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Show irds hog-tie- d It was a familiar scene Tuesday night in Pine Bluff, Ark., as the Thunderbird basketball squad went up against a vastly superior club in a hostile environment. Unfortunately for Neil Roberts club, the results were all too'familiar as well as the Arkansas Razorbacks, ranked 25th in the nation among Division I schools by USA TodayCNN, muscled their way to a 109-7- 6 win to drop the Birds to These could be the rowdiest people anywhere, said Roberts of the Arkansas crowd of 9,300. This is a very 8-1- 2. difficult place to play. But it was not the crowd alone that intimidated the Birds, but also the hot shooting of the Razorbacks, who netted 50 percent of their shots from the floor and shots. made six of 10 three-poiThe Birds, in their attempt to stay in the game, hit on eight of 17 three-poiattempts, but hit on only 40 their from the floor. UA was overall shots of percent 75 percent from the line, hitting on 23 of 29 charity shots, while the Birds were eight of 12, for a .66 percent mark. Arkansas was led by 6 freshman forward Todd Day with 26 points, and 9 junior center Mario Credit, who added 20. SUSC had four players in double figures, led by Kelvin Lees 20 points, which included nt nt 6-- 6-- four by Arkansas three-pointer- Chris Naulls tallied 14 points while s. DaVor Marcelic added 12. SUSC never led in the game. The score was 58-4- 4 at the half and the latest that SUSC was really in the game was at 5:50 to go in the first period when a pair of Chris Koford free throws brought the Birds to within four, 34-3From then on it was Hog muscle and hot hands that spelled the difference. The loss put the Bird road record at in sharp counterpoint to the 1 home mark. The Birds are still hoping for the .500 season that was Roberts goal to start the year. At the start of the season, I said Id be very disappointed if we didnt win half of our games this year, said Roberts. With the rugged schedule weve faced this year, a lot of people thought I was overly optimistic, but now as we eneter the final third of the season, a .500 record is not impossible. We must win some difficult games on the road, but the way weve improved over the past month, we, can dp it. After Saturday nights game at Chicago State, the Birds take on' a very tough New Orleans squad Monday. They dont return home until Feb. 20, when they again take on Chicago State. 0. ; 7-- - " CHICAGO STATE SATURDAY Thunderbirds: Now 6:30 SUSC is still smarting from tough losses to bigger and more powerful teams. The loss to Arkansas can be traced largely to the bulk of the Razorbacks. Roberts squad should have an easier time of it against the Cougars, to whom it matches up more closely in size. Birds are looking for a win to stay on track for goal of .500 season. 8-1- 2, is much like Cougars: Chicago State, SUSC in that both are NCAA Division I independents, and both are young teams with brutal road schedules this year. The Cougar attack is built around 1 center Laurent starter who was an Crawford, a 2, 6-1- two-ye- ar honorable mention last year. on some lists ca Women cagers regroup, gird for trip to Flagstaff BY JOSHUA GRANT The Lady Bird basketball squad, taking advantage of layoff, should be well rested and recuperated from a tough road swing for their matchup'against Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff Wednesday. Clay Andersons women, despite losses on the most recent road trip to Colorado State, Wyoming and Utah, showed some improvement, according to the coach. We were within seven points with minutes left in the game, he said of the 78-5- 8 loss to the Lady Utes Saturday. We played better than in a 10-da- y two-and-a-h- our two previous games. We played good defense and now must build on the solid defense and rebounding in our coming games. Junior forward Stacey French continues to pace the SUSC scoring attack, with an 11.4 average. Shes also the second-leadin- g rebounder on the squad, with a 6.3 boards per game mark, trailing center Brenda Acors g 6.5. Playmaker Kim Free is posting a 6.5 assists per game average and has racked up 58 steals on the year. 'On the whole, a drawback for the 4 ladies this year has been a weakness from the floor, as they have hit on just over 39 percent of their shots, while their team-leadin- 6-1- opponents are posting a nearly 45 percent average. Moreover, theyve made only 12 of 49 three-poishots for a .245 average, while their opponents are 29 of 68 for a .426 mark. Theyre also being outshot from the free throw line, .699 to .657 and are being outrebounded 55 to 40 percent. NAU is currently 6 on the year and in the Big is 1 Conference led and Sky by junior center Tanja Brungard, who scores at an 11.8 points per game clip. The Lady Birds will take on the University of Texas at El Paso on Saturday, Feb. 4 before returning home to host Nevada Las Vegas in a 7 p.m. matchup Feb. 11 in the Centrum. nt 5-- 1- -3 6-- |
