Show Falls Texas Take Crucial Cage Tilts By Ted Meier NEW V YORK Dec 10 UP It It I 10 looks as if Texas and Southern Methodist will battle it out for the Southwest conference basketball title this season While Baylor the defending conference champs lost consistently consistent consistent- ly on an eastern trip Texas and andS S M U have surprised Texas upset Oklahoma 19 10 Wednesday night and Thursday night Southern Methodist whipped a favored City College of New NewYork NewYork NewYork York quintet 62 A crowd of ot at Madison Square Garden saw S M U win In the closing minutes minutes min rain utes on Bob Prewitt's seven points C C N Y was ahead at 55 53 before before before be be- fore a Prewitt basket and a free throw put S M U ahead for or good Prewitt tossed in two more baskets baskets baskets bas bas- before the end S M Us U's triumph gave Southwest Southwest South South- west conference teams a split in fri inthe the Garden double header In the opener Long Island licked Arkansas Arkan Arkan- sas 56 L LIU I U trailed at one onetime onetime onetime time in the first half by 24 20 but came on to take a 27 25 edge at Intermission and gradually pulled away in the second hal half Denv Denver's rs r's touring Big Six quintet quintet quin quin- tet which lost two close ones to Niagara and Brooklyn St. St Johns John's came up with a 65 63 victory over Syracuse Bob Salen dunked a one-hander one with only 10 seconds left for the winning basket Wisconsin of the Big Nine chalked up its third straight victory victory vic vie tory by defeating Missouri of the Big Seven 58 The Badgers led at one time by 15 points at 36 21 and pulled away again after aler Missouri had crept up to 41 Tulane regarded as the strongest strong strong- est threat to Kentucky's reign in inthe inthe inthe the Southeastern conference overwhelmed overwhelmed over over- whelmed Howard of Birmingham 87 32 while Maryland nicked Virginia Virginia Virginia Vir Vir- ginia Tech 60 51 in m a Southern conference fray North Carolina beat Catawba 57 47 in a non- non conference tilt In the far west Gonzaga nipped Idaho of the Pacific Coast conference conference con con- ference erenee 42 41 and Morningside opened an Invasion of ot the Rocky mountain area by losing to Regis 62 |