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Bucs Trim Western Carolina, 74-61Furman starAfter a two-week break for exams, Furman, with former Lynn View standout Rodney Arnold in the lineup, gets back into its basketball schedule tonight with a game at Appalachian State. Arnold has been doing well in his first season after being grabbed by the Paladins last year as their top prep prospect. Arnold is averaging 13 points per game (16th in the conference) and five rebounds. He logged 36 minutes of playing time againstClemson — it was questionable he would play after severely bruising his hip two daysearlier — and tallied 14 points and collectedeight reboundsFifth QuarterContinued From l*ant» 2Bpeetive and put God first, your family and friends second and yourself third and you'll be O.K.”The presentation of Player and Coach of the Year Awards followed Sayers' talk Rider, Poe and Bird allreceived standing ovations when their names were announced as awarci winnersRider, a four-time Coach of the Year Award winner while at Tazewell. Va., earned Upper East Tennessee Coach of the Year honors this year in a vote of area coachesfor leading Elizabethton to a 9-2 record, a tie for the BigBy GREG ARMSTRONG Times-News Sports WriterCULLOWHEE, N.C. — East Tennessee State, boosted by a much improved bench, scored an overwhelming victory over the Western Carolina Catamounts here Monday night, 74-61.It was the last game for the Buccaneers before playing in the Virginia Commonwealth Tournament on Dec. 28-29. State is now 5-2 and will take a two-game winning streak into the tournev.“It helps to win one, especially on the road in front of a big crowd, before taking some time off,” said East Tennessee head coach Sonny Smith. “We were a good road club last season and it looks like more of the same this year. State's away record is 2-0. both by astonishing margins.The victory also gives the Bucs a 2-0 record against Southern Conference opponents, a notable figure since ETSU is considered a likely applicant for admission to the eight-team league,“The bench gave us the added rest we needed,” said Smith. “Charles Thaxton and Atlee Hammaker were two of the keys.” That fact became apparent late in the first half when the But* starters began to tire.The Bucs returned to the Johnson City campus early today where they will have two-a-day practices for the remainder of the week. The players will then go home for a short break before returning on Christmas day for the final two workouts before the Virginia tournament.“We haven’t had time to practice,” complained Smith “We’ve played seven games in 14 days and all we've done is work on different defenses and offenses the entire time We simply haven’t had a practice to work out our problems. That's what we’ve got to do the rest of the week.It was the third game this season in which the Bucs didn't trail. The Catamounts were down as much as 20 points on two different occasions and failed to keep pace long enough to get close.The Cats did manage to pull within three earlv in the second half while Smith had a number of substitutes in the game. The starters, however, were quickly sent back into the lineup and scored eight unanswered pointsEast Tennessee coasted most of the second half, satisfied to keep pace with the Cats’ scoring. The Bucs went into a stall during the final four minutes of the game and during that time picked up 11 points from the free-throw line, putting the game on ice. Smith remarked after the game that he was pleased with his team's improved free-throw shooting.After eight straight points by both teams in the first three minutes of the first half, the remaining 17 minutes belonged solely to the Bucs. The difference, as has been true in the past few games, was the defensive playWestern scored two quick baskets on turnovers with 13 minutes left to play in the half The Cats didn’t score again until there was only 5:17 left in before intermission By that point in the contest. Statewas ahead 31-12,The Carolina team capitalized on anumber of Buccaneer turnovers late in the first half and hit eight straightli*SCOTT PLACE ATLEE HAMMAKER ... offensive leader ... strong effortbaskets. But the best the Catamounts could do at intermission was trail, 38-28,Bubba Wilson led the Catamounts in scoring with 25 points before fouling out with 5:27 left in the game. It was the first game for Wilson since the 1975-76 season. Until Monday night he was benched by an NCAA probation slapped on the school last season.Wilson played inspired basketball, cheered on by the 3,000 Western fans who filled the school’s gymBut depth, which first year head coach Steve Cottrell has complained about all season, dealt the Cats their final blow With the exception of Wilson fouling out, the five starters played more than 35minutes each.While Wilson’s 25 points was tops for Western Carolina, only one other player got more than four points. That was substitute Larrv Caldwell's nineScott Place was the leading scorer for ETSU with 18 points He was followed by 1).C Smith with 13 and B.J Johnson with 11 Unlike the past few games. ETSU substitutes picked up a total of 17 points.The only category Western led in was rebounds. The Cats won that battle, 43-34. Place also led that category for the Bucs with eight.The Catamounts, 1-0 in Southern Conference play, are now 3-4 for the year. Western Carolina will play Furman (including former Lynn View star Rodney Arnold) Saturday night in the AshevilleCivic center.The game will be televised in Asheville and can be seen on most area cables in tin* Tri-Cities. Game time is 9 p.m.Fas! Tennessee StoleFGFT REBPFTPJ Smith f...... 2 TO2 46*6D C Smith f6-61-325nPlace, c .,........Ml4 48 • -TV'•18Watson 93 611Johnson g.....2 47 eL3■:11Poinde*te»-...... 0 00 0o00Thaxton1 44 5\jJE’ - y '~- •QCounts0 01 300§ IfVenev ......,000 00ALJ0Hammaker4 11229Under wood...... 0?3Oy''*' x' J*'Team reoounds* i ■Total*.IS so24 1$J*2114Western CarolinaF GFT REBPFTPMtCalhsttr ?i 52 2j-. vsk4Rutherford f............. 3 123 6•■ .VrV*'” Ml ■ • •w .Head c, . ,. . 7 4014M j4CaldwelL y4 101-2alt;9A A an y. . . H205*5'7 -V-'A 1 i 'lt;{■-. -25Hoover ......0 27 7a®-■ e, v v.2Cahawav0 10 0Cl0yPlemmont , . ,.,. ..... 2 30 0ik 4 ‘0 100■ . tOesHordes, . 0 000.v-A «•'-:f‘!sjc50P )am on don...... . i 300Tie.'V1.*'- yay. -■A..inDolan0 02 23• tV'l.Uteam reooundt3Total*, 23-6515 2042n41Score by halvesEast Tennessee State* ji f •*38uWestern Carolina¥/•.*; B -* ■' i » *- - v a.2133-61Attendance ■■ .002Of he iaH 8 if i n andiThree Share VET HonorsBy DENNY DARNELL Assistant Sports EditorThe 1977-78 edition ofthe Dobyns-Bennett Iri dians are tabbed a bandof “deadly shooters.When the Tribe marksmen arc on target, they’re hard to handle.Tennessee High found that to be true last week as Buck Van Huss' Tribe bombed away from long, range to pin a 65-59 set back on the Vikes, the preseason Big Seven Conference favorites, and take the lead in theconference standings.Spearheading the Indian scoring attack was 6-1 guard Randy Gardner who canned 22 points, connecting on eight of 15 field goal attempts, mostly from 18-20 feet out. Gardner was six for six at the line.It was Gardner's four charity tosses down the stretch that sealed thewin for the Van Husslers.For his outstanding effort, Gardner has been selected by the Times-News as one of the Preps of the Week in Upper Fast Tennessee. He’s joined by Daniel Boone's Alan Stewart and Ke-tron's Randv Smith“Randy is a great outside shooter,” said Van Huss “He’s consistent from the 20-foot range hitting 52 per cent of his shots on the year.“Randy has worked hard at basketball He was on the bench most of the time last year but kept his lip up He worked hard during the off-season on his shooting and speed He improved his speed and quickness a great dealHis statistics show the kind of shooter he is% *Gardner came back with an 18-point effort against Greeneville Friday night as the Indians claimed a 63-46 win, their sixth straight.For the year, Gardner is averaging 14.5 points per game in the Indians’team oriented attack Gardner has taken only 112 shots.He's dedicated and never complains. saidV:»n I f list; “He takesSTEWART ... BooneGARDNER ... D-B* * •SMITHKetronwe play But he never misses a practice. He just has an excellent attitude...a coach couldn’t ask for a better kid to work with.Stewart claimed a second school mark last week in the ‘Blazers' 67-61 win over Morristown Westguard Steve Herzog lias been getting top billing in the Wildcat attack, but another member of the Johnny Dixon assault force is making his presence knownThe 6-6 junior centerpumped in 38 points to break the school singlegame scoring mark. The previous record of 27 was set by Mark Samsduring the 1971-72seasonSmith, a 6-2 junior who moved to a post berth from the wing this season, has been connecting at a torrid 55 per cent clip from the fieldIn the opening game ofthe season, Stewart broke the Boone single game rebounding mark“Alan is consistent from the 15-foot range,” said Bobby Snyder, the Boone mentor. He's also an excellent rebounder., gets the ball off theboards well. At the pace he’s going, he'll break the season reboundLast week. Smith pumped in six of 11 from the field against Church Hill for 16 points andcame back to can eight of13 against Sullivan West for a 16-point effort- ’ ij»efforts, as the ‘Cats ended the Panthers’ unbeaten string at six with a79-74 win and edged past the Pirates, 67-65,Both came m winmne•• *mark. He’s averaging 13per game now* *Randy made a big adjustment this year, moving from a wing post to the inside, said Dixon But he still carries the stats We*rr so small, we just felt we had to move him inside.Stewart carries a 16.2 points per game average through nine contests for the TrailblazersHis big asset is his strength, Snyder said He was a starter on the varsity last year and9 *gained a lot of confidence He’s playing consistent right now“We re not building our offense around him He's just doing his job and doing it well Other than a couple of games,he’s been the dominating factor in each contest.win or lose, for us thisyear We need to comeun with more consistencyAs a freshman, he was a point guard and then we moved bun to a wmg post on the juniorvarsity last year. He•r waveraged 20 points pergame.”While Smith has been playing well inside, his outside shooting ability hasn't vanished Against Sullivan, he moved out tothe wing to spark the‘Cats offensive attackSmith is averaging 15 points and 6.7 rebounds per outing“Physically, htaa a
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Kingsport Times
Kingsport, Tennessee, US
Tue, Dec 13, 1977
Page 13
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