| OCR Text |
Show THE iMnaTffnniiY Vincents WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2001 SUN View Remembering 1985 By Stephen 3 .v f Vincent Rebels unbeaten string continues, ranked No. 2 By Stephen Editor-in-chi- Vincent 66-5- 1. 8Evincent77hotmail.com Editor-in-chi- The Dixie State College mens stvinccnt77hotmatl.com 1985 was the year I first fell in love with basketball. Maybe it was because it was the first time that my body could somehow heft the ball up high enough to get it to slither through our backyard hoop. Looking back on it, our backyard court was far from it really just a concrete patio glamorous with a homemade basketball standard. But, to me, it was practically Madison Square Carden. Had 1 known what Madison Square Garden was back then. Also, my uncle worked for the Utah Jazz at the time, and he gave me a poster of a player named John Drew. That poster pretty much inspired my first essay in the first grade in which I wrote that I wanted to play for the Jazz when I "growed up". (It was soon after that that Drew was kicked out of the NBA for using cocaine). But one of the other factors in my developing love for the game was the Friday and Saturday nights I spent with my father and my older tormentor ... er, brother, Joey. On those weekend nights, wed walk a few blocks from our house on 300 South to the Old Gym, where we would cram into a packed gym and watch Dixie College play. It sounds weird now that those players would be so heralded to me, as a little but then again, it was 1985. Cable television, Nike, and Michael Jordan were just beginning to revolutionize (corrupt) the way sports fans viewed basketball. Heck, we still had to go to the church to watch BYU's basketball games. So my only real exposure to live basketball was in that Old Gym. And the Rebels were something special that year. dont remember much about that year; was only seven, but what I do remember I I I doubt I'll forget. I remember how the rim would bend each time Brent Stephenson dunked the basketball. I remember Ricky Henry floating around the court, finding openings to attack, and I remember Averian Parrish who had perhaps the greatest career of any player in Dixie College history signing my game program (which, believe it or not, I still have ... somewhere). I remember how everyone in St. George lined up along Bluff Street and watched the team ride in on fire engines just after they won the national championship. I remember how every kid in town went to Hurst Ben Franklin to have the whole team sign their plastic basketballs. I remember that if you went into Evans Hairstyling College to get your haircut on the third Wednesday of the month, and you told them the final score of the championship game Dixie 57, Kankakee 55 that you could get a free bottle of shampoo, and I went to Evans Hairstyling College to get my hair cut on the third Wednesday and the whole time I wanted to Please see VINCENT page 8 Lloreda led the Rebels there, winning with 18 points and seven rebounds. The next night, on Jan. 6, was the long anticipated showdown between the then No. 2 College of Southern Idaho and No. 5 back and forth, Dixie. The game as Dixie missed many chances to put the Eagles away from the free throw line. The Rebels finished just 19 of 36 from the line, but they were finally able to shake the Eagles with just over three minutes left in the game, when Josh Clark stole the ball at and sprinted the other way for a hammer dunk. Moments later, Colbert hit a big to seal the win for the Rebels. Last weekend, the Rebels, the newly dubbed No. 2 team in the country, went on the road for the first time all season. Against the College of Eastern Utah, the Rebels were hurt by their lack of big men. Clark missed the trip while he was attending a funeral, and his backup, Tony Simmons, fouled out early in the second half. The Rebels only other big man (Dixie lost starting forward Drew Gaulden prior to the Snow game after he was dismissed from the team for an undisclosed violation of team rules), Jaime Lloreda, battled foul troubles the whole night. But in the end, Dixie prevailed over the Eagles. The next night, the Rebels turned a usually easy win over Colorado Northwestern into a victory, but it was Shelbys turn to rescue the Rebels as he scored 28 points to help the Rebels eek out the win. basket- ball team has new uniforms and an unblemished record. Yeah, the uniforms look sweet (even if they did ditch the traditional red road uniforms for navy blue ones), but the guys wearing those uniforms have an even sweeter game. The Rebels have been an a remarkable run, even earning themselves praise from ESPN, which discussed Dixies undefeated run during the broadcast of Monday nights game. Scenic West Ath0 The Rebels (17-letic Conference) started off SWAC play with a victory over archrival Snow College, in an intensely fought struggle. Marcus Banks led the Rebels with 23 points, but none of those points were bigger than the three pointer he hit with just over a minute 7 left in the contest to break a tie. A1 Williams followed that shot, less than 10 seconds later, with a of his own, which essentially sealed the win for the Rebels. The win was the second of the season for the Rebels over the Badgers; Dixie and Snow will face one more time this year, and they could play each other again for a fourth time. A prospect that may have some Dixie fans worried, but what the Rebels are a better team now than they were when they played the Badgers. The win against Snow was the last game that guards Eddie Shelby and Dominique Townes had to sit out due to complications with their transfer situations, and it was the final contest that Gary Colbert missed due to a wrist injury. "Were anxious to see what we can do with our full squad out there," said Banks after the Snow contest. It was worth the wait. Shelby, Townes, and Colbert immediately impacted the Dixie squad. With Dixies pressure stifling opponents, the Rebels breezed through wins over Westchester Comm. College, and Sheridan College, Wyo., 3 in the New Years Invitational, setting up a champiUtah Valley onship tilt with the always-tougState College Wolverines. Well, except the Wolverines couldnt elude Dixies pressure either, and not even grisly officiating could slow down the Rebels in their 2 victory. Banks scored 21 points, and Jaime Lloreda dragged down 15 boards in the contest. The game was over by halftime, and the only spectacle in the second half was the officials, who, despite repeated conferences, routinely bungled calls, even counting a UVSC basket after a double foul at one point. Dixie next hosted Treasure Valley, Oregon, in the Rebels second SWAC contest. The Chukars displayed good defense, causing an excruciatingly painful level of tedium in the first half, and TVCC managed to stay close to Dixie. But in the second half, Dixie went on a quick 11-- 0 run and cruised from BYU-UNL- 5-- 80-7- 67-6- three-point- mid-cou- rt three-point- hard-foug- This LUeeks Games Friday: Ricks vs. Dixie Saturday: North Idaho vs. Dixie Women: 5:30 Men: 7:30 All Lady Rebs recovering from .500 stretch The month of December did not treat the Dixie State College women's basketball team as kindly as November did. Granted, they did start the month with their 106-2- 5 win over Cerro Coso, Calif., but their next game against Snow College ended g the Rebels run of seven season-openin- straight victories. Despite 16 points each from Lindsay Heiselbetz and Candace Baldwin, the Badgers still upended the Rebels, The Rebels rebounded with two easy wins over Barstow College, Calif, behind Rachel Clines' 15 point performance, and LA Harbour, Calif, with 15 points apiece from Candace Baldwin and Jaime Phillips. But the Rebels' trip to Arizona later in the month, found Dixie on the wrong end of The the score in two of the three match-upRebels' lone win came against Scottsdale Community College. Heiselbetz led Dixie in scoring in all three of the Arizona games, scoring a total of 44 points. Dixie returned home to blowout Treabehind Samantha sure Valley, Ore., 78-6- 3. 81-5- s. 70-4- outing, but Southern Idaho snapped the Rebels' momentum with a 0 win. Dixie earned victories last weekend over Eastern Utah and Colorado Northwestern to improve their SWAC record to 2 and their overall record to 13-The two conference losses haven't knocked the Rebels out of the title race, but they haven't given Dixie much room for error either. The Rebels play No. 7 Ricks on Friday. Newton's 55-5- 3-- games at the Bums Arena. Free w student ID THINKING . . . full-cou- rt 94-5- ABOUT A NEW CAREER? 90-6- Dental Assistant Medical Assistant MedicalDental Office Management Pharmacy Technician Ophthalmic Assistant Dental Lab Technician h full-cou- rt 9 MONTH COURSES JOB PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE HANDS ON TRAINING PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENT EXCELLENT GROWTH POTENTIAL FINANCIAL AID AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO QUALIFY 77-6- mid-cou- rt CALL TODAY- - CLASSES START SOON! St. George (800) 652-09- (800) 07 THE Provo 377-29- 07 AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLGY MEDICAL-DENTA- L |
