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Show SPORTS SU cagers shine in Summer Games The 1995 Utah umro r Games gold medal in m n' open collegiate ba ketball competition went to a team compri ed largely of former Southern Utah Univer ity basketball player: . Tr -R-U , an SUU flavor d team, defeated AllSport 0-77 to claim the gold medal. All- port featured Canadia11 Olympic ba ketball tar David Turcott, BYU-transfer Bryon Ruffner, and Web r tate' Jimmy De raffenried. The gold m dal wa earned through the clo e-knit SUU team bucking any adver ity that sto d in the way. Adv r ity for the SUU five included: playin tw game each of the thre days of competiti n; playing with n ub titution the final day; point guard K ·ith "Shaggy" B rard playing with the flu that final day of c mpetiti n; and, playing the . emi-final at 4 p.m, immecilately followed by the 6 p.m. gold medal game. Guard Reggie Ingram, the nly r Lumin member of the UU-st eked team, cor d 61-p in inbetween lunch and dinner, with hi 29 and 32 point coring Hort in Saturday' two gam . "It mean a 1 t - a whole 1 ," aid Ingram in winn111g the gold medal. "We had determination . We picked It up rn our heart. We u cd heart nd played as hard a we can. We were able t come bnck (from a J 7 point deficit). We did a real o d job." F r B rard, th win in the midst of adv r ity meant r pe t from hi omp lition - player in the umm r Game that had been n th IlYU, Utah tate and Weber tatc Univcr ity team UU had lo t to in the 1994-95 NCAA bask thall a on. "Thi win give u r pc t n w," aid Berard, " howing that we do have play r that ome to outhem Utah. 0th r Utah chools don't want to play us because th y think we're ju t basically a Divi ion II till. r think thi giv u a lot of re pect to how that there are players down here in Southern Utah." Scan Allen echoed Berard's entimcnt . '' A lot of guys we played against (in the Swmuer Games), w played against during the eason and I t to, it' gratifying to know that you cild a little om thing tor deem your If." B rard cored 10 point /including a three-point ba ket tha gave the SUU team the lead for the fir t time with 4:34 left in the game) while uffcring with the flu. " l wa tired both games, but [ had to gut it out for my teammat s," aid Berard. "lhave to really give it to my t ammate , p cially R ggi , for t pping up." Andy Ward, alter a uccc ful career at UU, spent th la 't regular cason a a Thunderbird a i tant c ach. Back in uni.form for the Summer ame with hi former teammate , Ward cored 19 and 16 point respectively in the semi and gold medal game. "It meant a lot t play with these guy again," aid Ward. "We played t gcther, we played hard and we never gave up. The guys did a heck of a job." Ingram return to a Thund rbird uniform for his ni r year. Allen i con idcring playing pr fc i nally in pain, Berard will attend the University for another year, then con i.der pro ball in witzerland. Ward is oon off to Switzerland. "I leave n July 14. Hopefully som e thing will work out th re for me to be able to play a couple of year pr fc ionally," said Wa rd. "But I mo t dcfinit ly want to tay in the game. It' a great game. You can learn a lot from it." Reggie Ingram |