News Scrapbook 1981-1982

Thursday, January 7, 1982 T oreros Beat Sun birds To Regain Winning Edge By BILL CENTER Slaff Wnltr, TIit Sall Diego UniOn metimes basketball is not a game. It can be a strug- gle. "I've never seen anything like that," admitted Brovelli. ''The lid was on the basket. OK, you'll have those nights. Overall, I thought we played well ... certainly much better than we've been playing." Last night he was looser, if not quite perfect. He scored 12 points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. He did go O-for-4 from the foul line and missed some easy inside shots. But he also blocked four shots, stole a pass and batted several others away. Jones, meanwhile, was scoring 11 points on 5-of-7 shoot- ing. He got seven rebounds.

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The most encouraging development last night had to be the play of Roberts and 6-foot-6 runningmate Gerald Jones. It had been downhill for tbe two since they both record- ed their season highs on opening night against Pacific. Jones had 17 points, Roberts 13. Since then, Jones bad slipped to 8.5 points a game and Roberts had dropped to 5.0 and was getting more time on the bench than on the floor. "I'd been feeling confident, but I hadn't been getting the job done," said Roberts, the leading junior college reboun- der in California last year. "Maybe I was thinking too much about it. I'm the hardest person there is on myself." Brovelli agrees. He also felt Roberts might be pressing. "I've seen it before. It can take a junior college transfer a half a season just to get his feet on the ground." Which is not where Roberts wants them. "I don't think I've been letting myself play my game," he said. "I've been tight."

Such are ~he times for the University of San Diego, which last mght was taken the distance before dispatch- ing Fresno-Pacific - heretofore 9-5 against NAIA compe- tition - 55-48 at the USO Sports Center A win is a wm, and the Toreros were not about to throw it back. Still. it was a close encounter of another kind - against a t am more atuned to playing the Tabor Col- leges of the world. This time, however, USD showed signs of snapping out or it •iJrolonged playing slump. The Torer<>s cut their turnovers to a third of their average for the last four gam s and, for the first time since the season opener, got double figures from both tarting forwards. "Very encouraging," said Torero Coach Jim Brovelli. "We played a strong floor game and got the shots we wanted. Now ... " Th thought tailed off. USO's shooting remains a mat- ter of concern. The Toreros, who have a 50 percent heri- tage from the floor, hit 39 percent last night. It was more a matter of where they were missing from, though, that bothered Brovelli. The Torero:; were blowing shots from inside five feet. Twice 6--foot-7 forward Robby Roberts, for all his out- tandmg rebounding, fanned on a series of three uncon- te -ted follow-ups under the basket. And reserves Jim Bateman and Steve Rocha staged a second-half spree of four straight air balls from inside five feet.

"I think I've been trying too hard," said Jones. "I know I have to play well. I've wanted to do everything. I've been looking too much and not reacting enough. I've been standing around." "This is the best either has played in the last three games and the best both have played in quite a while," said a relieved Brovelli. "We have to have them at their peak in conference. "We've got a group of intelligent, hard workers ... intelligent enough to know that since the UC-Santa Bar- bara loss they've had trouble sustaining an effort for 40 minutes. I think we're pressing just a bit." USD never trailed from the third minute on, although Fresno-Pacific cut the gap to 49-46 with 3:15 to go. USO then held the ball until the Sunbirds fouled six times and finally got Don Capener to the line. Capener, the fastest improving of the Torero cast, sank both, then blocked back-to-back Fresno-Pacific shots. Dave Heppell cashed those plays in for four points and the Toreros were 6-5. But still not totally out of the woods. Fresno-Pacific got 18 points from 6-foot-6 center Shane Hite on 9-for-16 shooting. Hite is used to scoring 14 points against the sport's Occidentals. •·we still have a ways to go," said Brovelli, "but now we bave a start."

The San Diego Union/Bob Redding Fresno-Pacific's Shane Hite (33) is called for grabbing arm of USD's Gerald Jones.

LOS ANGELES TIMES

4 Part Ill/ Thursday, J n ary 7, 1982 /J * Fr o Pacific Bows Welcome Win for USO, 55-48 By GLAE THIEN, Times Staff Writer SAN DIEGO-With the West Coast Athletic Confer- ence season but a game away, the University of San Diego can relax some now m basketbalL It's not that league play will be easy, but after slug- I h show!ngs In th_eir previous four games, the Toreros let out a SJgh of rehef Wednesday night following a 55. 48 triumph over Fresno Pacific before 199 fans at the USD Sports Center. Although it held a 34-25 lead at halftime and main- tained control in a basically ho-hum second half, USD had reason for concern when the Sunbirds' Joel Kauff. man closed the margin to three pomts, 49-46, with 3:16 to play. . It then became Fresno Pacific's misfortune not to be m foul trouble. The Sunbirds spent until 53 seconds re- mained committing the soc fouls needed to put USD in the bonus situation. Under the circumstances, they went for the steal, yet really didn't come close. and then made the mistake of sending Don Capener, the Toreros' most accurate free throw shooter, to the line. Capener sank both attempts. '"I don't know if we've been tense lately ... our play- ers wanted to do so well that they may have pressed " USD Coach Jim Brovelli sald. "We have such ha~d workers, and they were Intelligent enough to know USD would have breezed had 1t not dipped to 30% hooUng (8-27) In the second half. In their worse dis- play, the Torreros twice mlSSed three consecutive shots under the basket. "I still thought we had a good, sustained effort " Brovelli said. "That's mt rms of what we wanted to do -we didn't have many turnovers, we played sound de- fense, and we got the shots we anted. Now, if we had made some more of 1h e sho , we probably could have won by 15points." The Toreros had seven turnovers to Fresno Pacific's 12 and eld a '.f'/ 27 e m rebounding, led by Robby Roberta w th a g igh ofl l. Robe , a 6-7 forward, added 12 points to share the team lead With guar(I Rusty Whitmarsh, while Gerald Jones contnbuted lJ points from the front line. The wm boosted USC to 6-5 heading into Saturday's 7,35 p.m. home game against Nebraska Wesleyan while Fre no Pacific dropped to 9-6. For the Sunbir~, who play in the NAlA ranks, the game represented their ~"!Y teeting this season with a team from the NCAA's l •8 part for U D Fresno Pacific, which yielded a slight height advan- tag to the Toreros, never recovered from an eight- po nt streak that gave USD a 18-8 lead with 11:37 left in the first half. Jone started the SJring with a close-range shot that forced the Sunbirds to call time out and switch from a man defense to zone coverage. However, the Toreros appeared unaffected by the change as Whitmarsh hit a pair of free throws, and after unb1rd turnover, followed with a field goal. David Heppell then supplied an ms1de hoop to cap the string. Forward Shane Hite cored 14 of his 18 points dunng th first half to help Fre no Pacific stay In the game what we needed to play better." Toreroa Mlafire la Sennd B41lf

TIMES-ADVOCATE JAN 7 '1982 ~.~~~-half surge helps USD post victory Forward Robbie Roberts and grabbed .six rebounds Wednesday night, Whitmarsh scored 12 oin guard Rusty leading Southeastern Louisiana to a 60-154 day night, leading the tn1v:r:1~;~f~edn;r non-c~nference college basketball victory ego to a 55-48 non-conference college b=~ket: ~;:;It ost United States International Uni- ball victory over visiting Fr p If! y · Forward Gerald Jones a esno ac c. Thelander Tillman added 14 points and the Toreros, who raised th!f:~;:!~~~s :~r ~rfb!e! rebounds for the Lions, who Roberts and Jones pulled down 11 and se · a se e record to 6-5. rebounds, respectively, to lead San Dieg;: Robbinson paced USIU with 18 points that department. re ounds. Charlie Smith and Thaxter Forward Shane Hite led F Arterberry added 13 and 11 points, respec- wlth 18 points. No other memb:~s~ft~aclfic lively, for the Gulls, who fell to 5-13. birds, who fell to 9-6, scored in doub~eS;:11: InNtheithfier tteam led by more than four points ures. · g e rs half. The Lions held a 24-22 ad- The first half was close until S D vantage at the intermission. scored the final four points rio to an !ego USIU held a 34-32 lead with 12:45 remain- mission to take a 34. 25 ad~an~ th e inter- Ing, but S~utheastern Louisiana scored 14 of Pacific got as close as three ge. Fresno the games next 16 points to go ahead for late in the game but the To points, 49 "46 • good. The Gulls weren't closer than five on four free thr~ws wlthou~e~~~~nnected points after that. final minute of the game to pull aw! In th e Tfe Lions made 46.4 percent of their field A key factor in the game was San Ji ' f;oa hatttempts to 38. 7 percent for the Gulls. 37-27 advantage In rebounding ego s ac eam had 37 rebounds. Jerry Kell · In another West Coast game Kevin Y scored 22 points and Magee scored 34 points and grabbed eight The game was close in the early stages Drury held a 20·18 advantage after 6:22 of play, but UC Irvine scored 17 of the game's next 21 points to take a 35-24 lead and the Anteaters weren't threatened atter that. It was 55-33 at halftime. Drury wasn't closer than 18 points in the second half. The Anteaters made 71.0 percent of their field goal attempts to 41.6 percent for the Panthers. UC Irvine outrebounded Drury 38-31. rebounds Wednesday night, leading UC Ir- vine to a 107-71 non-conference college bask- etball victory over Drury College of Spring- field, Mo. Randy Whleldon added 23 points for the Anteaters, who raised their record to 11 _1 Magee connected on 14 of his 20 field goai attempts while Whleldon made 10 of his 14 floor shots. Bruce Robbins paced Drury, which fell to 6-4, with 18 points. Elwayne Campbell added 15 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds for the Panthers.

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