Sooner, ‘Cat
Aces Threat
ToMeet Mark

BY DON PIERCE
Special Correspondent

Free throw records will be in|
most peril when Big Seven tour-
nament basketball teams hit the
planks of Kansas City’s Munic-
~ gpal Auditorium in their ninth
annual post-Christmas extrava-
ganza, which begins a four-day
run Monday.

This is a logical consequence
of the new bonus rule which
- gives the offended player a sec-
ond free throw chance if he
sinks his first charity off a one-
shot foul. ~~~

Under direct. fire will be the
single tournament, mark of 28
gift flips _ established by Iowa
State’s 6-8 center, Delmar
Diercks, in 1952; the career rec-
ord of 47, erected by another
pivot, Bill Johnson, of Nebraska
over the past three years, and
the single game team ceiling of
36 wrought by Kansas against}
Oklahoma in last year’s finals. |

Oklahoma’s’ senior sharp-|
shooter, Lester Lane, is certain;
to press both individual marks.!
Thru the Sooners’ four pre-meet|
games he is averaging an even
nine charities per start, having
flipped thri 36 of 53 tries. He
needs only to lift. this mean a
fraction to overhaul Diercks’
tournament mark. And since he
already has netted 29 free throws
in three previous tournaments,
he is one of a handful of players
who will take part in their
fourth.meet—he can average con-
siderably. less than 9-per-game
and still topple Johnson’s career
figure,

Simp le ° aehithmetic aheows
that Lane ‘merely meets his
average during tournament
play he will close out with 56
charities for his tourney career,
or nine more than J¢
canned during his €

duty.