Narrow Loss to C. O. P.

®» Only a double-overtime loss to}
College of Pacific in Berkeley}
Jast Friday separates Cal from)
an undefeated season also. The
"Bears fell, 77-84, in that one,
then rebounded Saturday to
whack St. Mary’s, 64-51. Earlier
they had beaten Oregon State
-and Oregon on the road, an im

pressive double. |
\,.C. U.’s test must be met on|
three fronts: (1) Playing a
P. C. C. team on its home court}
long has been regarded as one}
of the most wicked assignments}
in college basketball; (2) Cal!
is ranked in a class with U. C.|
L. A., which is undefeated: in

dts first three games, including.
' “an 86-57 manhandling of Kansas
State; (3) in 6-7, 220-pound Bob}
McKeen, the Bears will mount|
a fine match for Burdette Hal-|
‘dorson, the Buffs’ 6-7 senior}
pivot and defending conference
scoring champion.

Two years ago McKeen was
a second-string all-American as
a sophomore, scoring 234 points
in Southern division play, the
most ever notched by a second-
year hand and the third highest
of all-time in the lower bracket
of the P. C. C.’s double-front.
His 457 points that season gave
him co-ownership of the schooi
single-season record.

Near Luisetti’s Mark.

Last year the huge pivot hit
‘437 points in 27 gamies to run his
three-season total . . . he was eli-
gible for varsity play as a fresh-
‘man... to 1,179 points. He'll
‘open the. conference season with
543 tallies, only 69 lengths re-
‘moved from Hank Luisetti’s all-
time record.
_ In Bob Blake, 6-2 junior for-
ward, and Larry Friend, 6-4%
‘sophomore guard, McKeen
‘boasts two’capable aides who are
traveling among the top scorers
in composite individaul scoring
of tournament teams (see table
below).
_ Another item that projects this}
‘series as the week end’s top fea-|
‘ture, of course, is the fact that}
‘Cal is this year’s tourney guest}
‘team. If it sweeps both ends of}
‘the Colorado set, or even earns}
“a split, it can be classed as good]
‘enough to reach the finals in Mu-
-nicipal Auditorium December 30.
The ninth annual affair opens a
4-day run Decenfber 27.

The doubleheader at Berkeley

 

play. Kansas also will recess
‘after standing against Rice Fri-
day and Saturday in Lawrence.

Missouri, meanwhile, has
‘wiped out any lingering doubts
that it merits not only the tourna-
‘ment favorite’s role, but No. 1
pe for the league race as
well. y 4