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ThtMa* Mnirii/llMliD«hlAActionBy A1 CarlsonSports EditorFver since the Christians and lions wore paired in one of th«* first fight cards, the good guys have facedconstant turmoil.So it was nice to sec the Christians win one Wednesday night, even if it was the College of Santa Fe that was cleansed 105-72 by Athletes in Action, a branch of Campus Crusade for Christ International.The rout was not unexpected, though AIA played without two starters. 7 2 Ralph Drollinger, the center on UCLA's 1975 national championship team, and fi 8 forward Tim Hall, second on AIA in career points and rebounds They were out with flu and minor injuries A 33-point victory is not too sur prising when one ot the combatants is an H NAIA squad and the otherdeserves its reputation as the test in the world outside the NBA after erecting a 31 2 record that includes wins over the Russian national team and major colleges Illinois State (ranked !3th), Syracuse ii4thi, San Francisco, Michigan and Maryland AIA led by an astounding itii points. 35-5, midway through the tirst h.ilt Irvin Kiftm. a 6-9 forward from Oklahoma Baptist, and 5-9 guard Brad Hoffman, an ex North ( arohna All American, were a torrid inside outside combination. Kifiin scored points in thlt;- opening 2o minutes and Hoffman eight, none ot the baskets 11red from closer than the nearest county Hoffman really warmed up inth« ♦ * ond half and t inched vuth IHThe visitors lead (Tested at 40 twice hi tha final half 79 H i 4 tHut the score was of secondary••importance from the AIA point of view Thev came to Santa Fe to tultill what a school brochure calls the mission ot presenting the “message of Je as Christ to the sports world ”To do that, a few players talked to the crowd at halftime, “just telling about their lives in the words of AIA lt;oach Bill Oates The speakers rotate throughout the season Though one fan seemed concerned that Oates “reminds me of Oral Roberts,’ the players presentations contained none of the you are going to hell any second type of harangue It their Inw key speeches were as overwhelming as their play, therewasn't a heathen left intheCsV gymThe crowd reaction was “good/’ according to Oates ‘‘Thev were very interested in whai we h.id to sa\ ”Two changes wen* abundantly clear m the second half AIA let up a littleind( ’SF played i tremel *eliFor his part, Oates pulled off the press, which had forced 14 turnovers 11) the hrst half ( SI helped make the proceedings more interesting with alert defense and tough rebounding from Jim Lowrey. only HO. and firepower from Kevin Neal iind Morris Batts Neal scored 12 in the second half and BattsEven one of the officials noticed the improvement Said Hal Hackney, a Pac 8 veteranwimported from California where he worked California Baptist College games when CSF coach Roger I u tremble was an assistant there, “They 1 Knights really played basket tail I the second half\bout the first half. Outremblesaid, “Thev had heart) so much about AIA, they came out tight The other felhm in a striped shirt. Kugene Agnes, a former official m the NBA, noticed that the language* oncourt seemed “purified He jokedthat the players didn't complain about fouls, hut instead ran up to him after a whistle and said, “Praise the Lord,brother M Dan Frost 1 t i built hk«he* was cast in concrete, played steadil) all nigh! and led AIA uith 23 points Kiffin had 20, Steve Copp (San Diego State) 13, Mike Robinson 12 and Mike Jackson I'TineMe* 11 For CSF, Neal finished v\ 11h 15, and Batts and Jim Buckles 12 Though AIA s views leaned towards love and religion the* attitude changed when the ball startedbouncing, according to NNeal. \*ho noted that “on court it was war, definitely orm an! i hristian soldiers But it was Inescapable. There* were bound to be non tielicversOne tht*on/ed that tl visitors couldn’t beat eighth ranked New Mexico which, Oates said, hasn t attempted to pla\ \ IA in the thrive years he s bt*en lt;oach Outremble scoffed at the remark, predicting that AIA would win such an encounter b\ 4o pointsAnother tan. apparently under the influence of another kind of spirit andnoticing that AIA receives per appearance, proposed an “ Atheists in Action” team tor basketball en thusiasts not attracted by th* opfiosifc approachAIACSVS5 Ml 17 46nr,*rojoiHIIIC M*. Taosinrsemen4moot RatonurnamentI AI is. si VI ti .il 11) i. 11 Riiluitsim with M. lt;1 Ult;
Newspaper Details
Santa Fe New Mexican
Santa Fe, New Mexico, US
Thu, Mar 02, 1978
Page 13
Full Page
Clipped by
Kevin N.
MD, USA 14 Aug 2020
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