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Show T-Birds take 6-0 R HAG record on road for testing "The rest of the schedule will be very challenging; we'll see a lot of the road, but we have done as well as possible through the first half of the action," Stan Jack, Thunderbird coach, says. "We are playing well right now; we have momentum. Most of our problem now is to keep ourselves 'up' for each game. By the usual method of figuring such things, Southern Utah State College leads the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Con-ference by a rather substantial margin with its 6-0 record. But . . . Using the "road wins versus home losses" formula Regis College leads the league, and the Thunderbirds rest in a three-way Decker's troops in a 116-89 victory. vic-tory. On that Regis front wall are three proven veterans, Tony DuCros, a 6-8 center; Lee Gray, a 6-5 forward, and Mike Hicks, a 6-5 6-5 forward. Gray averaged 14.9 points and a whopping 15.1 rebounds last year. DuCros was close behind with 13.7 points and 12.8 rebounds each outing. Add the scoring of guard Elwood Henson (14 points per game) and it's easy to see why the Thunderbirds Thun-derbirds are concerned. The Regis record (accumulated (ac-cumulated all on the road) includes in-cludes losses to Fort Lewis and Western New Mexico and victories vic-tories over Western State and Adams State. Colorado Mines will be itching for a little revenge on Southern Utah. The Orediggers fell, 101-75, at Cedar City in the first meeting between the two clubs. In that contest center Dave Dan-nenberger Dan-nenberger scored 18 points, and guard Rob Coleman added 13. Center Jim Wilding and guard Gary Crosby shot hot for SUSC. Wilding pumped in 31 points and hauled off 14 rebounds. "Mines can play better than they did against us in the first meeting. I look for an ambush attempt at Golden," Coach Jack said. SUSC also has a January 29 non-conference date with New Mexico Highlands at Silver City. The 'Birds squeeked out a 93-87 victory over the Cowboys earlier this year at Cedar City. The Cowboys are paced by Alvin Meadors, who averages 25.8 points per game. "There are several teams that will be gunning for us on their home courts, and of course there are several teams still very much in the running for the title," Jack points out. Southern Utah's shooting--definitely a strong point of the team-has been super in RMAC action. As a team, the 'Birds are shooting over 53 percent from the field against conference opponents. op-ponents. The four men who see the most front line action are shooting a red hot 59.7 percent. Robin Haight, semi-regular center, has hit on 21 of 28 fieldgoal attempts; that's 75 percent. Balance and bench strength have also been decided SUSC assets. Nine players have seen considerable action, and all nine have demonstrated good fire power. For all games, SUSC has five men scoring in double figures. Regis is the only team the Thunderbirds have not met in the RMAC, and the Rangers are a source of concern. "Regis probably has the strongest front line we've faced this year," Western State Coach Bob Decker reported after SUSC's front line poured in 74 points against second place tie with Colorado Mines and Western New Mexico. SUSC faces Regis in Denver Friday (8:30 p.m.) and Colorado Mines Saturday (7:30 p.m.) at Golden. A pair of wins would make the T-Birds undisputed leaders, no matter what method of reckoning is used. Two losses would put SU in trouble in both rankings. How the RMAC stacks up: "Usual Method:" Wins Losses Southern Utah 6 0 Western N.M. 3 1 Westminster 4 2 Fort Lewis 3 2 Regis 2 2 Colo. Mines 1 4 Adams State 0 3 Western State 0 5 "Road Wins vs. Home Losses Method: Road Home Wins Losses Regis 2 0 Southern Utah 1 0 Colo. Mines 1 0 Western N.M. 1 0 Fort Lewis 0 0 Adams State 0 1 Westminster 0 2 Western State 0 2 |