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Show i v - Tr""" ' ! I . s :- ' i I . i f- - VTA A i I I - f I ' " --"V ' - W- 1 I I I Mi , ; ill mi ! I li fcWv I ! i - " v. 3V. 4 ! The action was hot and heavy under the boards against Blanding last Friday I night and Moab's Max Cunningham was usually right in the middle of it. j I Cunningham is a leading scorer in Region 7 and in the State. I i Home from San Juan I with Blanding win By Alvin Reiner I The Moab Red Devils started j their game against the San Juan I Broncos in the same manner March I stereotypically commences, by roaring to a 21-10 first quarter lead, j While Moab could do no wrong, J the Broncos were sluggish and I seemed afraid to take open shots. I Their stiffness was apparent as the j Broncos produced several air balls. I San Juan's defense seemed to be J keyed on Moab's fine center, Max '. Cunningham and this left forward i Steve Croasmun wide open under the basket. The Devils' passing was sharp and Croasmun scored again I and again. I It appeared as though the Devils I would blow the Broncos out of the J , gym as Moab took a comfortable 18 J point lead into the locker room at halftime. I In the second half, the Broncos threw off their sheep's clothing and j came out like a pack of hungry I wolves. Their tough man to man J full court defense resulted in J numerous Devil turnovers. It was j not the first time this season that the Red Devils were stymied by a press. In fact, their inability to cope I with it cost them at least one game I against division leader Richfield. J The crowd came alive when San I Juan's Robert Cochran, like ! Philadelphia's Dr. J. flew to the basket and slammed home a two handed dunk shot. San Juan nar-j nar-j rowed the gap to ten points, and the I score at the end of the third quarter I was 49-39. j San Juan kept up the pressure in ! the fourth quarter and it looked as though they had a chance to win. I However, the Devils still had some j fire in them and with 2:30 to go, I were leading 65-54. The Broncos I again started closing in on Moab, J but when the final buzzer sounded, J the electronic circuitry spelled out "Visitors 71 Home 64" on the I scoreboard. j The Red Devils were led by Steve I Croasmun's hustle and 24 point I output. Max Cunningham showed J much finesse in tallying 17. Billy j Pruitt pumped in 13; Ted Mc- . Dougall had 12 and Lawaun Cunningham added 4. I San Juan's Jimmy Jones, who j was practically shut out with only I two points in the first half, came ! alive after the intermission and I tallied an additional 21. Robert I Cochran shot and dunked his way ' for 14, while Mark Jones added 10; j Kurt Nielson had 6 and Pat ! Shumway fouled out after scoring ! 5. j While the ten players on the floor did battle, another war was being I waged by the fans. In fact, it I wouldn't be surprising if the den- J izens of Moab could detect the ! reverberations eminating from the ! gym. Inside, the decibel level was probably equivalent to a Concorde j take-off and thus should have been I banned by the EPA. I In the preliminary contest, San J Juan proved to be the dominant ! face, as with much hustle and a ! good defense, they moved to a 36-27 halftime lead. A few quick steals at the inception of the second half which resulted in uncontested I layups, and the Broncos were on I top 46-31. Then it was the Red Devils' turn to dominate, as they ! controlled the backboards, getting up to five shots on one occasion, and the third quarter ended in a j 50-50 tie. The Broncos then galloped to a I 60-52 advantage at the beginning of J the final period. The remainder of J the contest saw both teams trading j buckets with San Juan remaining i on top with a 68-61 victory. "BSS"3 I 1 I ' . ..:f-" ... I ! rt -vi s Max Cunningham shoots over the outstretched hand of San Juan's Robert Cochran. (Alvin Reiner Photos) I j |
