SPORTS Page 8 Tuesday, March 31, 1981 The Michigan Daily Isiah, Indian I.' PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Isiah Thomas, Indiana's All-American guard, broke North Carolina's fron- tcourt barrier and led the Hopsiers to a 63-50 victory over the Tar Heels last night for the 1981 NCAA basketball championship, whose texture was en- tirely changed by the shooting of President Reagan. When President Reagan was shot Monday afternoon, it lent a somber note to this championship, the second for In- diana cbach Bobby Knight. AS THE NCAA Division I basketball committee listened to reports on the President'scondition, game-time drew nearer. It was not until the NCAA, the presidents of both schools involved and NBC television, which was broad- casting the event, all were sure that the, President was out of danger, that the game was given the go-ahead. It started only 15 minutes later and it was preceded by the Rev. Donald I, Wfp Bolton, who asked the basketball-crazy to pause one moment to pray for the safety of the President. The game began as an anti-climax. But as it progressed, the tension of a national title was driven home. Indiana took its first lead of the game at the buzzer ending the first half when Randy Wittman hit a jump shot from the right corner. That made it 27-26. And after Knight talked to his players in the locker room, Thomas, the 6-foot-1 Indiana guard, went to work. HE SCORED eight points, three on layups and two after his own steals, as the Hoosiers outscored North Carolina 12-4 in the opening 4:28 of the second half. Indiana led 39-30 with 15:35 to play and the Hoosiers were on their way to a fourth national title, the second in Knight's 10 years at Indiana. Indiana won the title in 1940, 1953 and 1976, the last under Knight. It capped off a season in which the Hoosiers had been all but written off. AFTER A 7-5 start this season, Hoosier fans nearly had given up. But Knight, the consummate coach, would Good Knight, Heels INDIANA N. Car' not let his players even think of folding. The Hoosiers wound up winning the Big Ten conference and came into the final game of this tournament with a 25-9 record. The nine losses is the most ever by an NCAA champion. Early on in this game, it appeared as though the Hoosiers would be beaten. North Carolina opened the game by outscoring the Hoosiers, 8-2. Indiana did not get a field goal until 5:16 had elapsed. That basket came on a tip-in by reserve Steve Risley and started a run of six straight points that created the first of four ties in the first half. INDIANA OUTSCORED North Carolina 12-4 in a 3:48 stretch that began midway in the first half and tied the score 20-20 with 5:14 to go before in- termission. The two teams battled evenly until Wittman hit his final-second shot that gave the Hoosiers a one-point lead at the half. Thomas scored 23 points for Indiana and Wittman added 16. Al Wood topped North Carolina with 18. However, freshman center Sam Perkins was held to 11 and James Worthy scored just 12 before he fouled out with 5:07 to play. THE LOSS MARKED the third time North Carolina coach Dean Smith has made it to the title game without win- ning college basketball's ultimate prize. Earlier in the week, newsman talked with Smith about the criticism that he could win everything but the big one. "I think this criticism is foolish," Smith had said, "but at least if I win it, maybe I won't have to answer any more questions about it." LAST NIGHT, the questions remained unanswered. Smith led North Carolina through a 29-8 season that included the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title, but in his 19 years with the Tar Heels, in his 11 tournament invitations, and in his six times to the Final Four, he has never come away better than second. He finished second in 1977 and 1968. This year, he can add one more. For Knight, it was a vindication of sorts. His team, young and inexperien- ced, was supposed to have been better next year. However, the victory was Indiana's 10th in a row and in the Hoosiers' past five games, they have won by margins of 35 over Maryland, 15 over Alabama-Birmingham, 32 over St. Joseph's (Pa.), 18 over Louisiana State and 13 over the Tar Heels. WHEN IT BECAME apparent to olina, 63-50 FG FGA FT FTA R Kitchel ........ Turner...... Tolbert ........ I. Thomas ..... Wittman. Risley ....... J. Thomas ..... Team Rebounds Totals ......... 0 5 1 8 7 1 1 1 8 4 17 13 4 0 2 3 7 2 3 0 0 2 6 8 2" 4 0 0 s 11 2 4 4 '4 2 33 A 0 1 0 5 0 0 8 PF PTS 3 0 5 12 0 5 4 23 2 16 1 5 2 2 23 48 17 22 NORTH CAROLINA FG FGA FT FTA R Wood..........6B 13 6 9 6' Worthy ........ 3 11 1 2 6 Perkins .......5 8 1 2 8 Pepper...... 2 5 2 2 I Black........ 3 4 0 0 2 Budko..........0 1 0 0 1 Doherty ....... 1 2 0 1 4 Braddock... 0 2 0 0 0 Brost.......... 0 0 0 0 0 Kenny..........0 1 0 0 1 Team Rebounds 0 Totals ........\20 47 10 16 29 Indiana 27 36-83 North Carolina 26 24-50. 'Technicals-Turner Attendance-18,276. 14 17 63 A PFPTS 2 4 18 2 5 7 1 3 11 0 16 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 00 0 0 0 12 23 50 AP Phto INDIANA'S LANDON TURNER (32), hangs onto rim while dunking ball at the NCAA championship in Philadelphia last night. In on the play is James Worthy (left). A technical foul was called on the play, but it didn't prove significant as the Hoosiers whipped the Tar Heels, 63-50. . Knight that a conventional lineup would be too slow to handle the Tar Heels, he removed Risely, a reserve forward who had replaced a foul-plagued Ted Kit- chel, and inserted a third guard. Knight used that three-guard offense - Isiah and Jimmy Thomas and Wit- tman - most of the evening, relying on Ray Tolbert and Landon Turner to work inside. The 6-3 Jim Thomas drew the assignment on Wood, a 6-6 forward. aim, no relation to Isiah, hounded 4i nd beleagured Wood, combining with Isiah on several important steals and rebounds. You don need a mug to get resn I t Scores Exhibition Baseball Boston 8, Detroit 6 New York (AL) 6. Los Angeles 4 Montreal 8, Kansas City 6 Pittsburgh 9, Minnesota 8 Cincinnati 8, Chicago (AL) 3 Atlanta 4. Houston 3 Philadelphia 15, St. Louis 3 California 4, Cleveland 3 Milwaukee 9, Chicago (NL) 8 San Diego 11, Oakland 5 Baltimore 8, Texas 7 NCAA CONSOLATION: Cavs win, ,; 78-74 ician JIt S , au Classified Ads 764-0557 Display Ads 764-0554 3@ ilg Circulation 764-0558 TONIGHT 8 PM CODRESCU Benzinger Library EAST QUAD 161I CChURCH ST. 99-27'7 r '/ BASEBALL March 31 GRAND VALLEY STATE, at Fisher Stadium April 1 Eastern Michigan, at Ypsilanti, 1p.m. April 3 Miami University, at Oxford,; OH,1p.m. April 4 Miami University, at Cincinnati, 1p.m. April 5 Cincinnati, at Cincinnati, l p.m. MEN'S TENNIS April 3 Purdue, at W. Lafayette, 3 p.m. April 4 Illinois, at Champaign, 1 p.m. April 5 Notre Dame, at South Bend,' 1 p.m. , WOMEN'S TENNIS April 3-4 Ohio State, N. Carolina, at' Columbus SOFTBALL April 1 UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT at Veterans Park April 2 Grand Valley State, at Allendale April 3 OHIO STATE, at Veterans Par k, 3:30 p.m. WOMEN'S TRACK April 4 OhioState Univ. Invit., at Columbus EU # P t AM PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Jeff Lamp rallied Virginia with some clutch foul shooting and Othell Wilson preserved the victory with his ballhandling as the Cavaliers downed Louisiana State 78-74 last night in the NCAA basketball tour- nament's consolation game. The game began on a somber note when the public address announcer asked th crowd to observe a moment of silence for President Reagan, shot hours earlier Washington. r VIRGINIA LED BY 10 points when the Tigers 'ran off a 17-6 spurt in a 4:15 span that put them up by one point, 67-66, with 4:36 to play. Lamp then hit a baseline jumpshot and, when he was fouled by Leonard Mitchell, made itsa three-point play, giving Virginia a 69-67 lead with 4:04 to play. Willie Sims was able to convert just one of two foul shots, then Virginia got a pair of free throws each from Lamp and Lee Raker to lead 73-68 with 2:40 left to play. I -