Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 25

WOLVERINES STEP NEAR TITLE, 91-78 DETROIT FREE PRESS Wednesday, Feb. 24, '65 -C ers on urge 2nd-HalfS Belts Goph BY BOB PELLE Fre Press Staff Writer MINNEAPOLIS Michigan shattered a year-long Minnesota dream and all but won the Big Ten basketball championship again Tuesday night. The Wolverines took a partisan house of 17,600 and all of Minnesota's excellence and threw it back at the Gophers, 91-78. Whatever the Wolverines Minnesota's wild ball-chasing with free throws. They did it by simply possessing Cazzie Russell, who was all that anybody expected with 27 points for the night and his game-eontroling presence in the late going.

THEY DID it with something from everybody George Forney's 20 points, with Bun tin's furious re needed they produced, and now in their 18-2 season they are still undefeated at 10-0 in the Big Ten and two games ahead of everybody else. THIS WAS one that the rest of the league had to have, just as the pursuers needed that one at Indiana eight days ago. But the Wolverines won at Indiana in double-overtime one where they aren't odds-on favorites is Saturday's visit to Illinois. Minnesota awaited Michigan here with a 16-3 record, 8-1 Big Ten Status, No. 7 ranking in the nation, and with a year of waiting to repeat last winter's 89-75 ambush of the Wolverines.

But even with 25 points from brilliant Lou Hudson and all the fury of a team survival, and they won this one with the greatness befitting the nation's first-ranked team. They did It by fighting the fouls tagged onto Bill Buntin to dominate the rebounding anvway in the decisive second half. They did it by going from a 39-39 halftone tie out to a 75-63 lead with six minutes remaining, there to stand off bounding in the second half while burdened with four fouls, with Russell and Oliver Darden surrounding Buntin with 18 more rebounds. Heck, they did it just by playing as the nation's first-ranked team should. There is no doubt these days that Michigan is now the best college basketball team in the country.

"They are really No. 1," said Minnesota's saddened coach John Kundla after the game. "And you can see why they're No. 1." And as the Wolverines rumbled on, Minnesota and Illinois now share second place behind them in the conference on 8-2 records, and that's too far back. THE WOLVERINES have four games left, and the only Kin City playing Its make-or-break game, there wasn't much that resembled the ambush.

Darden had eight of his 17 points by halftone and two of his baskets in the first 58 seconds. Buntin followed with two baskets of his own, Russell and Pomey hit, and it was 13-4 in less than four minutes. BUNTIN WAS quickly tagged with three personals in bV minutes, but sophomore Craig Dill came pn to do weU in relief, and Michigan wasn't caught until 31-31. From there, with Russell and Pomey leading the way to be Joined by Buntin again in the second half, it seesawed through a 52-52 tie with 14 minutes remaining in the game. Then Darden's two jumpers and Larry Tregoning's steal provided six points in 54 seconds, and the Wolverines were ahead to stay.

Three times as the gap widened to 75-63, Michigan turned missed foul shots into rebound baskets and bit by bit killed off the Gophers. What the Wolverines weren't doing underneath, Russell estern League Ag i 1 1 I 4... -vf i 4 if 4- 1 A I Hvi4 i 1 AP Photo TO THE WINNERS go the spoils of victory. In this case it's a kiss from Mrs. Gordie Howe to her sons, Marty, 11, and Mark, 9, (left).

The sons of the Red Wing star helped the Detroit Roostertails to a first-round victory in the International Peewee Hockey tourney in Quebec. Sale Defended Yank WASHINGTON (AP) Top officials of two rival television networks defended Tuesday the purchase of the New York Yankees by" the Columbia Broadcasting System. Both Thomas W. Moore, president of the American Broadcasting and Julian Goodman, a vice president of the National Broadcasting gave much the same answers at a Senate antitrust and monopoly subcommittee hearing. Neither man felt CBS would gain any unfair advantage in bidding for future television rights.

9 Both men said that while their networks had no immediate plans to purchase a baseball team, they might at some time in the future and objected IT TAKES LOTS OF push to score in high school basketball these days. Here Alfred Blakely (No. 34) of Northwestern gets this push shot off against Northeastern with the Falcons' Howard Moore (No. 41) trying to block the shot. N'Eastern Dies Hard, 61 to 57 Neeley Colts' Big Gun with 21 Points BY TOM JAKOBOWSKI Winner and still champion that's what Northwestern remains in City League basketball.

But it took a wilting, 61-57 victory over battling Northeastern in Tuesday night's Public School title game to lift Fred Snowden's Colts back into the city championship for the second time in his two years as a varsity coach. Northwestern, unbeaten in 13 games, now meets Catholic champion Holy Redeemer at U-D Memorial at 8 p.m. Friday. Northeastern (10-1) must go for consolation honors against Catholic ninnerup Lourdes in the preliminary. JOE NEELEY, a 6 foot 3 fir.t semester senior whose clutch baskets in the stretch helped the Colts to a title last year, was the big scorer this time with 21 points.

It was Neeley's three-point play with two seconds left that locked up the victory before a near full house of 8,000 fans at U-D Memorial. His points were the only scoring the Colts did in th final 82 minutes as Northeastern nearly pulled the upset of the year on the state's third-ranked Class A team which has lost only once In its last 82 games. Howard Moore missed the second of a one-and-one free throw chance that had moved Northeastern to within one point, 58-57, with 13 seconds left. Neeley grabbed the rebound on the missed potential tying shot. Although Northwestern had its shooting problems, it got the scoring balance it needed to offset Northeastern's rewed-up attack that outshot the Colts, 62 to 50 per cent, in the early going to keep it close.

JOHN HAWKINS contributed 12 points in the win. Richard Carter and Alfred Blakely 11 each. Northeastern got 12 from 6-foot-6 Willie Edwards, who might have helped in the rally but fouled out with 3 minutes left. As It was, Isaiah Jones, a regular for Northeastern in only the last three did a super job of trying to knock off the Colts. He finished with 16 points, most of them helping to wipe out a nine-point lead Northwest ern held with lour minutes left.

Four times in the game Northwestern had four to five-point leads erased as Northeastern tried to pull City League mutiny led by an up start captain named Sligh, Stan Sligh. His basket got a 17-17 tie after one quarter. Jones closed it up 32-31 at the half. Cliff Taylor gave Northeastern its first lead with 23 seconds gone in the third period. When Blakely's three baskets put Northwestern ahead, Sligh tied it at 44-44.

He got another to start the rally out of a 57-50 hole. But hot as Northeastern had been neither Sligh nor Moore could cash in on the free throw Turn to Page 2C, Column 8 BROW MORTON PALS RUT am to any action which might prevent this. The subcommittee, headed by Sen. Philip A. Hart, is studying the CBS-Yankee deal as a part of its consider-tion of a bill which would strip baseball of its blanket antitrust exemption.

The legislation would spell out limited uniform exemptions for all professional sports. hc tj f-ol- i. Njpywww.i..,,, Tiger 'Worriers' MINNESOTA MICHIGAN Hudson 9 7- 25 TregonlnB 3 2-2 8 Dvoracek 4 3-3 11 Darden 1-3 IT Northway 5 5-4 15 Buntin 7 0-0 17 Clark 3 0-0 6 Russell 12 3-4 27 Yates 7 1-2 15 Pomey 6 8-10 20 Mwtir 1 7-4 4 Dill 2 1-3 5 Nelson 10-0 2 Totals 30 18-24 78 Minnesota Michi9an Totals 38 1 5-24 91 3-3-78 39-52-91 Turn to Page 2C, Column 4. Cage 'Fix' Suspect Has Court Date CHICAGO OR Federal authorities Tuesday ordered the removal of 24-year-old cocktail lounge operator Leo Casale to Seattle for appearance in U.S. District Court.

The action was taken by U.S. Commissioner C. S. Bentley Pike after Casale waived a hearing. Casale, one-time senior class president at St.

Francis de Sales High School in Chicago, still is at liberty on a $25,000 recogni zance bond. Commissioner Pike said Ca-sale's removal to Washington was a routine proceeding after such a request was made by the U.S. district attorney's office. Casale is charged with attempting to fix a basketball game Jan. 22 between Seattle University and the University of Idaho.

isr and batted .272. He hit 15 homers and drove in 54 runs. Horton, meanwhile, was dispatched to Syracuse after a sensational training season and batted .288 with 28 homers and 99 RBI in the International League. THE TWO of them went to work at Tigertown Tuesday, and it was so different than a year ago. Horton looked in tiptop shape while Brown looked well, the word they used was Coach Bob Swift had Brown groveling in the dirt, doing all wiiftfihitf- (f-J-ff ir-fh mpmirwll Fr Pre Photo by FRED PLOFCHAN sorts of calisthenics, as Horton did last spring.

"I'm a little heavy but it doesn't Itother me," said Brown. "If I get too light, I feel weak." There were no scales around but Brown claimed he wasn't an ounce over 225. That's too much as far as the Tigers are concerned. Last season Brown played between 197 and 210. Horton said he weighed 210 and it looked like a solid 210.

He played winter ball in Puerto Rico while Brown Turn to Page 4C, Column 1 up in favor of a conference playoff for the NCAA trip if there is a tie for the Big Ten championship. The Big Ten now uses the Rose Bowl formula" in event of championship ties, eliminating the school or schools that most recently went to the NCAA tournament. STRACK ALL FOR IT 'More Big Ten Tourney Teams' BY BOB PILLE Frtt Prws Sports Writer MINNEAPOLIS The coaches of the 1-2 basketball teams in the Big Ten disagreed Tuesday with the way teams are picked for NCAA playoffs. Michigan's Dave Strack andi ft fcW if xJri a-- BY JOE FALT.3 Free Press Sports Writer LAKELAND The friendliest enemies in the world are named Gates Brown and Willie Horton. They live together, eat together, go out together and worry together.

"Plenty of worrying," smiles Gates. When Gates calls Willie's house on the telephone, Willie's wife never knows who it is. "We even talk the same," smiled Willie. THEY LIKE the same food, the same television shows, the same movies. And yet this strong bond "we're closer than brothers," says Horton is forgotten for a few hours every day.

That's when they put on their uniforms and go to work. Despite their deep feeling for each other, Brown and Horton are after the very same thing the leftfield job on the Detroit Tigers. It is a touchy situation and they are uneasy whenever the subject is mentioned. "I'm not trying to beat anyone -out of a job," says "I'm just trying to win a place on the team." BUT OBVIOUSLY that place can't be rightfield or centerfield. Al Kaline and Don Demeter are established in these positions.

It must be leftfield and Brown and Horton know they also must stand off the challenges of George Thomas and Jim Northrup. Right now the job is Brown's. Manager Charlie Dressen says so. But Gates doesn't feel that way. He's the biggest worrier on the team and feels he must prove himself all over this spring.

Brown got into 123 games with the Tigers last season Xo Column; Lyall Ailing Free Press sports editor Lyall Smith Is ailing. His column will be resumed later this week. Minnesota's John Kundla stood before a luncheon and too kj swipes at their own conference! as well as the National Collegi ate Athletic Association, "The second-place team in the Big Ten belongs in the NCAA regionals over the three teams that will get two places in our district," said Kundla. "Look at them Detroit, Dayton, DePaul they all have 13-6 records or something like that. "There are four teams in the Big Ten with better records." "And with their better records against better opposition," said Strack, taking it up as Kundla rmused for breath.

"Another Big Ten team belongs in the playoffs at least this year but we know that ances are remote." EV DISTRICT FOUR, two in dependent teams are picked for first-round games against the champions of the Ohio Valley and Mid-America Conferences. The two winners are joined in the regionals by the Big Ten and Southeast champions. Both coaches likewise spoke HUDSON'S 1206 SHOP likes the urbane look of the black kneebreaker topcoat and so will every well-dressed young man-about-town. It has all the ingredients of elegance like the L-shaped lapels, the smoke pearl buttons and the imported fabric which is a lustrous blend of 95 Bemberg rayon, 5 silk. $80 in regulars, shorts or longs.

Downtown, 2nd; Northland, 2nd; Eastland, 1st. U-D AWAITS RING Right Number? The number is 34-21000 and Bob Calihan has his southpaw poised to grab the receiver. The Telephone Hour starts at 10 a.m. Wednesday when national tournament bids go out to independent college basketball teams with desirable records. Coach Calihan and his U-D Titans (16-7 record) hope they'll be included.

The NCAA gets a head start with the NIT commencing calls at 11 a.m. Dayton, Penn State, Miami (Fla.) and unbeaten Providence are considered prime targets. Hopes are high at U-D, too, and Calihan will be right by the phone..