The Michigan Daily-Saturday, March 24, 1979-Page 9 Final FourQ Quakers tremble at Spartans''Magi-K' showdown in NCAAs today Unbeaten Sycamores face devilish DePaul League al By BILLY NEFF the varsit Daily Sports Analysis As it er Will Cinderella be able to wave a Penn willl magic wand this weekend in the NCAA the form( basketball semifinals in Salt Lake City? two have1 No one expects her to as Michigan NCAAs. I State, possessing the multi-talented points aga Earvin "Magic" Johnson and the has beer amazing Greg Kelser, is favored to cop averaging the national title over contenders Penn, time out. Indiana State and DePaul. Penn's The Spartans come to town with all quickness the media hype behind them, due to shooting. their overwhelming victories in three Tony Pric previous NCAA encounters. They will the Ivy L be facing Penn, a foe who is not sup- Willis and posed to be here. In fact, Maryland and if the coach Lefty Driesell went so far as to Terry Don say that he did not think the Ivy League some turn champion deserved a bid in the NCAA the upset c tournament. The me Like the teams in his conference who are a stor competed in postseason play, Driesell Bob Wein sure did look foolish. The team he was the Phila denigrating, the University of Pen- way throu nsylvania Quakers, upset ACC cham- coach Ch pion North Carolina and Syracuse, en assistant route to the NCAA Final Four. Sur- His count prisingly, Penn was seeded ninth out of man off tt ten teams in the East regional. dwood an Penn had other hurdles to overcome the way of in its quest for a nationally ranked Heathco team-the teams in the Ivy League do too much not award scholarships, but instead their supe only give aid based on financial need. In only prey addition, this was the first year the Ivy overconfi THE LINEUPS lowed freshmen to compete at y level. inters the NCAA tournament, have obstacles to overcome in of Johnson and Kelser. These been splendid all through the Kelser posted 34 spectacular ainst Notre Dame and Johnson n scoring at will,, while g more than 10 assists each only chance lies in the s of their guards and the of forwards Tim Smith and e, the most valuable player in eague. Their guards, Robert d James Salters are cat quick y can harass Spartan guards nnelly and Mike Brkovich into overs, the Quakers might pull of the century. n who coach these two teams y in themselves. Penn coach hauer took over the helm at delphia school last year mid- ugh the preseason when head uck Daly took a job as an with the Philadelphia 76ers. erpart, Jud Heathcote, a nice he court, is nasty on the har- d his temper seems to stand in his mighty Spartans. ote's squad should not have trouble with Penn,, due to rior talent, but will probably ail in a close contest, due to dence. PENN By BILLY NEFF Daily Sports Analysis In the second NCAA semifinal contest, one could ask will it take a Demon to stop the Bird? The DePaul Blue Demons may need more than one spirit on Larry Bird of Indiana State in order to stop the best shooter in basket- ball today. This semifinal game should be a nailbiter between the two real Cin-, derella stories. DePaul, the boys from the north side of Chicgo, are coached by that ageless wonder Ray Meyer, who has never previously been to the NCAA tournament. Throughout most encoun- ters, they play with just their five star- ters. Those were enough though to upend UCLA, 95-91 in the Western Regional final. On the other side of the coin, there is the five from the buzzing metropolis of Terre Haute, Indiana, whose star player Bird will not talk to the press. Coach Bill Hodges took - over the Sycamores' head job when regular coach Bob King suffered a heart attack. He has led his vastly underrated team to a perfect 32-0 mark. The game could boil down to the status of one key player for DePaul-Curtis Watkins.Watkins is the team's second leading scorer, leading rebounder and best defensive player. However, his status is questionable due to some severely strained knee ligaments. Watkins would have covered Bird and really been the only Blue Demon with a chance of holding him in check. The gutty senior co-captain will play, you can bet on that, but his effec- tiveness may be severely limited. If Watkins plays, look for the superior speed of the Demons to present the Sycamores with quite a problem. DePaul's guards, Clyde Bradshaw ano their catalyst Gary Garland, made the best backcourt in the nation, Roy Hamilton and Brad Holland of UCLA, look sick last weekend. When the Demons need offense, they tdrn to freshman sensation Mark. Aguirre, who reminds many of Adrian Dantley. Aguirre usually responds and the svelte Brad Miley,who will be guar- ding him, will have his hands full. DePaul, meanwhile, must stop the fabulous Bird, who rises to the occasion in big games. In addition, Carl Nicks is a top flight guard who might have trouble scoring against the harassment of Garland. Look for DePaul to upset the top rated Sycamores if Watkins plays. If he is immobilized, look for Bird to have a field day. THE LINE UPS MICHIGAN STATE Greg Kelser (6-7)............... F Mike Brkovich (6-4)............... F Ron Charles (6-7)............... C Terry Donnelly (6-2).................. G Earvin Johnson (6-8)............... G I--- - Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG ..................(6-7) ..................(6-4) ..................(6-10) ..................(6-2) ..................(5-9) Tony Price Tim Smith Matt White Bobby Willis James Salters INDIANA STATE Curtis Watkins (6-6).................F...................(6-8) Mark Aguirre (6-7).................. F ... .......(6-8) Larry Bird (6-9).................. C ..................(6-9) Gary Garland (6-5).........G.........(6-2) Clyde Bradshaw (6-0).................. G ..................(6-3) DePAUL Alex Gilbert Brad Miley Jim Mitchem Carl Nicks' Steve Reed Earvin Johnson and the Spartans charge into NCAA semifinal action today in Salt Lake City. MSU meets the Quakers of Pennsylvania at 2:45 followed by the Blue Demons of DePaul facing the Larry Bird-led Indiana State Sycamores at 5:15. Both games can be seen on Channel 4. Twenty teams battle in IM basketball tourney By SCOTT M. LEWISY NBC won't be there. Neither will Earvin Johnson nor Larry Bird. But this afternoon, right here in Ann Arbor, a real-live college invitational' basketball tournament will take place with the finals tentatively set for 9:00 tonight. The Intramural Sports Building will open its doors at noon today for the first UMOASII Tournament--that is, the University of Michigan Officials' Association State Invitational Intramural Tournament. Admission to the nine-hour event is free. THOSE WHO SNICKER at IM basketball will be surprised by the high caliber of play of the 20-team, single-elimination tournament. Some of the finest college intramural teams in Lower Michigan will take the court in what should be an interesting affair. The assemblage of talent consists of nine IM teams from Michigan, plus squads from Detroit, Wayne State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and the U-M Flint and Dearborn campuses. Teams from Michigan invited to the tournament include: Fraternity 'A' Division finalists Alpha Phi Alpha and Kappa Alpha Psi; Independent champ Canyons; Graduate titlist Law Black and Blue; Residence Hall representatives Allen Rumsey and Michigan House (West Quad), and Kelsey (South Quad) and the High Rollers. THE HIGH ROLLERS, an independent team, feature Rick Leach, Mike Jolly and B.J. Dickey, a trio which should be familiar to most Michigan rooters. (No, Bob Ufer will not be at courtside to handle the play-by-play.) Each team paid a $15 entrance fee. Monies from the tournament go to the.Officials' Association, a two-year-old organization of some 250 members. The association eventually hopes to lure clinicians and professional of- ficials to the University in addition to purchasing instructional video equip- ment. The IM Department intends to expand its already-large officiating program, whose co-ordinator, Sandy Sanders, is excited about today's tour- nament. "I hope this can be an annual event," said Sanders, who serves as Assistant Director of Intramural Sports. "It's a nice gesture to have this tournament. Besides helping the Officials' Association, the tournament brings together some outstanding basketball teams from different in- stitutions throughout the state." Sanders is part of an officiating crew from Michigan which will work the games for free. CLASS A: PONTIAC CENTRAL FACES MACKENZIE March Madness! Finals today EAST LANSING (UPI)-Forward Dave Traylor and guard Steve Caldwell combined for 42 points yesterday, ex- ploding in a fourth quarter barrage that lifted Detroit Mackenzie to a 64-54 vic- tory over Saginaw and gave the Stags a berth in the Class A high school basket- ball finals. Mackenzie, now 20-7 for the year, will play Pontiac Central to determine the state championship today at Crisler Arena at 2:30 p.m. SAGINAW DOMINATED the game until Trayor and Caldwell found their scoring range late in the third quarter. They teamed up for nine unanswered points that put Kackenzie ahead 51-44. Saginaw was never able to recover from that setback, although the Trojans led 33-22 at hafltime. Mackenzie shot only 29 per cent from the floor in the first half on eight of 27 field goal attempts and took the lead with 3:02 left to play in the third quar- ter, 38-37. Saginaw received 15 points from for- ward Charlie Brown, and ends its season with a 22-3 record..Traylor and Caldwell each had 21 points. Pontiac Central 74, Lansing Eastern 67 Clyde Corley scored 17 points and Fred Davis added 16 yesterday as sharp-shooting Pontiac Central moved into the Class A high school tournament finals with a 74-67 victory over Lansing Eastern. Pontiac shot a sizzling 62 per cent in the first half, connecting on 13 of 21 field goal attempts and building a lead it never lost. Lansing fought to a tie twice in the first half and kept the score close, 31-27, Class B: Saginaw meets Muskegon By GEOFF LARCOM Saginaw Buena Vista staged a furious second-half comeback to edge Willow Run 64-56, while for Muskegon Heights it was strictly no sweat as the Tigers bombed Okemos 78-45 in the state Class B semi-finals at Crisler Arena yester- day. The championship game, to be played at 11:00 a.m. today at Crisler, will pit Buena Vista's speedy run-and-gun game against Muskegon's awesome balance as the two battle for a year of Michigan Class B bragging rights. The road to the final was distinctly different for the two teams, as Buena Vista had to endure a first-half lapse before snapping to life against Willow Run, while Okemos was never in the. ball game against mighty Muskegon. "We had a rough time getting to the semi-finals, but nothing as rough as today," said Okemos Coach Stan Stolz. "I think Muskegon Heights is easily the best team in the state." Coach Lee Gilbert admitted after the game that this was perhaps the best the Tigers had played all year. "We played a relaxed and poised game and we took good shots throughout," said Gilbert. "We know what it's like to play in the finals and we kept our heads." For the second game in a row, Muskegon's all-state trio of forward Cedrick Scott, center Darnell Plum- mer, and guard Robert Kitchen out- scored the opposition as Scott poured in a game-high 23 points, while Kitchen scoreil 16 and Plummer hit for 15. It was on the boards where the Tigers really outclassed Okemos however, as Muskegon grabbed a whopping 55 caroms to only 27 for Okemos. Stolz agreed that Heights' front line was the key. "You need a 'big front line to go against Muskegon," he said. "We shot the ball, knowing they'd be right on our backs the whole game." At times the Tigers' play bordered on the spectacular, as Plummer, who blocked four shots, Scott, and forward Doug Burse played much of their games above the rim. What Muskegon Heights' walkaway lacked in drama, Buena Vista paid. back in spades in the second game, as the Knights shook off a nine-point first half deficit in the thrilling second half. Led by center David Swilley's 29 points, 18 of which came in the second half, Saginaw made' its return to high school tournament competition a memorable one. Due to a millage .failure, the Knights had no basketball program last year, Saginaw grabbed its first lead of the game with a little over five minutes left, when forward Kernes Jackson sank a short jumper to make it 52-51. See more sports on page 10 at halftime. THE CHIEFS survived a late LanL sing Eastern rally when Travis Stanley stole the ball twice and drove foi layups, trimming Pontiac's lead to 63b 61 with 2:15 left in the game. Pontiac recovered by scoring the last seven points of the game. Stanley led all scorers with 27 points and James Vincent added 14, for the Quakers, who closed their season at 23 3,. Pontiac is now 17-10. Class C: Lakers face Mustangs By GEOFF LARCOM Amidst the infectious March Mad- ness that pervaded Crisler Arena last night, the Elkton-Pigeon-Bayport Lakers and the Three Oaks-River Valley Mustangs each grabbed closely fought semifinal victories to advance to today's 8:30 p.m. Class C state final. The Lakers downed Lansing Catholic Central 67-60, in the first semifinal, while the Mustangs hung on for a 57-49 win over the Tawas Area Braves in the second semi game. NO TEAM dominated in either of the semis, as each game's outcome remained in doubt until the last minute, and the raucous high school patrons traded deafening cheers throughout. Class D: Finalists set. Behind 60-54 with less than two minutes to go in the opener, Lansing was forced to resort to fouling the Lakers. But Laker center Todd Wisen- baugh canned both ends of two one-and- one chances and guard Aaron Deering and forward Jeff Smith each added a pair to seal Catholic Central's post- season fate. "We just didn't stop them on defen- se,' said Lansing Coach Jerry Tripp. "We hit at about our offensive average, but we were ten points worse than nor mal on defense." YET THE Cougars would have had difficulty devising any kind of defense that could have dealt with the Lakers' torrid shooting, as the men from the Thumb fired away at a better than fifty per cent clip. Leading the Lakers were Smith and Deering, who racked up 22 and 18 points respectively. First-year Laker Coach Bill M- Clellan couldn't have been more su- prised or happy with the win. EAST LANSING (UPI) - Muskegon West Michigan Christian rallied from a first quarter deficit behind the outside shooting of Dave Doorn and Scott Flicema last night and raced to a 64-43 triumph over Gaylord St. Mary in Class D semifinal action. Muskegon now advances to the tour- nament finals against Detroit East Catholic this afternoon at Crisler Arena beginning at 7 p.m. Doorn led all scorers with 26 points, while Flicema added 16 and Todd Krannitz scored-10 for Muskegon, now 17-9 on the year. Gaylord St. Mary, which ended its season at 23-3, got 11 points from Kurt David and 10 from Ed Macowia. Detroit East Catholic had double figure scoring performances from four players last night and controlled both boarden ronutto a 71-60 victorv over L .. . .. . . _. s:, , ...