sports Lion's Achieving Record Performances by Darrell Freund Collegian Staff Writer The beginning of the new semes ter brought the second half of the Behrend men's basketball season. Upon returning from their three week recess, the team immediately went into action. The first opponent was St. Vincent who gave the Lions a rude awakening. ' "We were hoping to get out of the chute early," commented Coach Zimmerman. The Lions were ob viously caught with their tails bet ween their legs, and suffered a 66- 52 defeat. Shooting a disappointing 18 of 55 from the floor (33 percent), the Lions were overwhelmed by St. Vincent's 27 of 57 from the floor (47 percent).Senior Gary Zang returned from the winter break con tributing 22 points in the losing cause. Junior Gene Gomiak led the team in rebounds with 2 offensive boards and 4 defensive boards. The following game against Oberlin saw the Lions improve their total point production by 26. ' However, Behrend's 78 points fell . 18 shy of Oberlin's impressive total. Gary Zang led the Lions with 25 points, he also had six assists, three steal% and two blocked shots. Zang, along with teamate Mike Jenkins, also shot 100 percent from the free throw line, hitting seven out of seven. Jenkins went four for four from the line giving him a total of 13 points. Six-foot seven-inch Junior for ward Gene Gorniak missed the game with a leg injury. Fortunately for this year's team, injuries have not inhibited the Lions' chances The Zang Gang, a strange collection of Behrend students who wear layers of make-up and cheer wildly for one of the Lion's star players. To see this star in action, see picture above. A Reason for Retirement by Rick Cain Assistant Collegian Sports Editor One lone man walks towards the ring, without a glamourous en tourage, or a flamboyant robe, only carrying a championship belt from each of the three major boxing as sociations. He steps into the ring with a look of determination, the look of a winner. His name is Mike 'Tyson. Tyson, at the age of 21, is the youngest unified Heavyweight champion in history. He carries a record of 32-0, 28 by knockout, 16 in the first round. It is just after 10:00 pm, on Friday, Jan. 22. Tonight's challenger, 38 year old former champion Larry Holmes, who is trying to make one more comeback. Holmes, the man who owned a championship belt for more than seven years, the man whom Mike Tyson admired and looked up to as a kid. The fighters are introduced. The rules are - stated. The opening bell sounds and the fight begins. Round one, both fighters ad vance slowly. Tyson backs Holmes up with a few testing jabs. No damage is inflicted but respect is toward a successful season. "In juries to players hasn't hurt us," stated Coach Zimmerman. "However, since the break, Joe Weed had knee surgery along with guard Jim Webb," added Coach Zimmerman. On January 19, the Lions went on to defeat Brockport by a score of 94-70. Zang led the team with 30 points, six steals, and five blocks. Freshman Rick Demski, with an outstanding contribution •to the team effort, shot 79 percent from the field. His 24 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists gave the team a big boost. Gorniak returned to contribute 10 points and eight rebounds. "Production is a key word. Production from everyone. Every game is important. There is no such thing as one game weighing more than another. They all count as either a win or a loss. I'm just trying to tell my players that they should be out to prove their talents and abilities every time they take the court," stated Coach Zimmer man. It was obvious that up until the Brockport game, Gary Zang was the team leader and big asset. Coach Zimmerman's statement was probably similar to what he said to his team. He wanted total team par ticipation. Coach Zimmerman must have pondered this question. If Zang got hurt, what would Behrend do? The next game, an 88 to 73 vic tory against Fredonia, saw many players taking an active role. Zang had 15 points. Jenkins (11 pts.), definitely gained. Tyson attacks again, causing Holmes to clutch the champion. The round continues in this manner with Holmes landing a mere three punches. Round one is awarded to Mike Tyson. Round two, Tyson continues to force Holmes to retreat. Holmes is able to land a few, uneffective jabs. Both fighters throw big punches but miss: Round two is awarded to Mike Tyson. Round three, the action begns to pick up late. The fighters stand toe to toe until the end of the round. Both fighters land big punches as the bell sounds and they have to be seperated. Round three is awarded to Mikc Tyson. Round four, toe to toe action resumes. Tyson lands a big right to the head and Holmes goes down. A count of seven and Holmes is standing, but shaky. Fighting con tinues and Tyson lands a combina tion of shots to the head sending Holmes to the floor again. A shorter count and Holmes is standing again, but looks dazed. Tyson Baughman (12 pts.), Snyder (11 pts.) and Demski (10 pts.) all played solidly. Such an all-around effort was missing in previous games. Gene Gomiak helped the team with 17 points. He was also seven for seven from the free throw line. • On January 16, the Lions lost a close game to Grove City by the score of 64-62. Zang with 24 points, and Gorniak with 14 points, led the team in scoring. Jenkins (three assists), Baughman (three as sists, two steals, and two blocks), and Snyder (five assists) managed to contribute 14 points amongs themselves, but it wasn't enough. In a January 20 release, Gary Zang was named to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division 111 South Honor Poll. His two 20-plus point perfor mances last week caused him to beat out some tough opponents trying for the same title. Zang had 47 points, shooting 16 of 27 from the floor. He also had 19 rebonds, 10 assists, seven steals, and five blocked shots. It was also an nounced that teammate Gene Gor niak was ranked ninth in Division 111 rebounding. In the most recent issue of NCAA NEWS, Gorniak was listed as having 11 points per game and 12 rebounds per game. Both players are vital to the success of Behrend's Basketball program. However, Gomiak and Zang would never be able to receive such honors without the unselfish and dedicated play of the whole team. The entire team deserves the awards those players have received. photo by Marybeth Zawistoski moves in for the kill. A flurry of punches is thrown and Holmes is down again, this time for good. Mike Tyson remains the und isputed Heavyweight Champion of the World. In a mere 15 minutes, his record improves to 33-0. In a mere 15 minutes, the once great Larry Holmes ( and all who watched ) are convinced that he should never fight again. SUN YOUR BUNS 1988 TANNING PRICES 10-20 MINUTE SESSIONS.. 20-20 MINUTE SESSIONS.. 3 MONTH MEMBERSHIP... (come every day if you wish) Each Extra 5 Minutes $1.50 !! ON BUS ROUTE NO. 1 !! Indoor Tanning Center 898-0180 2648 Buffett,' V., Bird Drive, Erie, TA (right)Gary Zang lays one up against Mercyhurst on Jan. 25. The Lion's played the Lakers tough, but lost 82-80. Gene Gorniak was the Lion's leading scorer and rebounder with 22 points and 23 rebounds. Zang ad ded 16 points and is ranked third in free throw percentage in the latest issue of NCAA NEWS Div.'''. photo by Marybeth Zawistoski 1987 Sports In Review by Jack Grow Collegian Staff Writer Officially the sports year started on January 1, 1987, but it was January 2 that will be remembered bi - Nitlany Lion fans. The national championship was decided at the Fiesta Bowl with the number one ranked University of Miami taking on number two ranked Penn State. In Penn State's 100th year of in tercollegiate football a national championship was secured with a 14-10 upset victory over the Hur ricanes. This started the year off right and throughout the year up sets were in store for the fans of many sports. Professional football crowned a new champion in 1987 when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos 39-20 in the Super Bowl. The story of the 'B7 season, however, was the second NFL player's Union strike in five years. Unlike the previous strike, football continued to be played without the strikers. Replacement players were hired by the owners in order to salvage some profit without the regular players. These replacement players were soon labeled 'scabs' and they began to show how good the striking players were, or how really bad N.F.L. football could be when not played by professionals. These joke games weren't so funny when it was found out they would actually count in the final standings. In the end, the owner's won as they did in the first strike. Because of this, the issue of free agency in football remains as in question as it was before the strike. The 1987 NCAA College Bas ketball Tournament could not have been better. The Final Four consis ted of two Big East teams, Syracuse and Providence with I.J.N.L.V. and Indiana. The surprise warn was Providence who throughout the tournament refused to get beat, only the powerful and talented Syracuse Orangemen found a way to beat the Friars. U.N.L.V. raced through the regular season only to be defeated by In diana in the Final Four. The cham pionship game was a thrilling one point victory for Indiana as Keith Haircutters Salon & Smart of the Hoosiers hit a jumper with six seconds remaining to seal the victory over Syracuse. In the N.8.A., two familiar teams dominated the regular season and the playoffs. The Boston Cel tics and Los Angeles Lakers roared to the two best records in the league. The world champion Cel tics eventually relinquished their ti tle to the Lakers in a hard fought six game series. Game four in Bos ton was the turning point for the Lakcrs when Magic Johnson's short hook shot gave L.A. a key one point victory. The series was decided in L.A., where the injury plagued Celtics could not keep pace with the Lakers. The World Series was probably one of the wildest ever played. The Minnesota Twins were a 95-1 un derdog to win the championship at the beginning of the season. The Twins won the American League Western Division with a 85-77 record, and although they had the best home record in the league, they also had the worst record on the road compiling a 29-52 mark. But once the playoffs started, the Twins became unbeatable. They raced to the A.L. pennant and met the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. The Cardinals had won the Na tional League East, and although missing their only true slugger in Jack Clark, they seemed to be the favorite to win the series. That was before they were introduced to the `Homer Dome'. The Hubert Hum phery Metrodome and the Twins ability to always win there proved to be the key to the championship going to Minnesota. Before the celebrations began in Minneapolis, Penn-State Behrend had reason to cheer. In game six, our own Tom Lawless became a World Series hero with his game winning three-run homer, which proved to be one of the last hurrahs for St. Louis as they lost game seven and the series. The home field advantage at the Metrodome carried the Twins to one of the bio Be a part of the Pride.. THE Lion's PRIDE THE YEARBOOK NEEDS A FACULTY ADVISOR VOLUNTEERS ARE ENCOURAGED. CALL EXT. 6221 OR I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN. ...$lBO ~«~. Collegian Page 9 gest upsets of 1987. In possibly one of the greatest upsets of all time, Sugar Ray Leonard beat the odds and defeated Marvelous Marvin Hagler to cap ture the World Middleweight title. Leonard's determination to beat Hagler became clear when he made his unprecedented comeback to fight a champion many considered to be in his prime. Leonard totally dictated the way the match was fought. He frustrated Hagler and used the whole ring and Hagler never got a clean shot at Sugar - Ray. Whenever Leonard appeared to be trapped, he counterpunched his way out of trouble. Prfessional boxing got it's act together in 1987, as the heavy weight title was finally unified. For the last few years the title was divided into three parts, the W.8.C., the W.8.A., and the 1.8. F.; all with their own champions. The three boxing associations had one true champion in August when Mike Tyson won a unanimous 12 round decision over Tony Tucker. Tucker, the former I.S.F. cham pion, lost his title to "Iron Mike", who many believe to be the next great world champion for many years. The only knock on Tyson, 32-0, 27 knockouts, was that he would never be a true boxer, just a street brawler. Many critics said that a fighter with good lateral movement and a strong jab would be a match for Tyson. Tyson put these and other criticisms to rest when he scored a TKO against Olympic Gold Medal winner Tyrell Biggs. Tyson toyed with Biggs in the first few rounds before sending him to the canvas in the seventh. Tyson has established himself to be the boxing great of the present, but the true test of any champion is the ability to stay on top of all competition. Professional hockey's Stanley Cup Championship Series boiled
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