine sign, aiso usea in WNGO-FM.

94.7 OMayfleld) Third District Tournament OVC. the Western game last Saturday, Murray started three sophomores and two juniors against WDXR-AM. 1560 (Paducah) District Tournament WPAD-AM. 1450 and WPAD-FM. Tilghman 49 Lone Oak 33 was pointed toward timer 49 U-j 96.0 (Paducah) Second District Morehead's three seniors and two juniors Wednesday night.

And the Eagles made use of two other seniors, along with a "Big Six" Henderson, who kept the clock In a controversial 84-82 Western win here earlier in the Tournament WCBL-FM. 102.3 (Benton) Fourth 35 16 Paducah Tilghman Lone Oak host of other performers, while Luther used his only two sen District Tournament WFUL-FM. 104.9 (Fulton) First District Tournament iors to great advantage. season. PADUCAH TILGHMAN (48) Lee 6.

Jackson 13. Hall 13, Rose 8, Garrett 8. LONE OAK (33 Hughes 11. Hooper 9. Hamed 8, Roussel 7, Powell.

A jubilant Murray State cheer WNBS-AM, 1340. and WAAW-FM. 103.7 (Murray) Fourth District Tourn 4 THa vmmor Racers are in the race to stav. And. from ing section mobbed the Racers ament 3 the way things have been going of late, Coach Adolph Rupp's Wildcats might as well'start looking for MSU game films SHOP FACTORY OUTLET'S BIG they just might meet at Madison, Wisconsin a week from tonight (Thursday).

First, of course, Is Marquette Saturday afternoon." I SALE AFTER HVBnOST Indians Open 3 jtl Many items came to light during our annual inventory that must be cleared in a hurry. Enjoy tremendous savings on men's suits, sport coats, slacks, topcoats, all-weather coats, jackets, hats, shoes, shirts and furnishings. Prices have been slashed to clear this merchandise. Stop in today and take advantage of these tremendous low, low prices. Title Defense Community College begins defense of.

its 1968 Seventh Region Junior College basketball tournament title tonight against Sue Bennett's Green Dragons of London, Ky The match will be the third this season between the PCC Indians and Sue Bennett. The Indians won both regular season matches, 91-76 at Paducah and 93-77 at London. s. mm A BUI -BUlf See 'In My Corner. On Page 16-B And More Save Up To Paducah just mention my name in FACTORY OUTLET STORES Coach Sonny Haws' Tribe, seeded second to Perkinson, Miss, in the Regional and ranked eighth nationally, drew a first-ground bye in the 13-teara tournaments Sue Bennett reached the quarterfinals by upending Lindsey Wilson 'of Columbia, Ky.

67-56 Tuesday night, PCC carries a 22-2 seasonal showing into its tournament opener tonight. The Indians fought their way through the 1968 tournament at Columbia, Tenn. and won a berth in the 16-team National Junior College Tournament at Hutchinson, Kan. Tipoff for tonight's game will be 8:30. THE TRUE OLD-STYLE KENTUCKY BOURBON 218 Main St.

Fulton, Ky. 211 South 6th St. MayfialdVKy. 516 Broadway Paducah, Ky..