OCR Text |
Show Thursday, March THE LEADER. Tremonlou, 18. 1954 Utah Bears Win 2 md Place in State Tourney M mmm iMiBMl"lirilinlV j Mil lllim'i "Iff Mi "TW "'MMlMlgBBMMBWWiWIMIW MinilllltlW i I V ilir v V; ' v i - UK 4 7 mil iliu- m- .Mi imiMLir STUDENTS HONOR COACH Coach Dur-re- ll Hughes, who led his hoopsters into a . Ag81&iw'.aA region championship and almost to a state 'title, gets roaring reception from students. Falls Jordan Nearly c To Scrappy Midgets ; 4 '., By David Calderwood Suspense, drama and action highlighted torrid Class A tour, nament which saw those "little giants" from Bear River who but for 6 feet 10 inches would have pulled probably the greatest upset in Utah high school "X" WAY, basketball history. After a magnificant season, a vastly undersized Bear River quintet dropped the champion3 to Jordan high ship game before 7000 thrill-craze- d fans at the Ute stadium last Saturday 47-4- ;;'vxy RUNNERS-U- Mtw IN DRIBBLE FEST P From bottom left, they are: Bob Green (19), Byron Anderson (11), DeVere Anderson (10), Bob Woodhead (16), Sid Cutler (14), Lyle McNeeley (21), Clair Stokes (20), Leo Hansen (18), Bryan Gibbs (12), Dick Green (15), and Gary Conger (13). Absent, Jerry Thompson. These Region One champions nearly brought back the State Class J A Basketball title after a brilliant game against Jordan in the tournament finals last Saturday. But the B etdiggers outlasted the fighting Bears to win, 47-4- Season Record PRACTICE GAMES December 2 Bfnr River 12 26 39 5 10 25 Malad December 4 9 24 27 "nar River Preston 6 16 23' Preston 36 December 30 6 25 34 Bear River 3 20 30 Malad December 7 19 '33 Bear River 10 30 Davis December 11 16 29 Bear River 10 20 West December 12 10 23 31 Twin Falls 13 19 27 Bear River December 26 Bear River v 10 31 39 47 38 34 53 68 46 56 43 57 30 44 night. The Jordan Beetdiggers, acclaimed as the champs before i:he season started, were finally crowned champs, but not before Bear River-hagiven them the roughest game of their career. 10 28 42 3. 42 35 Bear River January No. Cache 12 8 29 24 February 3 15 29 35 Bear River 36 27 So. Cache 7 57 62 January 10 24 Bear River Ben Lomond 20 9 , REGION ONE GAMES December 18 13 31 42 Bear River 9 15 31 So, Cache December 23 15 34 47 Bear River Box Elder 9 21 24 2 16 18 55 41 January 17 30 Bear River Weber 26 10 January 9 Bear River Ogden 22 24 40 17 13 January 29 7 20 Bear River 61 35 18 8 Logan 50 34 31 36 26 17 February 5 9 17 Bear River Box Elder 10 26 49 44 15 , 59 40 38 32 10 February Bear River 60 44 No. Cache 10 5 27 31 33 February Bear River 44 41 Weber 11 13 d February 26 Ogden Bear River 46 44 44 18' 28 7 18 24 25 43 30 36 48. 46 57 54 30 41 17 5 24 57 39 March 14 23 29 41 Bear River 9 19 24 36 Logan TOURNAMENT GAMES 41 38 28 16 6 Bear River Olympus Bear River Logan Jordan Bear River ( x - March 11 9 ' 16 6 March 16 7 12 12 28 15 32 20 44 36 37 5. 34 39 35 29 47 43 March 13 15 10 25 23 Denotes Home Game) , . aft Woodhead, To rate the championship game, Bear Rivpr downed Olympus, a newcomer to the Big Eight, Thursday; and Logan high in the semi-final- s Friday. The Rivermen lead the Titans by a sizable margin until the final quarter when Olympus Med the Region One winners 34 all. Coach Hughes called time out, settled his boys down, and the freeze was on. Olympus, trying to get their hands on the ball, fouled the Bears several times, and the Bears won 44 to 36. Deseret News all-stat- er from Bear River, the Bears stayed right on the tail of the Beetdiggers. With minutes remaining Gary Conger sank a long one from the corner to tie the score, but Pollard hooked one from under the basket to send Jordan ahead. Ties Again Byron Anderson plunked in a jump shot to again tie the score; but as Jordan was bringing the ball in, the Referee called a foul on Sid Cutler, a replacement for Clair Stokes, Salt Lake Tribune's choice who had left the game with five fouls. Pollard tanked away these two and Gary Hale added a field goal to cinch the title 47 All-Sta- Stall Again te The Logan game was a repeat of the Olympus game, as once again Hughes hoopsters relied upon their famous stall, one of the best seen in high school history, before emerging victor- to 43. ious, 12 February 19 7 19 37 Bear River Ben Lomond 10 24 33 50 40 ; Behind the long shots of Bob Down Olympus 52-3- If the Bears could have gotten their hands on the ball with a lead it would have probably been a different story. ceremonies In celebration Anderson Monday, Byron stated, "Four years ago we decided we were going to be state champs." Needed "Import" "They would have, to," vowed coach Hughes, "but for Pollard, who they had to "import" 9. bowled over Weber and East to gain Jordan etsily then-championsh- berth. After Jordan's smashing victories the first two nights, fans figured that Bear River didn't stand a ghost of a chance, but they forgot the fighting heart and spirit of the Bears. Bears Under Rated They, forgot that Bear River was a championship squad, and fast. The Bears, playing one of their best games of the year, would have crushed the beet diggers but for the 24 points of big Pearl Pollard. from Montana." An outstanding characteristic of the Bears is that they play as a team with no individual stars. Although each of the boys came hito moments of stardom, they still remained a team. well-balanc- ed j r' V JV;- - ' ,nn B - . 'M . V, Civ. J ! Jordan 47, Bear River 43 , Bear River 44, Olympus 36 . nderson breaks past a Titan op- in the opening contest of the State Class A Tourney in Salt Lake City Thurs- - o.; . day. Anderson sparked the squad to a last drive which earned them a chance quartersemi-finalAt left is Bob Woodhead. in the s. Bear River 52, Logan 39 Bob Woodhead and Leo Hansen are seen in this action from semi-fina- l game against Logan Friday. It was a repeat performance of two other victories over Logan Bear River Cheerleaders Jolene Conger and Juanita Nelson had 7,000 fans yelling with them Saturday night as the underdog Bears captured the hearts of tournaments fans as they battled the favorites down to the wire in a spectacular finish to the Bears' season (Photos Courtesy Salt Lake Tribune) |