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Show Trtday. February 20, 19S7 Page Thirl n Jess Gomez :;h . V: ( Changed Rivers should challenge U. erf JlJ ... ; Mt P J 1:7 I J ' .:. LJ 'Cv'v':-- kr ' the Runnin' Utes face Notre Dame on Saturday night in the Special Events Center, they will sec a different David Rivers than the one who scored only six points in Notre Dame's 94-6- 4 victory last year in South Bend, Ind. candidate that we Sure, he's the same know him as, but a certain terrifying event in August suddenly changed and almost ended his young life. On August 24, Rivers was traveling with former Notre Dame player Ken Barlow when their van ran off a country road and overturned near Wakarusa, Ind. The junior point guard suffered a severe cut across his abdomen and underwent three hours of surgery at a local hospital. "Lying there, I was disappointed because I didn't want to die that way," Rivers said recently. "I still think about it every night. It's just like it happened yesterday. But it really changed my perspective on life. Now I appreciate the little things in life. I always will." As serious as an injury as it was, Rivers still came back in 15 weeks, mainly through determination and courageousness. "With David, it's all a matter of his attitude," Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps said. "They told him he would be in the hospital for 15 days, and he got out in eight. They told him how long it would be before he could begin his rehabilitation and he was determined to do it sooner. That's the way he approached the season." Still, as much as his mind wanted him to rehabilitate himself, he was well aware of the consequences of coming back to soon. "I wanted to be careful, so there wouldn't be any setbacks. Mentally, I was ready to play basketball a long time before my body was ready," Rivers said. "I thought of Rocky and I thought of climbing a mountain. That's how I pictured myself coming back." Since returning from the injury, Rivers has risen and climbed on the basketball mountain to achieve superstardom. Coming into the Utah game, he is averaging modest numbers 14 points and 5.5 assists VChcn ; All-Amer- ica ..... -- . 7 v"'.".: Y,,-.- . 15-in- C lironiiir pholm hy Slew V'iImhi New Mexico State s Kris Veatch wraps her palms around the ball, while Lady ute Leslie INeebiing (25) finds humor in TifTanv Rogers (23) troubles. U. stoodls alomi in HCAC Lady Utes depth By crushes New Mexico St., Jess Gomez Chronicle staff writer If there was ever a question about the Lady Utes' depth, a resounding answer was given by the team Thursday night m the Special Events Center. Utah, 18-- 5 overall and 0 in the HCAC, got scoring from all eieht rtlavers who saw cDlavine- time and overcame 38 y v Mia j mm percent held goal shooting to hand New Mexico Mate its first conference loss. 77-6- 3. before 803 fans the largest 8-- fi beats A.F. U. SEC crowd of the season. "Our depth was really evident tonight," marveled Lady Ute coach Elaine Elliott, who is driving for her second consecutive conference championship. "We had our stall at the beginning of the second half, but overall we played good basketball." Forward Mila Rogers-Stende- r, consistently the Lady Utes' top scorer, once again topped Utah's offensive chart with 17 points, including 11 of 13 shooting from the free in atypical style; to establish the final margin. "Once we got going, it was hard to break our rhythm, especially late in the game," said Archibald, who will now send his troops against Notre Dame on Saturday night in the Special Events Center, (see related story at right). "Tonight we had good concentration and we got the open shots. We got the ball in the right position and we had good execution on our shot selection." Utah took advantage of that characteristic to coast to a 42-3- 0 halftime lead. During the first 20 minutes, Utah hit 76 percent of its field goals, including 75 percent from AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. The Runnin' Utes 3efied a seven-ve- ar tradition Thursday nipht and won convincinelv here, beatine the Air rorce Academy 80-6- 4. The win, which extends Utah's overall record to 16-- 9 and 6 in WAC Dlav.' was the Utes' easiest in the Cadet Field House since the series started in 1980. Utah's victory was fueled by a record- 8-- setting shooting pertormance. lhe Utes nit 73.7 nereenr nf rhpir shnfs. a new school and WAC record. Thev also hit 57 Dercent of j eoals and 80 their three-noi- i field .percent of their free thrnws. beyond the E "Air Force played really well," said gracious Utah coach Lynn Arcnioaid following the game, "and if we hadn't shot the ball like we did. it could have been a rouen niPhr tor the I res. Gale Gondrezick powered the sizzling 22 points, performance with a game-hig- h one snvJ ot his career hitm mncn ot and Smith added 19 Roh Marr led Air Force, now ii and with zv nomts as ne nu s. four Michael Lockwood contributed Hooints, 10inthehrsthall,tor the Falcons. lead in the final Utah took its biggest . . J r ' minute when a Dair ot Albert springs aunKs Air Force s offered leads of 78-6- 0 and 80-6- 2. the buzzer at shot Mark Slimko hit a learbaee w b-- H. l-- three-nninrer- 1 three-poi- line. nt But Lockwood caught fire after intermission as he hit two straight field goals, narrowing the Falcons' deficit to eight at nt , continued on page fourteen continued on page fourteen Utes' shooting exhibition sets records Special to the Chronicle 77-6- 3 ch Within the next two minutes, Marr hit two bombers the second with 16:10 remaining in the game and suddenly 42-3- 4. Utah's lead was only 45-4- 2. "We started to relax a little bit and they were getting some long shots on us," said Archibald. "I just told them to extend their defense and then things started going well for us." Utah fought. back and scored 14 unanswered points as the Falcons suffered scoring drought. through an eight-minuForce Air time the finally hit a basket, By lead its to 2 and it had Utah pushed welcomed the easy goings in the final 10 minutes. te 59-4- hosts Irish next Television crews will thrust Utes into national spotlight Saturday By Mike Prater Chronicle sports editor In the second round of the 1978 NCAA Tournament, the Irish eliminated Utah, Irish slipped by Utah, An upset win over North Carolina to open a hectic February top-rank- ed 70-6- 5. 69-5- 6. Last season, the two resumed the series schedule. National powerhouse Duke last and Notre Dame had five players score in Sunday. Fordham in Madison Square double figures to lead Notre Dame to a Garden on Wednesday. Utah in "the 94-6- 4 route. Saturday's visit will be Notre ; Special Events Center this Saturday.'And Dame's first in Salt Lake City against all on live national television. Utah. That's the life of a Notre Dame Phelps' squad sports a starting line-u- p basketball player. includes junior David Rivers that Coach Digger Phelps (3 1 1 45 at Notre probably the premier point guard in the Dame) and his team will break from its country. Rivers has recovered from a rugged East Coast schedule and venture near-fat- al automobile accident last fall to west, where it will meet Utah on Saturday 14 points and 5.5 assists a game. in the Special Events Center. The opening average Rivers will be joined in the backcourt tip is set for 8 p.m. and his As usual, a slew of national television by senior Scott Hicks average. cameras will follow the Fighting Irish, 16-who bring a 7 slate into the game. Starting at forwards will be sophomore ESPN will televise the game, as well as Mark Stevenson who also WGN of Chicago. Locally, KUTV, averages 10 points a game, and Donald The senior averages 14 Channel 2 will provide a live broadcast; Royal an outing. KALL, 910 AM will broadcast the game, points with the pre-gashow starting at 7 p.m. The starting center is junior Gary Voce The Runnin' Utes have faced "Notre The Queens, N.Y. product is Dame on three occasions and all have been averaging five points and six rebounds a losses. The series started in 1955 when the game. (6-foo- 6-- (6-foot- -3) 10-po- int 6), 8). me 9). t), |
