Highacres Collegian, Feb. 17, 1977 - Page Nine A major improvement in defense has been the key to the success that Highacres Basketball team has experi enced in the last four conf tests. .Defense, or the lack of'consistent play on defense, has been the deterrent that has held the squad back from having success earlier in the year, according to Coach Tom Caccese. "The turning point in the season came, Caccese said, in the Jamuary 22 game with Penn State-Wilkes Barre, which Hazleton won, 86-68. Forward Greg Slusser was high scorer for Hazleton with 26 points, and Center Craig Rebold also was credited with ]4 rehounds. The team played a good overall defense which was to be the case through the rest of the games. The next game was a loss to Keystone Junior College, but had its high points for the Highacres five. Hazleton was only down by seven points at the half, while Greg Slusser set the single game scoring record . with an outstanding 38-point performance. The loss, by a 92—79 score, was a disappoin ting one, but Keystone is ranked number six in small colleges on the East Coast. The next game versus York campus was an exciting one, with Hazleton coming out on top, 72-7 J., on a foul shot by forward Rex Wirick with two seconds leit on the clock. The lead changed hands through out the contest, with the score finally being tied at 67-67. York then went ahead 71-67. && this point Jerry Cann stole the ball and put „ in the shot, only to be fouled in the process. He made good on the three-point play and tied the score once Highacres Basketball Turnaround SPORTS by James Dino again at 71. Wirick was then fouled and put in the winning shot. Before the game York was in third place in the Commonwealth Campus Confer ence with a 6-win, 4-loss record. Greg Slusser was again high scorer with 25 . points, and the good defense continied to show itself in this game. The best game of the year came against Capitol Campus, a four-year branch . campus of Penn State. The Highacres cagers came away with an impressive 74—66 victory. Greg Slusser was high scorer in this game also, scoring 25 points. Craig Rebold played his best game of the year, scoring 14 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Hazleton was down at the half, 35-28, but what Caccese terms "tenacious" defensive play on the part of Hazleton caused Capitol to turn the ball over 21 times, while only turning it over six times themselves. Soph omore guard Jerry Cann stole the ball eight times, and played what Caccese calls, "the best defensive game I have ever seen anyone play." Hazleton outrebounded Capitol 3]-29, another impressive statistic, considering the fact that Capitol had two players at 6'7" and one at 6*6", the three bieng taller than anyone on the Highactes squad. The largest home crowd of the season, approximately 500 people, turned out for the game. As of February 8, High acres has three games left on their schedule; one each against Deleware and Mont Alto in the Commonwealth Campus Conference and one against Wilkes College, a four-year institution. If the squad continues to show the consistent play on de fense to go along with the potent offense, a good out* look for the rest of this season and next season is in order for basketball at High acres. MEW GYM : GETTINC A WORKOUT by John Sengle Throughout the winter term the new Physical Education Building has been used for a variety of intramural activit ies. Men's and women's intramu ral basketball and three bowl ing leagues have used the building. The intramural sports will all come to “.an end at the end of the winter term, and give way to outdoor oriented activities. The men's basketball intra murals are broken ’into two leagues; the Red league and the Blue league, each of which consists of six teams. Each team plays the other teams in the league once. The regular season has ended in both leagues and the number one and two teams from each league will enter the single elimination playoffs. In the Red league the champ ions were the who fin ished with an unbeaten record of 5 wins,, and no losses. They were the only team in both leagues to go unbeaten in the regular season. The second place team in the Red league was Wayne's Raiders with a record of 4 wins and J loss. In the Blue league the number one andtwo teams finished with conti'nuecL on" page 10
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