this is not | always the case. March 4, 1993 — LION'S EYE — Page 7 SPO RTS Hoopsters Finish Undefeated But Lose to Ogontz in Playoffs By Mike Jamison It was evident everywhere. You could see it in people's eyes. You could hear it in the way they talked. The halls overflowed with pronouncements. Electricity was in . the air. Penn State Delaware County finally had itself a potential championship basketball team. At the dawn of the season no one, not the coaches, not the players, not the fans, could have imagined such an outcome. “I knew our team would be good, but not this GOOD!” one fan exclaimed, mirroring the ‘reaction of many, both player and spectator. Who knew, way back in the autumn splendor of November, that the PSU Delco basketball team would have, nay, COULD HAVE, such a season. It reads like a fairy tale, or some two-bit Hollywood movie script: 24 and 0, an undefeated regular season and then the crushing blow of being defeated by Ogontz in the playoff game, never making it to the championship at University Park. Still, they were heroes to this campus. “This is the best team we've ever had!” beamed Tiz Griffith, grinning from ear to ear. “Without the support of our fans, the outstanding coaching staff, and our talented players, we would not be where we are today.” | The coaching staff, which February 23 game. Andy Stritzinger gains Delco 2 more points in this foul shot during the consists of Head Coach Bill Wiley and Assistant Coach Lou Tosti, shares Ms. Griffiths’ sentiments: “Our guys have been great this year. They deserve this.” Traditionally modest, as coaches are apt to be, Wiley has sung the praises of his team all year, never taking the credit he deserves. The guys in the spotlight, the guys who have made it happen, they are the ones who take the credit, and rightly so. The names will be forever etched in PSU Delco history: Lindsay, Reichard, Stritzinger, Justice, Danzi, McTague, Meyer, Koperna, Shia, Perry, Beaver, Duffy and Jordan. This may very well be the honor roll, the team by which all other teams will be judged. These few men will always carry with them the pride of perhaps the greatest season in PSU Delco basketball history. So now the courts are bare. The hoops are folded and put away. The basketballs are stuffed in closets, only to be brought out for quick, unorganized pick-up games. But the ghosts still remain. The spectral roar of the crowd, the supernatural whoosh of the basket. These ghosts will haunt these halls forever. The ghosts of a team yet to be matched by any other. The 1992-93 Penn State Delaware County Basketball Team. The ghosts will be hard exorcise from our memories and our hearts. Photo by: WES TOMLINSON Happy Valley Diary . (Continued from Page 5) constantly. They were nuts. But ‘they made me feel at home, probably because I don't play with a full deck either. It got. to the point where they would ask my opinion on this guy or that guy because they knew I would be brutally hon est. They might have | appreciated that. Why lie? I'm afraid I may be | misleading some of y 110 Everybody in my house got along great, but, of course, ‘I had other roommates at college before the girls, when I lived in the dorms, but they were SO banal and forgettable that I won't even’ ‘waste my time. I knew roomates who, had they existed i in a more primitive time and place, would surely have killed one another. My girlfriend and her roommates were always at one- | closest. friends. another’s throats, breaking windows, putting holes in walls. I've seen a bottle smashed over somebody’: s head because they ate Chinese take-out that wasn’t theirs. I saw ‘a girl put her roommate’s cat in a microwave and tum it on, just because it peed on her bed. I watched best friends fight like hounds over the stupidest things and destroy solid relationships. There are back-stabbers and brown- nosers among us all, and sometimes you need to live with somebody ol “before you realize their nature. ‘But don’t fear ‘your future college roommates. If you're lucky, they will grow, during these craziest years of your life, to become your drink their beer. They are, after all, “only ISRpoiEry. Selah... If things aren't ‘working out, eat their food and Delco’s fabulous basketball team show team spirit after one of many winning games. Photo by: WES TOMLINSON Team Tromps Ogontz And Berks On Way To Playoffs By Wes Tomlinson No basketball team in Penn State history at any campus has ever gone a complete season without a loss. That is, until now. Penn State Delco Campus Men’s basketball team has racked up 25 straight wins without a loss. The team won all of its 24 regular season games. Last Tuesday night, they made it 25 straight in winning the first of their games in the Eastern Regional playoffs. In Tuesday night's game against Penn State Hazleton the Delco Lions led 42-33 at the half and never looked back, winning the game 90-66. Dave Meyer, a Devon Prep grad, led the scoring with 18 points, followed by Mike Jordan, also from Devon Prep, with 16. Mark Lindsay from Malvern Prep scored 15, Andy Stritzinger from Sun Valley had 13 , while Geoff Beaver from Cardinal O'Hara and Breyon Justice from Chichester each hit 12. Bryon Shia from Owen J. Roberts added 4. Greg Reichard, Brian , McTamte, Mike Koperna, Craig Perry, and Rob Duffy added their defensive strength at critical times when they were hecded. Head coach Bill Wiley, Asst. coach Lou Tosti and athletic Director Tiz Griffith received praise from many for directing the outstanding performance of the undefeated team. Without them, it could not have happened. Last Saturday afternoon, the Delco Hoopsters finished their regular season scoring their twenty- fourth win against a strong Penn State Berks team with a 72-59 victory. Coach Bill Wiley said at the conclusion of the game, “I am really proud of this team; they play very well both offensively and defensively. (They blocked 12 shots under the basket, had eight steals and 24 rebounds). This is a dream team that very few coaches ever see in their lifetime.” The final of the Eastern Regional playoffs was scheduled against Penn State Ogontz on Friday, February 26, at a neutral location. Forward Mark Lindsay said: “ We should be able to take them because we beat Ogontz by over 25 points in the regular season.’ The winner heads to University Park to play the Western Regional « . winner for the Penn State Commonwealth Campus Championship. oy Delco students support their outstanding. basketball team. Photo by: WES TOMLINSON
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