Hide Article Text (OCR)
Lezanic's Big EffortLeads 10-0 TribePast Kiski, 79-58By JED WEISBERGERGuctte Sporla EditorMark Lezanie has had some good games and not-so-good games during his Indiana High basketball career, but his Friday night effort versus Kiski Area was the Cadillac.Every so often a good player performs at a level that makes one wonder how he has subpar games. Lezanie didn’t play basketball Friday, he put together a work of art.And the 19-0 Tribesmen needed every bit of his 31 points and eight assists in rolling to a 79-58 triumph over the 2-45 Cavaliers, whose only key flaw is the lack of a consistent outside shooter.“Mark (Lezanie) played very well,” understated IHS coach Fred Yun. “He penetrated well, ran the offense well and played defense well. As a team we all played defense well, except when we tried to work on Randy Smith.”Smith, the Cavaliers’ lanky 6-5 forward, buried 12 of 17 shots from the field and eight more charity tosses en route to* a 34-point night. He also yanked down 22 rebounds.That in no way means that Indiana’s inside corps of Marty May, Jim Stapleton and Rich Marlin were chopped liver, just that Smith came up with thekind of effort Lezanie had to match.And match Smith and more Lezanie did. That’s why the Tribe was able to pat the Cavaliers away.“We need to play teams that have people who will push us,” explained Yun. “We play much better against tougher competition. Lezanie and the others rise to the occasion. ’ ’Indiana, thanks to a prolific offense, had few real moments of worry in the contest. But a few fouls at the wrong time, plus Smith’s determination, kept Kiski within striking distance.With 7:55 left in the game, Smith, after being fouled by Stapleton in the act of firing in a successful shot, converted both his regular freebee and a bonus throw as a result of a technical on the intense Indiana player.That cut Indiana’s lead to 57-47, and Yun’s outfit needed the big play. You can guess who was there to provide it. Lezanie naturally.Indiana, after the Smith sequence, ran off 11 straight points to ice the victory, taking a 68-47 advantage with 5:58 remaining. And Lezanie was responsible for all 11 markers.First he rifled a back-door pass to Dave Kelly for an easy two. The encore was a spinning drive that resulted in a layup off the glass and foul on Cavalier Mark Garda. That was upstaged by a sorty into the lane, key offensive rebound and follow.And if all that wasn’t enough, the senior point guard drew two fouls and deposited four straight free throws. Basketball is a team game, but that 117 seconds of Lezanic’s work featured pure artistry.At that time, May, who scored 16 points before leaving via fouls, was on the bench, Rich Marlin had to be removed temporarily due to injury, and Jim Stapleton was having his problems with Smith.“Sometimes we get called for too many silly fouls,” said Yun. “And we get careless on offense. We still have a lot to work on, and a lot of area's to sharpen up in.”Maybe Indiana got careless a few times Friday night, but Lezanio, at least on that given evening, made sure things were rectified in a hurry.GRAFFITI — The better-than-aver-age sized crowd love it when May and Kiski’s 6-4 John Kukalis traded slamdunks...Kukalis was that Kiski defensive end who gave Lezanie and IHS such problems in a certain football game this past fall...He’s eyeing both Clemson and Miami (Fla.) as possible college grid choices...One of Kiski’s wins came at the expense of Derry, which Indiana visits Tuesday night...Monday night, of course, the Indiana Holiday Classic opens, with Li--gonier meeting Peabody and Indiana hosting Westinghouse...Yun, whose team has five games in the next eight days, is concerned because a number of players are under the weather and both Stapleton and Marlin are fighting off nagging injuries.KMrifcw — M . .. MM* (WML CKIwiiir *-»-*, Ytrmttk 944, . 8*4*24-7; Mil il-IO-Mi Mm 14-2, bM m.Maph 0-2-2, T*totoW-1M4Mm—74 • l«p* 19441, faff 244, «toy 94-11, St*to- ..•••. ' !•* 44-11, PbM* 14-2, M* 244, iM» 14- r 4, Mr' 2-14,' Mmanilit 944, - Motor444, l«fc 944, Tatoto IS-4-74KM Aran' ' 19 14 14 It—SI ,:to**/ 11 22 17 21—74
Newspaper Details
Indiana Gazette
Indiana, Pennsylvania, US
Sat, Dec 20, 1980
Page 43
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
PA, USA 02 Aug 2021
Other Publications Near Indiana, Pennsylvania
Indiana Democrat
Indiana Weekly Progress
Indiana Progress
Indiana Messenger
Indiana Evening Gazette
