by Wayne23 » Fri Nov 06, 2015 1:02 pm
January 1, 1958
55-40 at Alabama A & M. We held them to an all but unbelievable 9 points in the first half. Our back court stayed out of foul trouble. Rigs had 15 and Vurn 12, and Zak Cody had only 5, but had 8 RBs and 5 assists. Our bench played well.
56-52 over conference favorite MS Valley ST. We were down 6 at the half, mostly because they were making shots outside. We went with more man to man to start the second. It worked in that they stopped making those outside shots, but as they worked the ball inside Zak Cody quickly got into foul trouble. Fortunately for us his back up, Tel Moss, rose to the occasion with 8 points and 8 rebounds. We took the lead with about eight minutes left, and held on. Vern Rigs had 13 and 10 to lead us, and Al Finn added 12 more. +10 rebounds may have been the critical factor. This was a big early season win!
This week 1-10 Southern is here, and then we go to 3-8 Alabama ST.
We add 12 recruits to our list.
Callie and I are not drinkers but we had a glass of wine after the MS Valley ST game to celebrate the new year.
Ruth Ann got in a bit of trouble at school. For some reason the troubles in Little Rock, Arkansas, came up in class and she expressed herself, apparently at some length, and with some passion. The teacher told us she had some difficulty calming Ruth Ann down. While our girl was not disruptive or even impolite, she was a bit more persistent than Miss
Blake felt she should have been. We agreed to speak with Ruth Ann, and we did so.
Once again, a Negro in the Deep South must tread lightly. Our daughter is very passionate in her beliefs. Callie and I are concerned. We do all we can, but Ruth Ann insists that times are changing, and that the time has come when Negroes must demand their rights.
Hopefully she will calm down as she grows older, and before she gets herself into real trouble.
January 8
A 57-45 victory over Southern put us at 7-5, 3-0 in conf. The game was tied at the half. I felt that our passing was sloppy so I addressed that in the locker room. We did not have a single TO in the second half. Zak Cody had another weak game but everyone else played quite well. This was definitely a team effort. The defense was excellent in the second half, when we went with mostly man to man and held Southern to 15.
60-65 in OT at Alabama ST. We came all the way back from 15 down to tie it at the buzzer of regulation, and then disappeared in overtime. Al Finn had a terrible night, fouling out in just 14 minutes, and scoring two points. Den Ross played very well in his place but we need Al. 10 and 13 for Zak Cody, 17 for Jon Vurn. 23 turnovers (-13) was probably fatal. This is a game we should have won.
The coming week will be challenging. First we host Arkansas Pine Bluff, 8-5, 4-0, alone in first place. Then we travel to 7-6, 3-1 Prairie View, tied with us in second place.
January 15
69-44 over Ark. Pine Bluff. Easily our best game of the year. 28 and 6 for Vern Rigs, but our front court completely dominated theirs. 9 and 14 for Zak, 11, 4, 4, 4 for Jon Vurn. +17 RBs.
56-49 at Prairie View. I’m thrilled to win on the road against a team that was tied for first in conf. Great D, excellent rebounding, and no foul trouble. Good play from all eight that I used.
The win puts us alone in first.
This week we host 5-10, 4-2 Jackson ST, my old school. Mixed feelings, but on the plus side I know what they do, and I know their players.
Then we go to 5-10, 3-3 Alcorn ST.
We’re filling the gym for our home games, which is great for my boys, very motivating.
“Marcus, I cannot tell you how pleased I am. 9-6, 5-1. Who would have believed it!”
“It’s early, Callie. A great many things can happen.”
“Yes, but I always knew that once you were able to have a chance to prove yourself you would be successful.”
Love that woman!
January 22
61-48 over Jackson ST. 18 for Al, 9 and 9 for Zak. I think a key factor in our recent success is the fact that we are giving #3 guard Den Ross more time, and specifically, more time at the point. The result has been fewer fouls and thereby more production from our starting guards. We have won six of our last seven, and the sole loss was in overtime.
55-52 at Alcorn ST. This was a battle all the way. 15 lead changes and 11 ties. Finally, we scored the last four points of the game. Sub Tel Moss was in because Jon Vurn was ineffective. Moss hit an eight footer to put us up by one. They came down and missed a foul line jump shot. Moss got the rebound, and was fouled with three seconds left. He made both, and they missed a shot from half court. 13 each for Moss and Finn, 13 RBs for Zak.
We have a two game lead in conference.
This week we host 6-11, 2-6 Texas Southern, and then host 3-14, 2-6 Alabama A & M, who we beat there by 15.
January 29
52-59. I can’t believe Texas Southern beat us here. All the bad things we have not been doing lately resurfaced. Both starting guards were in foul trouble all night long; Marq fouled out in 20 minutes. We were -7 in rebounds. We got off to a very slow start. Just a terrible night.
61-32 over Alabama A & M. My boys played like they had something to prove, which I suppose they did. 4 fouls for Al Finn but he played 34 minutes and no one else had foul trouble. Vurn had 16, Rigs and Finn 15 each. We committed only 7 TOs, and we were +5 on the boards. Now we need to take it on the road.
We go to 11-8, 5-5 MS Valley ST, then to 4-15, 3-7 Southern.
Wallace is having a great season at the local high school. He is #1 in the state of LA in rebounding, and #1 in his conference in scoring. Cal Berkeley seems thrilled that he is going there. He continues to get all “A” grades.
Loretta is playing what her piano teacher calls “professional level” piano, mostly classical but some jazz piano as well.
Ruth Ann continues to be very interested in current events. She has discovered Gandhi- heaven help us!