University Daily Kansan Monday, March 10, 1955
Jayhawkers Dump Wildcats 78 To61
Brilliant Defense Cuts State Scoring
By JACKIE JONES
BY JACKIE JONES
Daily Kansan Sports Editor
The Kansas Jayhawkers moved to within a single game of the Big Seven basketball crown and a bid to the NCAA tournament Saturday night, as they turned in a brilliant 78 to 61 victory over the Kansas State Wildcats. ?
The KU team took over the lead after one minute of action and never relented its drive. Sharp defense, and a hard driving offense gave the Jayhawkers a weapon which was too much for the overwhelmed K-Staters.
Four thousand screaming fans watched Kansas take an 18 to 13 lead at the end of the first quarter, at the half it was 42 to 29, and as the final stanza got under way the Jayhawkers led 64 to 48.
In conference games, the All-American has scored 295 points, for a new high in Big Seven point totals. His average in league competition is 26.8, highest in the history of the conference.
Clyde Lovellette was again the star of the show, as the big center sank 33 points. He has now scored 613 points in 23 games, for an average of 26.7.
The Jayhawk defense was at its season best, with team members grabbing Wildcat passes and stealing the ball on numerous occasions. Charlie Hoag and Dean Kelley were outstanding at breaking up the K-State plays.
The Wildcats were able to score only three goals from the field in the first quarter, and only five in the second.
Previously the cage crew from Manhattan had been moving at a 74 point average per game, but they were slowed considerably by the Kansas pressing defense.
Eill Hougland, John Keller, and Lovellette consistently cleared the boards for KU. Lovellette topped the defensive and four defensive rebounds.
In the third quarter the Jaya-
hawkers built up their lead past the
twenty point mark. Early in the
fourth period, Kenney hit a free throw to make the count 74 to 50,
the largest lead of the night.
The Wildcats made a dying effort to narrow the gap in the closing
minutes, but had to settle for a 17 point spread. This was the exact margin between the scores when Kansas lost at Manhattan earlier this season.
The victory gave Kansas the best two out of three games with the Wildcats this year. Coach F. C. "Phog" Allen and Jack Gardner are now even in the standings against each other with ten victories.
Box Score
Kansas State (61) G FT F
Gibson 1 2 5
Peck 0 0 0
Prisock 1 2 5
Smith 1 0 0
Carby 5 0 4
Knostman 5 8 4
Iverson 1 1 2
Rousey 0 4 3
Peterson 0 0 3
Stauffer 2 1 2
Upson 0 1 3
Wilson 4 2 3
Totals...20 21 34
Kansas (78) G FT F
Davenport 1 0 1
Keller 1 4 3
Kenney 2 6 3
Lienhard 1 0 3
Born 1 0 5
Lovellette 13 7 5
Heitholt 0 0 0
Hoag 4 1 4
Hougland 3 1 5
D. Kelley 3 1 4
Totals ... 29 20 33
The Score by Quarters
Kansas State ... 13 16 19 19-61
Kansas ... 18 24 22 14-78
Free throws missed: Kansas State:
Peck, Prisock, Knostman 2, Rousey,
Stauffer. Kansas: Kenney 4, Born 2,
Malette. Heitholt, Hoag D. Kelley 3.
Officials: Cliff Ogden, Cornie Collins.
CLYDE AND PHOG—All-American center embraces Coach F. C.
"Phog" Allen after the Kansas win over K-State—Kansan photo
by Jim Murray.
KELLEY HITS A JUMP SHOT—Dean Kelley, KU's junior guard, hits a long shot from outside over the head of Hoot Gibson of K-State. Gene Stauffer (32) misses with his block, and John Keller (20) gets set for the rebound. Kansan photo by Jim Murray.
Weather Conditions Halt Football Practice
Spring football practice will begin as soon as weather conditions permit, Head Coach J. V. Sikes said today.
Sikes said that when practice does open one of the primary aims of the drills will be to develop enough men to fill out two teams of two-way football players.
The platoon system will not be abandoned. Experimentation during the spring may cut out the idea. But the Jayhawkcoaching staff is preparing the idea for a 20-day trial.
Sikes said that the Jayhawks may be "more efficient" next fall if some men who can maintain a high standard of play on both defense and offense can be developed.
Sooners Win Swim Crown
"There are positions where an injury or two can make a big difference on certain Saturdays," the Jayhawker coach said. "Then there are
Bob Brown of Iowa State splashed to a new 100-year freestyle record with a :52.6 qualifying heat. The old record was :53.8.
Oklahoma's Sooners are the new Big Seven conference swimming champions, winning the two-day meet with a 141-point effort at Lincoln. Neb. Saturday night
Kansas' scoring was done by Mahlon Ball with a sixth in the 100-yard freestyle event, Bob Wellborn with a fifth in the three meter fancy diving event and Dick Efflin with a sixth in the 150-yard individual medley race.
Iowa State's defending champions placed second in the meet with 131 points and Colorado had 40. Kansas and Colorado trailed 20 points each in the final standings.
Graham Johnston, British Empire 1,500 meters champ, who is enrolled as a freshman at Oklahoma, battered the existing Big Seven 440-yard freestyle mark by 10 seconds in winning the event in 4:46. He will swim for his homeland, South Africa, in the Olympic games.
New conference records were set in each individual event and-the 300-yard medley relay.
some boys we want to play all we can against certain teams."
A nucleus of four men is all Sikes will have. These four—tackle George Mrkonie, halfbacks Charlie Hoag and John Konek, and fullback Galen Fiss—have played both defense and offense to some extent over the past two seasons.
Konek was an established defensive regular last season and shouldered some of the offensive duties behind Bob Brandeberry.
Mrkonic played offensive guard and defensive tackle as a sophomore two years ago. This year he is scheduled for some two-way duty, all at tackle.
Hoag saw most of his double service as a sophomore, running at left half offensively and covering safety on defense.
Fiss has been a varsity linebacker for two years.
Illinois Game Bid Refused By KU
Jayhawker basketball Coach Forrest C. "Phog" Allen said today he turned down a feeler by the University of Illinois, Big Ten basketball champions and an NCAA tourney entry, for a post-season warmup game between the Illini and the Kansas' Big Seven leaders.
Allen said he turned down a telephoned invitation Wednesday to pit the Jayhawks against the Illini in a practice game at Urbana.
"We play Colorado tonight and we're not worrying about warmup games now. We're not talking about any games until we play that one. We play them one at a time," the veteran coach said.
Before going to the NCAA finals last year, Kansas State whipped Illinois in a warmup tilt.
Barring an Oklahoma victory over Kansas State Monday night, the Jayhawkers must defeat the unpredictable Buffs to win clear title to the Big Seven crown and an automatic NCAA berth.
Three Olympic EventsAdded To Kansas Relays Program
The twenty-seventh annual Kansas relays which are scheduled for April 18 and 19 will have three added events as is the pattern in Olympic years. ___
The three quadrennial additions include the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, the hop-step-jump, and the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
This will be the third time that these events have appeared on the program, having been inaugurated in the Olympic year of 1936 and repeated in 1948.
The Glenn Cunningham mile will be switched to the metric distance of 1,500 as is the custom here every fourth year. The decathlon will be retained in its annual form.
This event is important since it will afford national aspirants one of their few competitive stages prior to the final Olympic trials.
This year's field should draw ten of the top men in the nation. Herb
Falkenberg of Trinity college won the affair last year at 6.519 points. Dean Pryor, Fredonia, Kan., placed fourth for Arkansas, and is expected to be back this year.
Kansas will present at least one solid entry in the 400-meter hurdles, in Captain Bob DeVinney, who recently ran third and second in both 60-yard flights at the Big Seven indoor meet in Kansas City.
The Big Seven should present several strong competitors in the hop-step-jump. There are five broad-jumpers who have cleared 23 feet in the indoor season. These include Veryl Switzer, Kansas State; Glenn Beerline and Irving Thode of Nebraska, and Quanah Cox and Neville Price of Oklahoma.