Summary of Games the Week of 12/25/37 to 12/31/37:
Conference R
Alcorn State (5-5)—82, Southern California—58 (The Braves were not intimidated at all by the Trojans and quickly established control and then continued to build upon their lead all the way up to the end of the game. They outshot Southern California 58% to 42% and held a 33-22 rebounding advantage. C Mikko Stallings hit 10 of 13 from the field and scored 23 points. PG Caswell Cook contributed 17 points, SG Andy Carney dropped in 14 points, and SF Harold Hein added 12 points. Those 4 players made 27 of 38 FGA’s.)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8-2)—79, St. Joseph’s—65 (The Golden Lions continued to play top-notch basketball. After trailing by 4 points at the half, they kept close throughout the 2nd half and then overtook the favored Hawks in the final 5 minutes to come away with a hard-fought victory. All 5 starters scored in double figures: SG Bill Thorton-20 points; SF Dan Jefferson-14 points, C Chris Betts-12 points plus 16 rebounds, PF Andrew Richardson-12 points and 9 boards and 8 assists, and PG Albert Taylor-11 points.)
Conference T
Maryland-Eastern Shore (5-5)—87, Mount St. Mary’s—75 (21 lead changes and 11 ties showed just how close this game was mostof the way. But with the game tied at 73-73 with 4 minutes left, the Hawks shut down the Mountaineers and shot ahead to score a nice road win. Topping the scoring for the Hawks were: C Geordie Johnson with 17 points, SF Winston Morant with 16 points, and PF Jim Taflinger with 15 points. Coach Mike McMillan said, “Both teams hit over 50% of their shots, but we won it by hard work on the boards and forcing turnovers.”)
Minnesota—76, Western Illinois (4-6)—55 (This ultimately was a case of Western Illinois playing an opponent with too much talent and tools. But the Leathernecks made a game of it throughout the entire first half and for the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half. There were 13 lead changes during that 25 minutes of play. The Gophers then exploded offensively and ran away for what turned out to be an easy win. Western Illinois actually outshot Minnesota but lost the game on the boards (-5) and by making 24 turnovers. C Craig Grant with 13 points was the only member of the Leathernecks to score in double figures.)
Conference U
UC-San Diego (7-3)—86, Texas A&M—73 (The first half was a barn-burner with 9 lead changes but the Tritons came on at the very end of the half to take a 44-38 halftime advantage. UC-San Diego went ahead by as much as 9 points in the 2nd half but the Aggies made it close with 8 minutes to go and stayed close until the Tritons completely shut them down for the final 4 minutes and spurted to a huge road victory over a team from a much higher rated conference. UC-San Diego’s starting guards, DeVante Botts and Matt Holcomb scored 23 and 21 points, respectively and combined for 9 assists. PF Brad Sanders scored 13 plus had 7 rebounds and 5 assists and SF Jared Keating had 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists.)
Significant Injuries: None
Awards: None
Comments: Four of the five teams took on opponents from much higher rated conferences and 3 came away with wins, including winning 1 of 2 games against Conference C opponents. Top player on each team thus far: Arkansas-Pine Bluff (C Chris Betts, 14.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg); Western Illinois (C Craig Grant, 12.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg); Alcorn State (SG Andy Carney-14.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.7 spg); MD-Eastern Shore (SF Winston Morant-12.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg); UC-San Diego (SG DeVante Botts-14.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.9 apg, 2.5 spg).