6 Tuesday, December 7, 1876 University Daily Kansan Strong second half carries KU to victory By STEVE SCHOENFELD Sports Editor For 20 minutes KU played tough zone offense, hit the boards hard and took good shot. Sounds as if they must have been smothering real Roberts University atal. Wrong. Kansas led by only two. 34-32. But only for one half, KU regained its touch, shooting 57.1 per cent from then on Someone must have put a lid over the basket. The hoop must have shrunk. The cylinder must not have been round. The Jawhaws couldn't bake a 'luck' Paul Mokeski and rolled past the powerful Titans, 79-69, last night at Allen Field House. The Jayhawks got cooking with 12 minutes left in the game and by the time the fire went out they had scored 13 unanswered turns to turn a slim 47-45 lead to a 60-45 loss. That's what the 11,100 fans had been waiting for all night, they had seen KU do so. "Had we shot well we'd have blown them off the court," it the half said forward Herb Nobles, who pumped in 14 points. "I don't know what we shot, but it couldn't have been." Forty-two per cent, Herb. KU coach Ted Owens thinks he knows why. "We were getting the good shots in the first half," Owens said. "But we weren't penetrating. And we were a little concerned with their shot blocking ability." The KU players were frustrated at halftime. But they kept shooting. "We had to," said guard Clint Johnson, who led the Jayhawks with 17 points, hitting eight of 13 from the field. "They had to start playing at home." They had to without two or three guys getting hot." The shots did start to fall. But ironically the Jahayhaws did not get hot until center Paul Mokkei gave his fourth shot with 12:29 of lead. Wescott decided to leave Mokkei in the game. "I had to go with Paul at that point," Owens said. "The ballgame was going to be win in the next three or four minutes and then hit it back home, and then but him out in hell, he'll be cold." Nobles started the Jayhawks' charge with a jumper. Then he hit another one from 12 feet. Donnie Von Moore then missed a lay-ap, missed a tip try and then with Titans all over. By now KU's offense was roaring, Johnson connected on a jumper. Big MG threw one in from the corner and then hit three free throws. ORU was through. And the Jayhawks might have been through themselves in the first half had it not been for their total domination of the Titans, outbounded to a net outbounded the Titans, 12 al., at halftime. "When we didn't shoot well in the first half, our rebounding kept us in the game," Owens said. "Our jumping on the boards allowed us to stay with them." ORU coach Jerry Hale also thought the jockey's rebounds was the difference. The Jahawks thought the boards were where the same would be won. "We got beat on the boards," Hale said. "The difference is that they go so many second shots for baskets. We didn't block out and go after it." "We were convinced that if we hit the boards hard and outbounded them we could win," said Tatum, a key to the game. Our big men decided we had to rebound hard. We weren't shooting well in the first half tonight. Last game we shot 72 per cent but didn't rebound enough. KU's rebounding kept pace with the Titans' can't Anthony Roberts. The 6-6 senior forward poured in 35 points. He hit an eight-foot shot to win, and he came from his favorite spot in the corner. But not even Roberts' one-man band could catch the Jawhaws. "We were doing well enough to intensify the second half that we kept our margin." Orzo's answer. Junior guard Clint Johnson led the Jayhawk's balanced scoring attack with 17 points. Javhawk opponents are right on schedule By STEVE SCHOENFELD Sports Editor Montana State? Murray State? Central Missouri State? Not your basketball powers, by any means. But confidence builders for KU-ysire sues, Kansas 'first three opponents in the NCAA' should be added to clip Oral Rubens, 78-69, last night. "A 13-13 team doesn't have a whole lot of confidence," KU head coach Ted Owens said of the Jayhawks' record of a year ago, and it was perfect to gain confidence this war it. "If we would've played this kind of competition at first when we met Montana State, I don't think we would've been ready for it. We've been growing every game." CENTER DONNIE Von Moore, who crash off the bench to pop in 14 points and grab seven rebounds, also endorsed the Javahws' schedule. "Those first three games really helped us." Von Moore said. "They boosted our morale, helped us get things together. They built our confidence up." The Jashawkes' first three victories also gave Von Moore something he desperately wanted. Johnson said. "People said that we had no competition in our first three games. We had to prove that we could beat someone like Oral Roberts." "And we had to go after the offensive rebounds because they didn't always get back real quickly. We knew we could beat them on both boards." John Douglas, a junior guard, said he was ready for the Jayhawks' first three games. Ready isn't the appropriate way to describe how he felt last night. SO WERE the Jayhawks' big men. Forwards Ken Koenigs and Herb Nobles and centers Paul Mokeski and Von Moore were almost in the Allen Field House rafters climbing for rebounds. Mokeski pulled down 13 while Nobles had nine and Koenigs eight. "I was really high for this game," he said. "Man, I was ready. The better the competition the higher I am for the ballgame. I was high tonight." aliment that forced him to miss all of last season. Nobles said the Jayhawks should have been rebounded like that all season. "I knew we had to get on the boards," Von Moore said. "We were playing a team with our own ideas." "I know it is the way we should've done它," Nobles said. "When you've got guys 7-6, 6-10, 6-9, 6-8, you're supposed to jump and nightly on the boards. We did tonight." Hot'Hawks unload six-shooter on ORU GUARD CILT Johnson said the Jouleman would play a team as powerful as Cilker Kolger. Sports Writer KU had a hot gun in each of its first three caches this year. Last night against Oral B, the KU team won. The Jayhawks had their most balanced attack of the year last night as five players scored in double figures in KU's 79-69 win over Oral Roberts. By ERIC MARTINCICH "If you've got five men in double figures you're doing good," Roberts said of KU's performance. "Herb Nobles didn't do it." She had to be glad he had the rest of them scorned. NOBLES, WHEN entered the contest with a 10 point game average, was held to 14 points. Oral Robers was led by their senior sensation, Anthony Roberts, who poured in "Yeah, I would've been a little shaky he was played Oral Roberts first," he said. "The whole team may have been a little shaky. I was a little worried about coming back and the first three games helped me get my confidence and game back." It was Clint Johnson, who entered the game averaging only six points, who led the Hawks in scoring last night. Johnson hit for 185 on eight of 13 shots taken from the field. "I've tried to stress it all season long," Nobles said. "We've got too much to have just one man score. That's the type of game, 'up' we to up to in play to our potential." ORAL HOBBERS (69) PG PF RF BB PP TP Daleen 42-5 3.7 0-1 2 2 3 Scott 4-8 0-0 2 2 3 Dugger 4-8 0-0 2 3 Dugger 4-16 6-2 2 3 Warren 0-2 1-2 2 5 1 Warren 1-2 1-2 2 5 1 Hurdle 1-2 0-0 1 1 4 Hurdle 1-2 0-0 1 1 4 Rolie 0-0 1-2 0 0 1 Rolie 0-0 1-2 0 0 1 Speaker 0-0 1-2 0 0 1 Speaker 11-45 7-16 7-16 18 10 KU COACH Ted Owens also saw signs of Johnson's improvement. "I feel comfortable, I got my confidence Johnson said, helps when you don't have the energy." BANNAS (79) PG FT PT RE PP TP Kokai 6-8 4-0 0-0 7 4 1 Kobe 6-8 3-0 0-0 7 4 1 Makeda 3-10 6-8 13 0 14 2 Matsushita 5-10 6-8 13 0 14 2 Johnson 8-13 6-8 0 3 17 1 Nissan 8-13 6-8 0 3 17 1 Glion 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 Gibon 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 32-46 15-32 15-32 0 17 79 "Everyone was up for this game." ORAL ROBERTS 32 37 - 68 KANSAS 34 34 "The last several games he has started to take charge. Owens said. He has really been very good." Johnson feels that he might have the reason for the improvement in his play. Johnson's backcount counterpart, John Douglas, scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive time this season. He had 14. "It's just a match of my shooting my jumper best when I get maximum height," he said. "I was shooting my jumper before I reached the peak of my jump." DONNIE YON MORE, who came off the bench to relieve Paul Mokeski, had 14 also. Mokeski added 12 and Ken Koenigs contributed eight. "Look at our scoring - it was a lot more balanced," Von Moore said. "If all we got to worry about is one man (Roberts) we're going to win. "We played tonight like we did against Central Missouri, aggressive," he said. "Our idea was for the big men to go to the boards and keep the ball alive so that Clint and Adam could win." And shoot they did, only tonight it wasn't a one-man effort. Tight, it took six. N. Texas State upsets K-State; 'Cats dip to 4-1 DENTON, Tex. (AP) - Walter "Wesel" Johnson and Norvell Miles scored 20 points each last night to give North Texas State an 87-3 upset of favored Kansas State University in a non-conference college basketball game. After trailing throughout the first half, North Texas came back to hit 56 per cent of its field goals in the second half. The Mean Green led by 12 with 7:25 left, but K-State came back to narrow the lead to two points. The Ravens led by 10 points, Mike Evans led K-State with 20 points. North Texas is now 3-1 and K-State, which had won four games by 18 points or more, Gymnasts hope vacation puts them back on beam By DAN BOWERMAN Shorts Writer Staff photo by GEORGE MILLENEER Both Ken Snow and Bock Lockwood are hoping that the Christmas break will end their woes. Both are expecting some new gymmats to come out for the teams and Snow hopes his injured team members recover. Milt Gibson and KU's defense thwart Arnold Dugger. Snow, KU women's gymnastics coach, said he expected one new gymnast to come out for the team during the break. That newcomer, Helena Tikusikins, is an all-around gymnast from Wichita Southeast. In women's competition these gymnasts perform routines on the balance beam, uneven unen极阵 bars and floor exercise. "She'll be a good all-around; how good, I don't know," snow said yesterday. "She'll be able to throw four routines, and right now I have trouble putting people on the floor." SNOW IS having trouble finding competitors because five of his nine gymnasts are injured. The outlook for next semester is better, but not areat. Karen Mundy, all an-arborer is the only gymnast that Snow is sure will be recovered by the time competition starts again in late January. She has a twisted ankle and had a limited performance against Iowa University and Oklahoma State last Friday. "Karen will be okay," Snow said. "Her is just a matter of time before it' hits." Pegeen Murphy and Angie Wagle are also all-airbands, but Snow isn't sure whether their injuries will be healed by late January. Murphy has an elbow injury, and Wagle dislocated her elbow several weeks ago. SUSIE SPANGLER, a balance beam specialist, has strained ligaments in her knee, and Snow isn't sure when she'll be able to walk again. She's with an injury is Kelly Gibson, who will Snow said he expected good meets both days but added that the traveling could adversely affect the 'Hawks performance. He said Nebraska should have a good team, although they had been hampered by injuries. He said Wichita State also should have been hampered. Snow said, however, that Washburn wouldn't offer much competition for KU. Lockwood said he thought many of KU's depth problems would be solved by the newcomers, especially on the horizontal. The team has three competitors for four spots. LOCKWOOD, KU men's gymnastics coach, said that as many as six gymnasts had indicated the wanted to come out of the state. The group said the six included high school gymnasts who were graduating at semester and others who had been in recreational mama go surgery on her foot during the Christmas break and will probably be out for a while. Lockwood said the Jayhawks had been working hard and that they had been imprisoned. Lockwood said of Iowa State, "They're right in the thick of it in the Big Eight. I think Ed Gagner (Iowa State coach) has team ever, and he's won two NCAA championship games." The new gymnasts, though, won't be able to compete in the first meet after the break, when Iowa State comes to KU for a 2 p.m. meet. Jan 21 in Robinson Gymnasmus. "We don't have a wife of all people out," he said, "but they work hard. They are very strong." R The lessons begin Jan. 4 in England, where the sport was invented. The Jayhawks will be one of only a few university teams to tour England. While many people will still be bouncing through their New Year's Day hangover, the university of Kansas Rugby Club will be visiting with a study with the English, masters of rugby. Rugged British opponents set to test KU's ruggers The team will play nine games on the trip against teams that are more experienced and competitive than those KU is used to playing. Each of the 40 Jayhawk players will pay $20 for the playing tour. THE JAYHAWKS will face some respected opponents. "I look at it this way," said fullback back Stefano Francesci. "We play a sport that not too many people play over here. So we go over there where they have all been playing rugby since they were little kids. I guess you could call it the big time." Another KU player, Rick Renfo, said that the Jaywinks had to pick teams that The KU squad that will go to England has been fortified with alumni from clubs in Europe. "they are all good teams," he said, "but teams that we feel we can compete with." But even with the all-star squad, Renrod said that TW would have enough time to play and win. "We'll be doing well to win two or three games," he said.