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Show 14B The Salt Lake Tribune March Saturday, 17. 14)11 Regional Notes: UNLVs Booker Loves Tennis By Huger Graves Tribune Spurts Writer bine Booker, Vegas smooth-No. swingman, has a big problem. the airlines didn't lose iiis jump shot along with his luggage No, he didn t turn his ankle in praetue Friday while tuning up for Saturday's NCAA West Regional encounter Faso with WAC champion Texas-H- l at the University of Utah Special Nevada-La- s a quiek-talkin- Events Center. But he does have a problem Booker can t decide whether to join the John Havlicek Basketball Society for Sixth Men or the John Lucas Basketball Society fur Tennis Flayers. It's a delicate decision. A jump ball. When Booker completes his senior season with the Runnin' Rebels, which will be when UNLV next loses a game or wins the national champinative of San onship. will the Francisco pursue a career in professional basketball or seek his fortune as a professional tennis player'1 to Well, it may take a decide I've been playing tennis longer than I've been playing basketball," beamed Booker, who served up 18 shooting in UNLV's points on NCAA conquest of Frinceton Thursday evening. I've always played tennis on the side with basketball. After school's out. I'm thinking about playing some ' professional tennis tournaments Nobody's speculating on whether with Booker will ever go Jimmy Connors on those courts. Ah, but on the basketball court, it's a safe bet Connors couldn't match Booker jumper for jumper. But just how deeply rooted is Booker's devotion to tennis? I d rather sit in my room and watch a good tennis match than a first-roun- 68-5- 6 d one-on-o- d green-colore- basketball game," said the articulate Booker, Las Vegas answer to former ACC tennis ihampion John Lucas of Maryland, who went on to discover stardom in the NBA. It's something I've played ever since I was young. I played tennis for two or three years before I ever played basketball." Booker used to play much more-tenniwhen he was enrolled at the University of San Francisco. And that's where he became a famous sixth man a la Havlicek. I started at point guard at San Francisco City but when I went College (n 1980-81to USF I knew I was going to be the sixth man," noted Booker, who transferred to UNLV after USF disbanded its basketball program folseason. USF had lowing the 1981-8Quintin Dailey and Ken McAllister, so I knew I'd be the third guard. It's never bothered me. I dont mind coming in off the bench. s ), 2 Despite his sixth man status at UNLV, Booker is the Rebels' fourth minleading scorer and plays Veutes per game. And Nevada-La- s an Tarkanian had Coach gas Jerry interesting confession pertaining to Booker Friday. "It's no secret Eric deserves to start, admitted Tarkanian. "He's played great the last six or seven games. But if Jeff (Collins) didn't start, it would destroy him. Jeff's been in a slump, but Eric comes off the bench better. Eric's still going to play 34. 35 or 36 minutes, so I don't know that it makes much differ33-3- 4 ence." "You can see a lot of little things from the bench that the guys on the floor can't always see, stressed Booker of his sixth man role. "I look for holes in the defense when we're running our offense, and I put that to use when I get in. Not starting has never bothered me." Booker, who remembers becoming interested in UNLV when he watched the Runnin' Rebels defeat in an NCAA shootout in 1977, isn't certain whether basketball or tennis will be his passion at this time next year. But it wont matter much. San Francisco first-roun- National Basketball Association victory over the Milwaikee Bucks in Boston. "I'm not worrying anymore about playing time. Wedman said. "The best thing I can do for this team is to stay ready. When you're not playing regularly, you have a tendency to start doubting your ability. But I've adjusted, and when I go on the court. I remember that I still belong there and that it's up to me to perform." With starting guard Gerald Hen- derson nursing an injured calf, Wedman and Ainge were Boston's guards for the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter. Wedman. obtained in the middle of last season in a trade with Cleveland, played only 19 minutes but hit six of nine field goal attempts and one of two free throws. Ainge sank four of his six field goal attempts, and finincluding a ished with nine points in 20 minutes. three-pointe- Nuggets 118, Cavaliers Yes, there is a Utah connection at s Vegas. Forgotten amid Nevada-LaNevada-La- s Vegas glamor players senior Tom Roberts, the fore mer Bingham College standout. Roberts, whose older forbrother Fred was an ward at BYU and now plays for San Antonio in the NBA, does most of his shooting in practice. But the former has connected on Utah free throws (a glossy .917 percentage) and averages 1.7 points for is 6-- 5 High-Dixi- Continued From Page with four minutes left, UTEP went to Reynolds on five straight possessions. He scored eight of his 15 points in the final minutes, and helped the win. Miners escape with a I remember that, Reynolds says. But, hey, that's when I want the ball. That's when Ill get aggressive and do whatever it takes. And this is a good thing about our team the guys get me the ball in that situation. So Reynolds isn't concerned with the fact he doesn't score megapoints in UTEP's patient, scheme? 102: At 55-5- 4 d e 117, Pistons 108: At Ponti-ac- "No," he said. "My problem is I don't look to score that much. I try to get everybody involved in the game. Everybody on our team does it that way. And I don't play 40 minutes like a lot of guys, so how can I score as much as they do? Thats the system we have here, and I'm happy with it. Scoring 14 point.; a game here is like scoring 24 points some place else. At things like the (Pan Am) trials, that's where you prove you can score. Here, you play within the system. . Mich., Micheal Ray Richardson scored 22 points and Darryl Dawkins added 21 to lead the Nets to victory. The victory was New Jersey's 10th in its last 11 games. The Nets lone loss in the streak came at the hands of the Pistons a week ago. Suns 110, Bullets 109: At Lan- dover. Md Walter Davis scored 37 points, including the basket with three seconds remaining in overtime, as the Suns broke a three-gamlosing streak. After Frank Johnson hit a jump shot with 25 seconds remaining to lead. Dagive Washington a r vis hit his with an jump shot from the left side. game-winnin- g And you win." e Indeed. During Coach Don Haskins tenure, UTEP has won 419 games and lost only 191. This is his ninth Miner team to win at least 20 109-10- 8 Eagles Rout Oilers in 11-- 3 Affair From Page ing three players. I think these boys showed that they have a lot of character." Salt Lake, which remained witlrn four points of third-placIndianapolis with the victory, struck for three goals in the initial 4 19 of the game Hansen. and six different Eagles MacLeod, Bjugstad. Velischek. Trimper and Harrer scored in the first period to elevate the Utahns to a advantage. Yes. this one was over after 20 minutes. But some intrigue remained. The Eagles hadn't converted a power play opportunity in three with a man games and were advantage against the Oilers in their last four meetings. But Harrer rang up his 35th goal of the season on a shipper from the left circle at 9 51 of the second period to break the power play drought and send Salt Lake into the third period with a comfortlead able But the Eagles weren't finished The indomitable Homola beat twice and Bjugstad and MacLeod each contributed their second goals of the game to bury the Oilers Continued 2 e 1 2 game-winne- Gippers Rockets 128, 118: At San Diego, Greg Kelser scored seven key points early in the final quarter to help lead the Clippers past the e Rockets. The victory ended a losing streak for San Diego. e Bulls 156, Blazers 155: At Portland. Ennis Whatley's driving layup and free throw with two seconds left the fourth overtime in gave the Bulls a marathon victory over the Trail Blazers. The Blazers had taken a lead with 12 seconds left i'll a tree throw by Darnell Valentine. Then Whatley dribbled the clock down to six seconds and made his drive to the basket. He was fouled on the play and sank the free throw to clinch the victory. The Blazers led with 3.12 left in the fourth quarter, but Chicago scored 13.straight points to take a lead. Jim Paxson, who had a 41 season-higpoints, hit a three-poin- t shot at the buzzer to tie the game sending it into the lust overtime The game was tied at the end of the first overafter the second and time. after the third. two-poi- 119-10- 9 122-11- 122-12- 129-12- 136-13- 6 144-14- USFL: Young to II atch Another Express Came lie As.mh -- Axsm toft lilt d i ; hack The I.os Angeles Express knows which qua! II wont lie using Saturday in Nan Antonio. The Gunslingers don't know which quarterback they will be using. t rue e Steve Young, the former Brigham X oung y quaiterback $4H ever 43 years a worth milder, to the contract signed by Express 1 -- tJ Pi css I uiC'phoo The Suns Rick Robey (left) beats the Bullets Greg Ballard (42) to this loose ball during NBA contest on Friday night. two-gam- Sonics 126, Spurs 123: At Seattle. Danny Vranes and Gus Williams each stole San Antonio passes in the final five seconds as the SuperSonics held off the Spurs. It was the second straight home win for the Sonics after a losing streak. UNLV-UTE- of affair P could be for bragging rights as 1984's Best in the West. Of course, there is another theme the WAC versus the PCAA. Quoth UNLVs Tarkanian diplomatically: "I think the conferences are pretty equal this year. Last year, the PCAA might have been a little stronger, but the WAC made a lot of progress this year. Tarkanian, whose Rebels attempted to join the WAC two seasons ago, also indicated Friday that he felt it came down to UNLV or UTEP in the fight to gain the No. 4 seed and a bye in the West Regional. "I would've liked to have a bye, but I thought the seeding was fair, Tarkanian said. "It probably came down to us Column 1 See Page first-roun- first-roun- d d 3 Hawks 105, Sixers 102: At Philadelphia, Johnny Davis scored a season-high 29 points to help the Hawks, who squandered a lead, edge the 76ers, snapping Chilly's winning streak. Nets Saturday's 16 Reynolds, UTEP To Battle UNLV Richfield, Ohio. Kiki Vandeweghe and Alex English scored 29 points each, as the Nuggets defeated the Cavaliers and moved into eighth place in the Western Conference standings, one percentage point ahead of the Golden State Warriors. The top eight teams in the West will qualify for the playoffs. third-perio- 5 He's always been a good baseline player. NBA: Ainge Aids Celtics Cause Tribune Wire Services It was an unlikely backcourt combination. Danny Ainge hadn't been playing much, and Scott Wedman had been primarily a forward on the rare occasions he played. But they teamed up Friday night to spark a fourth-quarte- r surge that lifted the Boston Celtics to a 109-9- 121-9- d the Rebels. He has appeared in UNLV's 33 games. By Scott L. Malan Tribune Sports Writer If this is a PROVO team, then Wilt Chamberlain was a midget. The South Sevier Rams, who had to struggle to a finish in the Region Ten tournament and state barely eke into the Class tournament, proved Friday at the Marriott Center that they aren't a e team. In fact, they are at least the second-bes- t team in the state. Behind some deadly free throw shooting in the second half, the Rams handed the San Juan Broncos a defeat to advance into Saturday night's 8 p.m state championship game againt Richfield. There, the Rams will try and prove they deserved the No ranking they owned throughout must of the regular season. - fifth-plac- fifth-plac- e e fifth-plac- 63-5- 0 1 I thought coming into the tournament that if the team gave me a good effort, we had as good a chance as anybody." South Sevier Coach I I.vnn Parsons said think the We never go to just one guy," Haskins said when asked about his - Pam LOS ANGELES (AP) McGee scored 25 points and Cheryl Miller added 18 to lead 2 Southern California to a victory over Brigham Young d Friday night in a NCAA Division I women's basketball playoff game. Juliette Robinson added 13 points for the Trojans, 25-97-7- first-roun- newest star, Reynolds. "We just don't play that way. "But Fred means a lot to us. He means more to us by rebounding and playing defensive than by scoring a lot of points. He's what I call a banger. When he plays well, he rebounds. He mixes it up. When he plays poorly, he tries finesse. There were some people after Fred when he came out of high school. But not a lot. He has really improved. Im proud of him. Game Notes: UTEP has not lost to a nonconference opponent vet. The Miners are outside the WAC, including wins over 12-- 0 Louisiana Tech, Indiana and Alcorn State . . . The Miners have won every close game they've played. They are In games decided by four points or less, 0 in overtime . . . Haskins and they are has used 12 different starting lineups this season, and eight players have started at one time or another . . . The Miners have trailed at halftime seven times this season, and rallied to win all seven . . . During the WAC tournament, which UTEP won by beating Wyoming and New Mexico, the Miners allowed only 46'2 points per game. NCAA qualifiers league tournament made them realize that thev have to mentally prepare themselves for every opponent. If the tournament did anything, it did that, because I think we took some teams kind of light." The Rams didn't take the Broncos too lightly, and for good reason. Coach Dennis Jones' club had lost just two games all season and finished two places higher than the Rams in the Region Ten playoffs, which the independent Broncos joined to qualify for the state tournament. The Broncos also were in the semifinals last year, so they had the tournament experience. And, when they lead, the Bronjumped out to an cos seemed poised to end any myth about the Rams merely being lackadaisical in the region tournament. the Rams were able to construct a edge by intermission. In that first half. Parsons finished with 13 points, while shooting from the foul line. But those impressive totals were only a sneak preview of coming attractions. The Rams maintained their eight-poiedge through the third quarter. Then, in the first three minutes of the final period, Parsons helped the Rams extend their lead to 10 points, But he early deficit seemed to shock the Rams into action. Behind Rhet Parsons, clearly the best talent in the tournament, they outscored the Broncos lead to take a early in the second quarter. Although the Broncos twice trimmed the lead to two points in that period. the Rams into several costly 4 t 11-- 2 0 29-2- 1 48-3- But Corry Cochran, who finished 19 points, and with a team-higR'mon Chamberlain, who came off the bench to spark the Broncos, pulled the nearly DurBroncos to within three. ing the stretch, the Broncos used a pressure defense to force h single-handedl- y 48-4- half-cou- rt turnovers. As time wound down, however, and the Broncos were unable to make any dent in the Rams lead, the time came when fouling provided the only miracle cure for the Broncos ails. But the Rams weren't the mood to nurse the Broncos back to health. in Richfield 61, Morgan 59 (OT): The Wildcats took advantage of two missed free throws, one in regulation and one in the overtime, to defeat the Region Nine tournament champions and advance into Saturday night's finale. In regulation, the Trojans had an opportunity to wrap up the victory with 16 seconds left when Steve Wilson stepped to the foul line for a opportunity and his team The senior hit the leading, first one, but then missed the second. Shane Southwick came up with the rebound and hit Keith Kimball with an outlet pass near midcourt. Kim56-5- ball drove all the way to the basket and scored the tying points with 12 seconds. The Trojans, who had not missed a foul shot in the fourth quarter prior to Wilson's miss, did get a last shot, but Darin Murdock's jumper fell short of the mark. Dugway Coach Unsatisfied With By Tom Wharton Tribune Sports Writer Some people are never PROVO satisfied. Dugway had just earned a vKtory over Kunub in the Class semifinals. The Mustangs had played tremendous defense Their' nJ oftmse was nearly flawless they never were really threatened still. Dugway Coach Gem ge Bruce was far from satisfied "Were still not m. ('(urge nig there." grumbled Bruce "Wee go' to be more diseiplnn d jiM womb r 63-1- good we could l:e l! we went w ay That s just George-- , v, iv A polite mail olf tin i "m coach collie' .,ei,,s ,i' d"U nrighl mean dm mg a g.m.e lie giowE. nuis and lielioW' .it the 'h.iil esl mistake III shoit he de how hard all the m md' x rfeetion III lb lollslv met hod ligwav is now lo o i r w I I el S' he las tournaments The three ('lass Mustangs won the title m 1982 and a t lo- - ;l ie look the ('on e.a ago r tound alii being upset m he In Ie. East Cat bon .1 -- I mail tit which v. i. two games of the lorn n o a n1 on h, q a eoml ' hoi v w a ' no or u tins game K i ;t- , r i Mustangs Face Beaver for Title With John DcWitt scoring nine of 3(1 mints in the first quarter, the lead to Mustangs roared to a stat t the game. li:s 17-- 2 closest Kanab would ever get 14 points with the si ore 31 17 at the end of the half. The to Cowboys uitseored Dugway end the half and that left Ilruee fuming at halftime His charges must have listened d to what he had to say because tM Mustangs came out smoking in '!' third quarter They oulseored K.ei.ih to take a lend even the most optimistic Cowls fan had to know it was over T at: exeelli lit basketball icy i ' :n, 'md Kanab Coal !l Hal ii c.bl.n of Dugway They plav We ( ouldii't get eiu g md di tense odee-- i' gomg e.,riy They took in tight o'it of t he garni' DcWitt really stia k ii to us We just couldn't stop bun He s an excellent ballplayer 'A liih Dugway center K.nv The -- fat but was 2U-- in-- v ii dner tiad a bit of an off night, o ot mg on! .) points, lie dominated "" middle .mil presented more de ' me." pi t.lem than Kanab could , . h dli In f.o I i x n Young Y. Richfield Gain Final S. Sevier, 2-- A: games. Eliminates USC w a- - tie' only Cowboy to hit double figures and he had just 12. One of the toughest things Dugway did was just getting to the game from its remote Tooele County location. The roads from Dugway have all but crumbled due to the rising water table and the spring thaw. There was no way that a bus would have made it out of town, so the team took cars. The road was so bad in a couple of spots that the players actually had to get out and walk while the drivers negotiated what was left of the highway. Still. Rruee is a man of disciplined habit. He refused to have his team stay in Provo Friday night. We never stay on the road. said Rruee, whose teams closest league game is at least 90 miles aw ay. 1 lie kids rest hi tter at home They get tender loving care. We ll have trouble getting home. Rut I dont like " changes He doesn't like mistakes, either. And that's why Dugway is playing for its second state title in three years Saturday at 3 30 pm in the Marriott Center Beaver 69, S. Summit 58: Rea 1-- Win A ver earned a chance to become the team since Gunnifirst Class son's 1972 squad to repeat as state champions by turning away South Summit in one of the most intense games of the tournament. The Beavers will now meet Dugway for the state title Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the Marriott Center. South Summit, fired by the shooting of junior Craig Rydalch. took the early lead by Beaver roared back to take a halftime lead behind the play of Steve Hutchings, who scored his team's last nine points. The Wildcats cut that lead to two in the third quarter and had two chances to tie it but turned the ball over both times. Their last gasp came on a basket and a free throw by Rydalch with 3:37 remaining when they cut the score to But Beaver went into a freeze at this point and won the contest from the free throw line with Brian Wood, Hutchings and Thane Marshall do30-2- 5 53-5- ing the shooting. Reaver Coach Cal Albrecht, who had been less than pleased with his club's performance in the first two gmes of the tournament, was very pleased wih his team on this night. We played a gleat game tonight like we re capable of doing." said |
