The Collegian Wednesday, February 8
Sports
The . HCAvis
The-Team of the 90's'
Arrives a Year Early
by Michae A. Cife iti
Collegian Staff Writer
When the L.A. Laker's Magic
Johnson declared in Sports
Illustrated last year that the
Cleveland Cavaliers, "are the
team of the 9O's,"•inany probably
thought that Johnson had led one
too many fast breaks. If anyone
predicted, that Cleveland would
own the NBA's best record at the
All-Star break, they were most
hicely laughed at. The fact is that
the- upstart Cavaliers undet Coach
Lenny Wilkens own the NBA's
best record of (get. ready), 34-10,
to lead the preseason favorite
Detroit Pistons and the rest of the
rough - and - tumble Central
The Cays have traditionally
been a cellar-dweller up until last
season when they finished 42-40
and earned a spot in the Fasten
Conference playoffs. The
"Cadavers" of years past suffered
through miserable seasons during
the days of stars - I*e World B.
Free, Roy Hinson, Campy
Russell and Mike MitchelL At
this "point, attendance at the
Richfield Coliseum was so low,
Cleveland owners considered
folding. Those days have long
since gone and the Coliseum and
the rest of Cleveland are at a fever
pitch over their rising Cavaliers.
What have they done up on
the North Coast? It started when
General Manager Wayne Embry
and Wilkens, came to Cleveland:
Embry helped ,make wholesale
changes giving Wilkens - a
former Cavalier standout himself
- a harvest of talent from the
1986 draft. Cleveland had the first
and seventh picks of the lottery
and came away with North
Carolina star center Brad
Daugherty and a flashy shooting
guard by the name of Ron Harper
from Miami, Ohio. With a pick
from Dallas in the second round,
they picked up point guard Mark'
Price from Georgia Tech and
Rookie John "Hot Rod"
Williams of Tulane joined the
Cays (after being cleared of
courtroom complications) to
form the nucleus of Cleveland's
future.
After stumbling through a 31-
51 "rookie" season, the Cav's
youth, movement began to' pay
off. The final piece of the puzzle
came in a surprise overnight trade
with the Phoenix Sims midway
through last season. Cleveland
sent Tyrone Corbin, Mark West
and rookie Kevin Johnson to the
Suns for veteran star forward:
Larry Nance and. teammate
Michael Sandera. The Can' went
On. to take "Al?' Jordan aid - ,the
Chicago Buns, to the. final game
fruising iil ga ie series
before bowing out of the 87-88
playoffs. Cleveland had begun to
make noise in the East.
That noise level increased this
year when the Cays won all eight
of their preseason contests and
proceeded to roar through the first
three months of their schedule,
including a club record 11-game
winning streak. There are a
number of reasons for the Cays
current success. Fast, they play
consistent basketball at. home and
on the road. They are a terror at
the Coliseum with a 20-2 record,
and are more than adequate when
'they travel, at 14-8.
Secondly, Cleveland possesses
the best team defense in the
league, holding their opponents
under 100 points in over 50% of
their games. A third reason is
that their young talent have
matured into big league players.
The Cays field a balanced
attack. They share points, help
each other out in their rotating
defense, pass with unselfishness
and press constantly. These are
the key ingredients in Wilkens'
recipe for silencing doubters and
winning basketball games. To
make. Wilkens' strategy work,
several players must blend, their
individual specialties.
Daugherty, their 71." center,
is Cleveland's best pure passer
and averages 19.4 points and nine
rebounds per game. The
Jordanesque Harper, deft in moves
down the lane and in
dunks, is their best penetrator and
scorer (19.5 ppg). Nance is their
top shot-blocker, post-up scorer
and their veteran leader, averaging
183 points at the small forward
spot. Price, the play-maker,
averages nine assists and 18.7
points as their marksman/from
the outside. Williams plays a
solid sixth-man role, combining
scoring (11 ppg) with shot
blocking.
The Cleveland bench has
depth and provides a defensive
punch, lead by ,Craig Ehlo,
Darnell - Valentine, Chris Dudley
and rookie Randolph Keys. As a
whole, the team specializes in
thievery, with an. average of over
10 steals and seven blocks a
game.
It's no joke, the Cays have
arrived. Wilkens has taught his
young, players the art of
team weak, which they
demonstrate regularly with plenty
of passing and double figure
scaring. Best yet, they appear to
be 'a highly Motivated and tight
knit squad that continues to get
better with . each•, game. 'Willi a
hyped-up ColiSeum crowd to
back them, the Cavaliers will be
tough dueling partners . ' come
Lady Lions 6-13
by John Musser
Collegian Staff Writer
The Lady Knights of Gannon
made their last visit to The Pit' a
long night for the Lady Lions, as
they ran away with a 99-54
victory. The Lady Lions
rebounded on the road by
dismantling Elmira College 65-
46 and then crushed Brockport
81-42.
On Wednesday night, Gannon
used their full court pressure
defense to disrupt the Lady
Lions offense. Unable to get on
track, Behrend committed 32
turnovers in the game.
The Lady Lions stayed close
in the early goings of the game,
and even managed to have a two
point lead four minutes into the
game.
The lead was to be the last
one for the Lady Lions, as
Gannon took control of the game
by converting Behrend turnovers
into easy buckets.. Gannon ran off
to the locker room at the half
with a comfortable 56-24 lead.
The fortunes of the Lady
Lions were not much better in
the second half, as the Lady
Knights continued to build up
their lead. The Lady Lions,
despite the large deficit, continued
to hustle and play hard.
The final score was 99-54,
leaving the Lady Lions at 5-13
while Gannon improved to 11-7.
Gannon shot 56 percent from the
field and a sizzling 94 percent at
the foul line. The lady Lions field
goal percentage was 37, while
netting 56 percent at the charity
stripe.
Heather Murray played a solid
game, pounding in 11 points and
grabbing 11 rebounds. Lisa Butch
also had 11 points, plus three
assists and six steals.
Michele Madison had 10
points and six boards. Melanie
Dunn chipped in nine markers
while pulling down seven
rebounds.
Chris Zukowski lead six Lady
Knights in double figures with
20 points.
A comforting postgame
thought, the Lady Lions will not
be playing Gannon again for
many years, as their game
contract has not been renewed.
The Lady Lions vented their
frustrations on the Elmira
Soaring Eagles, upping their
record to 6-13 while dropping
Elmira's to 2-17.
Both teams came out cold, as
the Lady Lions committed 17
first half turnovers, while Elmira
misfired on 28 of their first 34
attempts from the field.
The Lady Lions had an easier
time shooting the ball, canning
11 of their first 25 shots, taking
the first half lead, 29-21.
In the second half, the Lady
Lions calmed down and went to
work. The lead stretched to
double digits and beyond as. the
Lady Lions dominated the boards,
51-35, for the ganie.
Elmira converted only seven
field goals in .the second half as
the Lady Lions pumped in 17 to
coast to a 65-46 win. Elniira kept
the score more respectable with
good foul shooting, nailing 20 of
26.
Heather Murray grabbed seven
boards and shot 70 percent from
the floor in addition to her game
and career high 17 points.
Michele Madison garnered 14
points, pulled down 10 rebounds,
dished out four assists, and
swiped five steals in another
strong performance.
Lisa Butch had a steady 12
points, ripped down 10 boards,
served up three assists, and
collected three steals.
Melanie Dunn and Lisa
Dorenkamp both added nine
points. Dunn also had eight
rebounds and three assists while
Dorenkamp snared five boards and
assisted on six buckets.
On Monday, the Lady Lions
roared to a 39-point demolishing
of SUNY-Brockport. -
The Lady Lions started slow,
but eventually took the lead at
the 9:38 mark on a Madison
layup. The lead grew to eight by
halftime with the score 36-28.
The Lady Lions showed no
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mercy in the second half,
outscoring Brockport 45-14.
Michele Madison tossed in a
game high 23 points and hauled
down nine boards as the Lady
Lions raised their record to 7-13.
Brockport fell to 9-9.
Lisa Dorenkamp added 10
markers, with Tammy Altsman
and Michele Beisler both
chipping in with eight. Beisler
muscled her way to nine boards
and Melanie Dunn cleared seven.
Lisa Butch was the story of
the night, however, as she joined
Sue Holmes, Missy Stasenko and
Mindy Stasenko in the Behrend
1000 point club. Holmes is the
all-time point leader with 1104.
In addition to attaining this
career milestone, Butch was also
named to the weekly ECAC
Honor Roll last week for her
outstanding play.
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