Page 10 The Thunderbird Monday , January 30, 1984 tfjxorfts Outdoor Road trip brings losses Thunderbirds drop pair of contests in New Mexico As he put his players through vigorous practice sessions last week, Coach Bob Sihermerhorn knew that the teams worst opponent would be the road trip to battle Western New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands. Even so, Schermerhorn expected the Thunderbirds to give both teams a run for their money and to stay in the running for a potential playoff spot. Thursday they went up against the Western State Mustangs. SUSC New Mexico 80 Dropping the game to the Mustangs note for the Behind a talented, well balanced attack the Mustangs maintained a substantial lead throughout the contest despite some gutty threats by the Thunderbirds. Trailing by 19 in the second period of the contest, the Thunderbirds staged a counter attack and pulled within seven points. The Mustangs, fearful of the surge, called a time out and in a spread-ou- t offense. The strategy fell behind, never worked, the close intimidate the to coming again Mustangs. Theyre a fine team, Schermerhorn said after the defeat, They have some fine athletes and their coaches do a good job with them. Schermerhorn attributed most of the blame for the loss on the first half of the game. We tried to battle back, he said, "When you get beat, you just get beat. The long road trip with three games in a five day period then took them to New Mexico Highlands, a team the Thunderbirds had already beaten at home by a large margin. was a discouraging SUSC 82-N- . M. Highlands 87 Hoping for a split in the two conference games the Thunderbirds were up against an improving Highlands. The Cowboys were riding a wave of recent victories, including Western New Mexico. In a game which saw the two teams neck and neck to the final minutes of play the Thunderbirds Gearing up for their road trip to New Mexico, SUSC players Scott Pace and Gary Glover duel up the court as Coach Bob Schermerhorn looks on. endured a battle of guts and determination. Foul problems proved to be the demise of athletes on both sides. With 4:33 remaining, the Thunderbirds had the The teams game deadlocked at played a game of cat and mouse all the way to the 2:30 mark when the Cowboys slipped into a man to man defense forcing the to foul to stay within victorys grasp, d The final, two minutes foul-riddle- 69-6- (continued on page 1 1) Cager dunks for Australia SUSC alumnus Brian Devincenzi turns pro in land down under by Stewart Smith Former SUSC cage star Brian Devincenzi is learning that basketball is more than just an American sport. After leading the Thunderbirds to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship last year, the 68 Devincenzi played summer ball at an NBA camp in California. While there he was approached by several teams from Australia and New Zealand and has recently signed a contract to play with the Sydney Supersonics. In so doing Devincenzi is fulfilling a lifetime goal that of playing professional basketball. Devincenzi is fulfilling more than lifetime goals though, hes also filling basketball goals. In his first game in the land down under he scored 21 points and after three games is averaging 17 points a Former Thunderbird Brian Devincenzi is head and shoulders above most opponents, even in Australia. He may, after a while, even teach the kangaroos how to jump. game. Devincenzi was a unanimous selection last year team, garnering more to the RMAC votes than any other player in conference history. One of the big reasons for the honors was his ability to dunk. A dominating player under the boards, Devincenzi more than once rocked War slam. Memorial Fieldhouse with a rafter-rattlin- g Australia is no exception. In his first game Devincenzi had seven dunks and 13 rebounds, proving he hasnt lost the old college flame. Devincenzi was also the subject of a publicity campaign by his team. According to his mother, hes known as the Big D. The Big D is one of very few former SUSC athletes using his skill on a professional basis and considered extremely fortunate to be doing so. Australia features 14 professional basketball teams with a limit of two Americans per team. Devincenzis team, the Sydney Supersonics, is one of the leagues best. The team is coached by former NBA player Owen Wells, who played for the San Antonio Spurs. As one of the few Americans playing professional basketball in Australia, the Sevier, Utah native seems to be enjoying himself. Devincenzi makes a weekly salary, is provided an apartment and transportation and is given a round trip ticket to and from Australia. He loves it and thinks its great, but he is a little homesick though, says his mother. Even so, Devincenzi is learning how to adjust to the rigors of life in the land down under. He eats at McDonalds a lot, laughs his mother. He also admits that Australians are not that different from Americans. Australia does have its disadvantages, however. For his family, fans and friends, the 10,000 mile distance is a little too far to be traveling for games. Another of Devincenzis duties in the southerly climes is teaching basketball to youngsters. Although far from the more respected sports of cricket and rugby, basketball is gaining recognition. Devincenzi spends his time at clinics teaching some of the finer points to the sport. The classes are proving popular and perhaps after a few years of fame for his jumping ability, it might not be too far out of the ordinary to see a few kangaroos showing up at his clinics to learn a thing or two. is