FEBRUARY 26, 1987
Collegian
PAGE 8
Cubs qui 1 t noise of tornados
Last home game for Gomiak and Sargent
by Micheal Cifelli
Collegian Staff Writer
Last Wednesday, the Behrend basketball crew took
on Geneva College for what was their final home game
• of the 86-87 season. Fans packed Erie Hail and saw the
Cubs quiet the storm of the Golden Tornado, 77-70.
',Their agressive, fast-paced brand of play gave them
their Bth victory in their last 11 contests.
There was an added highlight to this game: the honor
ing of senior forwards Randy Gorniak and John
Sargent. Gorniak, the leading division 111 rebounder,
canned 20 points and grabbed seven reounds while his
partner, Sargent, was in top form with 12 points and
nine rebounds.
High spirits from a fired up Behrend crowd accom
panied the Cubs from the opening tip-off. A few fans
attended the game with blue, white and red "war paint"
on their faces. A little over two minutes into the game,
point guard Wayne Snyder opened the scoring with a
jump -shot from the corner. A pair of charity tosses by
Sargent and a tip-in by Randy Gorniak gave the Cubs
and early 6-2 lead. The trading off of baskets and leads
for the next five or six minutes settled the two teams in
for a defensive battle. Sophomore guard Mike Moller
opened up the Cub lead with a three-pointer and a
breakaway layup. He followed that up a few minutes
later with his second three-point field goal to give Penn
State-Behrend a 7 point lead. The long distance
marksman lead the way for Behrend in the first half
with four three-point shots.
Dealing the fast break kept Geneva close in the first
stanza, with point guard Tim Dilworth being their
bright spot. The half ended with an intense atmosphere
in the house. In the final seconds, Geneva launched a
toss the length of the court, only to miss the hoop com
pletely and land on the stage in the Blue Band section.
The Cubs took a 39-29 advantage in the locker room.
Moller and Sargent lead the way with 14 and 10 markers
respectively. Behrend out-shot Geneva from the floor
Joe Weed shoots for two
The mens team huddle before the start of the game. By A ndi Elia=
41 3 / 4 to 36°70. while Geneva out-rebounded the Cubs
11-17.
Much of the same intensity continued in the second
half as Behrend took command with a 17-point lead in
the opening. three minutes. Randy Gorniak brought the
Cubs to the fifty point mark when he took to the air for
a breakaway slam. Sargent also gave the crowd what
they wanted as his board-crashing took control in the
home finale.
With 4 minutes left, Geneva fought back to within
four, but that is as close as they got as Gorniak put
down his second dunk of the evening with seventeen
seconds left to bring the energetic Behrend crowd to
their feet. That seemed the appropriate way to finish his
scoring in his last home game.
In a game that had everything from painted faces in
the crowd, slam dunks, nosebleeds, rolls of toilet paper
thrown on the court and a basketball hurled at the Blue
Band, why would one be surprised to see a fight? That
was the case as the benches cleared with six seconds left_
The fight itself was much like a charge on the pitcher's
mound or a hockey brawl. After the smoke cleared and
play resumed. the teams swapped free-throws.. After
sinking one of Behrend's freebies, Sargent left the
court, followed by a series of cheers from the crowd of
Cub faithfuls. The cheers continued after the final
buzzer as Coach Zimmerman's squad continued their
wining surge
The Cubs put four players in double figures with Ran
dy Gorniak leading the way with 20 points. The
backcourt duo of Moller (19 points) and Snyder (18
points), as well as Sargent's 12 points helped Behrend
sustain a balanced offensive attack.
Sargent's presence was felt in rebounding as he led the
way with nine, Randy Gorniak had seven. Guard Joe
Weed was the big playmaker with 11 assists.
The win improved the squad's record to 11-13 on the
season. It :st.tc.rns that basketball opponents end up on
the losing side when they step in the "Cub's Den" at
Behrend.
Gene Gorniak is fouled as he goes up against a defender.
Gary Zang drives baseline for two
Wayne Snyder drives past a Bearcat.
sports