Thursday, December 5,. 1991
Hamot Tourney champs, Lions even at 2-2
The Lions of Fred Paulsen
enter Thursday evening's match
up with Fredonia even-up at 2-2,
after falling to Washington &
Jefferson on the road Tuesday,
73-72.
The two losses for the Hamot
Sports Medicine tourney champs
have been by a combined total of
four points.
Paulsen's crew started the year
on a high winning the title of the
second Hamot tourney. ,
The tournament boasted a
loaded field with Walsh, a
perenniaNAlA power, Nazareth,
an ECAC or NCAA tournament
participant every year since 'B4,
and Mt. Union, a member of the
powerful Ohio Athletic
Conference.
Game One of the tournament
set the stage for the entire
weekend as Walsh and Nazareth
battled through overtime before
Nazareth escaped with a 91-90
OT win. Meanwhile, the Lions
preputd for the Purple Raiders of
Mt. Union.
"We were very pleased with the
field before the weekend began,"
head man Paulsen stated. "But
afterwards, we realized how
-
t 4, ,, •
*WA/
Can't touch this: Byron Thorne looks for an open man Up for two: Rob Hunt drives into the lane and puts up a
during the Hamot Classic. Thorne was named MVP with his jumper for two. against Mount Union during the Hamot
24 points. Classic.
competitive the field was. It was
the best show in town."
The Lions topped Mt. Union
65-59 in Game Two to earn .a
slot in the finals.
Senior Rick Clark led the team
with 18 points, followed by
Stephan Respress (14 points),
and Byron Thorne's 11. The
"The positive out of the Allegheny and W & J
contests is that our personnel will begin to handle
the pressure at the end of games. We expect these
teams to help us overall."
difference was at the line where
Behrend outscored Mt. Union 23-
5 from the charity stripe.
Walsh left town. I-I after
winning the consolation prize
over Mt. Union. In the
tournament finals the Lions won
the crown with a heart-stopping
67-66 win over Nazareth.
Bchrend had built a 45-36 lead
at the half thanks to shooting
57% from the floor in the first 20
minutes. In the end the Lions
were led by tourney MVP Byron
Thorne and his 24 points, and
All-Tournament selection Don
Plyler (16 pts).
"The tournament championship
was a great way for us to kick off
the season," Paulsen continued.
"With such a tough field, to go
2-0 and win the title demanded
our team to play great basketball
at both ends."
The Lions visited the
Allegheny Gators just before
Turkey break and fell 74-71 in a
Greg Gcibel/The Collegian
ports
contest they led by as many as 13
with ten minutes left.
Once again the Paulsen club
shot well early, hitting on 56%
of their shots in the first half to
trail by one, 33-32.
Turnovers down the stretch and
a 21 X 29 free throw shooting
slate by the Gators (75% in the
-Fred Paulsen
Lions Head Coach
2nd session), took its toll on the
Lions.
Plylcr was high man with 16
points while dishing out six
assists. Pivotman Rich Buzalka
was next with 13 and a team high
nine boards, while Clark (1 1),
and Scott DeFoggi (10) registered
double figures as well.
Page 11
This past Tuesday the Lions
traveled 1-79 to Washington, PA
to take on the Presidents of
Washington & Jefferson. The
club led with four minutes left to
play 65-64 after a Clark jumper,
but were outscored down the
stretch to fall, 73-72, for their
third straight nail-biter.
"The positive out of the
Allegheny and W & J contests is
that our personnel will begin to
handle the pressure at the end of
games," Paulsen comments.
"These teams are solid teams. We
expect these games to help us
overall"
Rick Clark led the Lions with
20 points on 7 X 16 shooting.
Thorne (13), and Plylcr (10) were
in double figures as well. Buzalka
grabbed a season-high ten boards.
The Lions head to Christmas
break after hosting Fredonia
Thursday at 8 pm, and traveling
to St. Vincent College Saturday.
December 28th finds the Lions
heading east to Western
Connecticut State University for
a holiday tournament.
Greg Cieibel/The Collegian