The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 10

The Salina Journal Sports Monday, March 21,1988 Manning takes charge in Jayhawks' victory By DAN HESS Sports Writer LINCOLN, Neb. The final minute of Kansas' 61-58 victory over Murray State on Sunday was vintage Danny Manning. A feather-soft jump hook to give the Jayhawks the lead. A rebound of a Murray State field goal attempt and a pair of game-clinching free throws. "If you look at the last minute of the game," Kansas coach Larry Brown said, "it typifies the type of season we've had.

Danny makes a shot to put us ahead, gets a key rebound, makes two free throws and steals the inbounds pass. "For the (Dick) Vitales of the world, I hope they got to see that last 1 minute." Sunday's win in a second-round NCAA Midwest Regional basketball game put the Jayhawks into the "Sweet 16" for the third consecutive year. It also added a measure of respectability to the Big Eight Conference, which can boast three teams Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma the final 16. Manning, for one, isn't satisfied with just making the final 16 as the Jayhawks enter Friday's Midwest Regional semifinal game against Vanderbilt in Pontiac, Mich. The Commodores defeated Pittsburgh in overtime, 80-74, to earn a shot at Kansas.

"It feels great right now," Manning said of making the final 16, "but we made it this far last year. Some of us know what it's like to get farther. We have to just go out and try to win every game." Manning did his best against Murray State to keep Kansas' hopes alive. He scored 25 points in the second half as the Jayhawks proved their record to 23-11. For 39 minutes and 59 seconds, a Kansas victory was far from secure against the upset-minded Racers, who shocked North Carolina State in the tournament's opening round.

Murray State's Don Mann missed an off-balance 10-footer with only KU 61, Murray State 58 MURRAY ST. Martin Ogden Sias Mann King McClatchey Foster Brooks TOTALS KANSAS Newton Piper Manning Pritchard Gueldner Barry Maddox Harris Normore Minor TOTALS MIN 40 31 26 39 32 14 9 9 200 MIN 29 21 35 38 23 17 12 22 2 1 200 FG 7-16 1-4 1-3 4-15 3-7 1-1 0-0 2-5 19-51 FG 5-10 1-3 10-19 4-9 1-4 0-0 0-1 2-3 0-0 0-0 23-49 FT 7-7 0-0 0-0 6-7 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 13-16 FT 1-2 0-2 5-7 4-4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 10-15 7 4 4 4 1 0 3 0 28 3 5 5 4 4 0 3 8 0 0 34 2 1 5 1 1 1 1 0 12 3 5 2 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 16 TP 22 2 2 16 9 2 0 5 58 TP 11 2 25 16 3 0 0 4 2 0 61 Halftime Kansas, 28-23. Team rebounds MS 5, KU 2. 3-point goals MS 7-18 (Martin 1, Mann 2, King 3, Brooks 1): KU 5-11 (Pritchard 4, Gueldner 1). Assists MS 10 (Mann 6), KU 17 (Barry 4).

Turnovers 13, KU 15. Officials Tim Higgins, Honk Armstrong, Terry Tackett. Attendance seconds left. Manning grabbed the rebound, was fouled and the Jay- hawks breathed a sigh of relief. Manning and Kevin Pritchard were the main men for Kansas down the stretch after Murray State overcame a 12-point, first-half deficit to take a 34-32 lead with 13:40 to play on Terence Brooks' fastbreak layup.

Pritchard, playing with a sprained right knee, then took over. The sophomore guard scored eight straight Kansas points six on 3-point shots the Jayhawks took a 40-34 lead. Manning and Pritchard, who combined for 29 of Kansas' 33 second- half points, helped the Jayhawks maintain a 46-41 lead, with Manning hitting a pair of outside jumpers and Pritchard adding a pair of free throws. KU's Keith Harris added a basket to push the lead to 48-41 before Murray State's Jeff Martin took over. Martin hit a baseline jumper, then a 25-foot shot that turned into a four-point play when he was fouled by Milt Newton on the shot.

Murray State's Paul King and Pritchard exchanged 3-pointers, Danny Manning (right) of Kansas swats away the ball from Murray State's Chris Ogden (40) while KU's Chris Piper (24) sets up on defense to try and draw a charging foul during first-half action. leaving Kansas on top 51-50. Martin and Manning traded baskets before Mann and Martin hit back-to-back baskets to put the Racers in front, 5653, with 3:51 to play. Manning tipped-in his own miss and Newton hit an 11-foot jumper as the Jayhawks regained the lead. Martin gave Murray State its final points and final lead with 51 seconds left on a pair of free throws.

Manning hit his hook shot 13 seconds later. Murray State ran the clock down to 24 seconds before calling timeout to set up a final play. Mann took the inbounds pass from Chris Ogden and dished to Carl Sias out front. Sias gave the ball back to Mann, who dribbled out front, penetrated down the right side of the lane and put up the shot. Murray State coach Steve Newton, who watched the Racers' season end with a 22-9 record, said Mann did exactly as he was told.

"We wanted the basketball in Don's hands," Newton said. "He's made a number of clutch shots over the years. We looked maybe for Don to get the ball to Jeff on the penetration, but it wasn't to be." Mann said he looked to pass but it wasn't there. "I thought I got a pretty good shot off," said Mann, who made only 4-of- 15 field goal attempts. "They had good defense at the end.

I was looking to pitch off, then I tried to shoot it at the end." Martin scored 22 points to lead Murray State and Mann had 16. Pritchard scored 16 points for Kansas and Newton added 11. Brown said both teams played good defense throughout the game. The Racers shot only 37.3 percent from the field, compared to the Jayhawks' 46.9 percent effort. "I think the key is defense," Brown said.

"They have some pretty explosive players. Jeff Martin is as good as we've seen, and (so is) the little kid (the 5-foot-8 Mann)." Both teams started slowly in the first half, with neither being able to take control the first 11V2 minutes. Kansas' best stretch of the first half came after Murray State's Chris Ogden hit a 6-footer in the lane to pull the Racers within 14-13 with 8:39 left. The Jayhawks responded with 11 straight points, starting when Harris scored on a goaltending call after a perfect feed from Scooter Barry. On KU's next possession, Pritchard drove the lane on the break, missing the layup, but Newton followed it in.

Newton scored again quickly, running the break to perfection with Harris. Manning hit a leaning 8-footer, turning it into a 3-point play when he was fouled by Sias. Manning capped the Jayhawk run with a thundering slam dunk, putting Kansas ahead 2513 with 5:22 left. Kansas continued its season-long pattern of blowing big leads, allowing Murray State to close within five points at the half when Mann hit his first 3-pointer of the game with 16 seconds left. Pritchard catches fire to ignite KU By DAN HESS Sports Writer LINCOLN, Neb.

Kevin Pritchard had the confidence, and the Kansas guard had the touch. Pritchard scored 16 points, including eight straight when the Jayhawks needed them most, as Kansas slipped by Murray State, 61-58, in an NCAA Midwest Regional second-round game Sunday afternoon. Thanks to Pritchard and 25 points from Danny Manning Kansas will play Vanderbilt in a Midwest Regional semifinal game Friday at Pontiac, Mich. Pritchard, showing flashes of the form that made him a two-time Oklahoma Player of the Year in high school at Prltcnara Tulsa, was at his best in the second half of the KU victory. Limited to only three points in the opening 20 minutes, Pritchard lit up Bob Devaney Sports Center with a trio of 3-point goals, including back-to-back treys at a critical time.

After Murray State rallied from a 25-13 first- half deficit to take a 34-32 lead, Pritchard took control of the game. With 13:20 left in the game, Pritchard lobbed in a 24-foot, 3-pointer, proving it was no fluke when he added a second one 41 seconds later. On Murray State's next possession, Pritchard stole the ball, drove down the court and was fouled by Paul King as he tried to shoot layup. Pritchard made both free throws, giving the Jayhawks a short-lived 40-34 lead, but enqugh of a spark to keep Kansas in the game. Pritchard said he was only taking the shots because the Murray State zone was begging him to shoot.

"They were really packing it in on Danny, especially in the second half they really wanted to get him out of there," Pritchard said. "They were giving it (shot) to me and Coach (Larry Brown) has always told me if I get the ball to look for that shot. Luckily, they went in." After Pritchard's free throws, Brown took Pritchard out of the game to point out that Manning was open and should have gotten the ball on the break. "He was right," Pritchard said. "I'm sure Danny would have dunked it." Only seconds later, Brown reinserted Pritchard into the lineup, and the 6-3 sophomore responded with one more 3-pointer and'a pair of free throws the rest of the way.

Although Pritchard had only two assists, one was a picture-perfect pass to Manning for a layup that gave KU a 53-52 lead. Pritchard, who missed four of his five shots in the first half, said he never lost confidence in his shooting. "In the first half, I missed one really bad," he said. "But I'm pretty confident in myself. We passed the ball around and the shots were there." Once they started falling? "They felt so good," said Pritchard, who made three of his four field goal attempts in the second half.

"I wanted to drive and pass it off to Danny, but it wasn't open." Pritchard's outside shooting did more than just keep the Jayhawks in the game. As the game wore on, Murray State's respect for Pritchard grew, opening up things for Manning inside. Manning finished with 25 including eight of Kansas' final 10 points. Hutchinson juco caps record-setting year with national championship Tyson retains title with 2nd-round knockout Tyson needs only 2:54 to put away Tubbs TOKYO (AP) Mike Tyson defended his heavyweight championship inside "The Big Egg" Monday, needing less than six minutes to scramble Tony Tubbs. At 238V4 pounds, Tony was tubby and his hopes of becoming a champion again were scrambled, too.

"I did what I was supposed to do to a guy supposedly out of shape," Tyson said after knocking Tubbs down and winning at 2:54 of the second round. "I got rid of him quickly. If he had lasted six or seven rouiids, I could have been criticized. It's his prerogative to come into the ring the way he wants," said Tyson, who weighed 216V4. "He's an easy target to be hit," Tyson said.

"I was surprised he had his hands so high, so I went to the body to bring his hands down." Tyson hurt Tubbs badly with body punches in the second round and "when Tubbs dropped his hands, Tyson dropped him with a left hook to the head. The hook sent Tubbs reeling into a neutral corner, where he dropped to the floor. A handler jumped into the Tyson Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson (right) and Tony Tubbs exchange punches during their title fight in Tokyo. ring, and referee Arthur Mercante stopped the fight. Blood was already streaming from above Tubbs' right eye as he fell to the canvas.

Tyson just missed a final blow as Tubbs fell back. Tubbs never lost consciousness, but made no effort to get up, raising both arms above his head as he lay on his back. He was on the canvas for a minute before getting up. The fight was held before 51,000 fans inside the Tokyo Dome, nicknamed "The Big Egg." Tubbs' cut was ,1550,000 for his second loss against 25 wins. Tyson, 34-0 with 30 knockouts, got $10 million.

Tyson will next fight Michael Spinks on June 27 at Atlantic City, N. a bout which will earn him from $17 million to $20 million. Spinks is expected to be Tyson's toughest challenger. "I can't lose," the 21-year-old champion said. "I refuse to lose.

When I come into the ring, I have intense tunnel vision, to get my hands on my opponent." Once Tyson got his hands on the 30- year-old Tubbs, he didn't let go until Tony went down. Tubbs, a former World Boxing Association champion, would have become the WBA and World Boxing Council champion if he had won. As the second round unfolded, it became obvious he wouldn't win any belts. Tubbs moved well and was accurate with his jab in the first round. He also got in some body blows, but spent most of the time circling away from Tyson's constant pressure.

The fight wasn't sanctioned by the International Boxing Federation, is not recognized by the Japanese Boxing Commission. No sanctioning fee was paid to the IBF and Tyson didn't wear the IBF belt into the ring because he didn't want to embarrass the Japanese. Bill Cayton, Tyson's co-manager, said he thought he could solve any problems with the IBF after returning to New York. The fight, which was televised live in the United States Sunday night by Home Box Office, was Tyson's first outside the United States. Defenses in several other countries are planned.

"Wherever I fight is my home," Tyson said. The fight was the second heavyweight championship fight in the history of Japan. In the other, George Foreman knocked out Joe "King" Roman in the first round Sept. 1,1973. The Japanese now have witnessed 7 minutes, 56 seconds of heavyweight Championship boxing.

Former SE-Saline star Fritz scores winning points By Harris News Service HUTCHINSON The Hutchinson Blue Dragons found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow Saturday night. The end of a long, successful basketball season came at the Sports Arena when the Blue Dragons nipped Kankakee, 111., 76-74, to capture their first- ever National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament title. Hutchinson put the finishing touches on its most successful season in the 57-year history of basketball at the school. The Dragons won 37 games, lost just two and are the national champions. "We are a very fortunate basketball team," said coach Dave Farrar, who led the Dragons to the national title in just his second year at the helm.

"Kankakee had the hardest playing team I've seen in the two years I've been here." Kankakee used its superior quickness to force Hutchinson into 14 turnovers and 43-percent shooting from the field in the first half. The Cavaliers led by as many as 12 points in the first half but the play of Reggie Morton helped the Dragons pull within five, 39-34, at half time. "We were very fortunate to be within five at halftime," Farrar said. "We couldn't do much technique- wise. We had to just get more physical.

It was pretty important for us to get off to a good start in the second half." The Dragons did just that. Maurice Brittian slammed a dunk home with 16:55 left to give Hutchinson its first lead. The Dragons led by as many as five before Kankakee rallied to take the lead. Neither team would lead by more than three points the rest of the way. Kankakee was on the verge of ending Hutchinson's hopes for its first- ever championship when the Cavaliers had the ball and a three-point lead with less than two minutes left.

But Steve Fritz stole the ball and got a dunk to pull Hutchinson within one. "I thought Steve's steal was the biggest play in the game," Farrar said. I Morton then canned a 3-pointer to put the Dragons up by one but Kankakee got a shot down to lead by one with less than 48 seconds left. Fritz found a seam in the Kankakee zone and went to the basket. He hit a basket with 22 seconds left and was fouled.

He hit the free throw to give the Dragons the 76-74 lead. Andre Tate's 3-point attempt with two seconds left went over the backboard. After a five-minute discussion on whether or not a technical should be called on the crowd for debris on the floor, Hutchinson got the ball in and the game was history. "I wasn't even thinking about the time," Fritz said of his game- winning points. "I hadn't played well until that time.

I just tried to relax as much as possible. "This really means a lot," said Fritz, a sophomore from Gypsum and Southeast of Saline High School who was named to the All- Tournament team. "It's hard to image that from over 500 schools, we are the best." "It's been a long year," said Farrar, who was named Coach of the Tournament. "What this means is nine kids invested time and energy toward a goal. They reached all four of their goals.

They sacrificed their- selves to play as a unit." The Dragons, who did not shoot well in the first half, missed only six shots from the field in the second half. William Davis capped a brilliant tournament and career with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Morton led the Dragons with 20 points, hitting four 3-point shots. Maurice Brittian had 13 points. Davis, Morton, Brittian, Fritz, Rowdy Meeks and Shaun Vandiver saw their last action as Blue Dragons in the game.

In the two years they played at Hutchinson, they lost only 10 games, winning 65. The sophomores lost just three games on the Sports Arena floor and helped start a 45-game winning streak on the Arena floor, not losing in the 1987-88 season. The Dragons broke two records. One was for the most victories in one season at 37 and the other was most points scored in a season at 3,240. But it wasn't always a season of joy for the Dragons.

Wichita freshman Cornell Bell was killed in a car accident on Dec. 28 and long-time Dragon supporter Hod Humiston died the same day. "We've had a lot of joy and tragedy," Farrar said. "We need to think about the people who are not here and pray for their.