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Braves complete season 21-7
John House
Sports Editor
The West Georgia Braves amaz
ing season, came to a screeching halt
Thurs., March 4 in Memphis, Ten
nessee when the Braves were defeated
in the first round of the NCAA Divi
sion II Tournament, by Gulf South
Conference Tournament champion
Henderson State 76-54.
' The Braves had hopes of rebound
ing from two emotional defeats at the
end of the season to Lincoln Memo
rial and Southern Arkansas, and mak
ing a strong run with the NCAA Divi
sion II Tournament invitation they
received after those two losses.
It is very difficult to rebound from
two tough losses and win on the road
against a team of the caliber of
Henderson State.
The Braves that played here at the
HPE Building appeared more aggres
sive, confident, and proficient on both
ends of the floor.
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Braves baseball
Continuing to crush competition
John House /Sports Editor
Power hitting, speed on the
bases, tough pitching, and timely
defense are keys to having a win
ning team and a successful sea
son.
The West Georgia Braves used
these four aspects of the game to
dominate opposing teams, in a
nine-game winning streak.
The Braves on Thursday,
March 4, defeated Bluefield St.
College 7-2 and 12-1 to sweep
the doubleheader to extend their
winning streak to seven games.
After that game, the Braves
went on to defeat Southern Indi
ana University 6-3 and 8-7 to
sweep the doubleheader on Satur
day, March 6 to keep their win
ning streak alive at nine games.
During that incredible run of
victories the Braves outscored
their opponents 110 to 26.
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They were also healthier.
The Braves suffered from nagging
injuries to guards Jeff Hickman,
Michael Richards, and others as the
long season came to an end.
The Braves injuries led to the
Braves losing three consecutive games
for the first time all season. It just
happened to be the final three games
of the season.
In all three losses the Braves had
the same reoccurring problem: gener
ating and scoring easy baskets.
The Braves also seemed to suffer
from match up problems with teams
who had strong post players.
To correct so many problems
against the Gulf South Conference
champions, may have been too much
to ask of the Braves.
The first-round tournament pair
ing was unfortunate for the Braves.
The strengths of Henderson State (in
side scoring, good ball movement),
have been the weaknesses the Braves
have had against opponents all year.
On Sunday, March 7 to the
Braves played the final game of
the series with Southern Indiana,
and had their winning streak
stopped with a 6-5 defeat.
The game was one of the more
exciting contests of the year for
the Braves.
The Braves trailed early, as
Southern Indiana scored one run
in the first two innings for a 2-0
lead.
The Braves responded in the
bottom of the third inning with
two towering home runs by sec
ond baseman Jason Pierce and
center fielder Jeremy Kemp to
take a 3-2 lead.
In the top of the fifth inning the
batters for Southern Indiana re
sponded with a series of hits to
take the lead.
Southern Indiana batter, Josh
Henderson State showed their bal
ance and depth with four players scor
ing in double figures on the night.
Henderson State forward David
Lewis dominated on the inside for 20
points and four rebounds, on nine-of
-10 shooting.
Guard Aaron Owens hurt the
Braves by distributing seven as
sists to his teammates.
The Henderson State defense
denied the Braves easy shots and
had poor ball movement on the
night. The Braves only had three
assists the entire game, while
Henderson State had 14.
The most disappointing part of
the Braves season, was the untimely
injuries and the uncharacteristic play
at the end of the season.
All-American Curtis Pass, who led
the Gulf South Conference in scoring
with 24.9 points a game was held to
13 points, five rebounds, and four
steals on the night as he made only
six-of-16 shots on the night.
Hill, led off the inning with a
double to left center field. The
next batter advanced the runner
to third for the first out of the
inning.
The ball just would not bounce right
for the Braves for the next several plays of
the game.
The next batter hit a sinking line drive
to center, that was hobbled by the center
fielder. The runners advanced to second
and third on the play. After a desperately
needed strikeout by pitcher Douglas
Bennett, the next batter was hit by the
pitch, to load the bases with two
outs.
The very next batter hit a hot
shot to short and the Braves tried
to get the force out at home, but
the runner slid hard into catcher
Steve Westmoreland, and he could
not come up with the ball for the
out.
Sports around the nation
-Baseball Legend Joe Dimaggio
died Monday at age 84. Dimaggio
was most famous for his 56 game
hitting streak in 1941.
- Yankee Manager Joe Torre will
be out indefinitely after being diag
nosed with prostate cancer Tuesday
-Former Brave and current Cin
cinnati Reds player Denny Neagle
sidelined for opening day with weak
ness in shoulder.
-Falcons sign former Giants WR
ChrisCalloway and QB Danny Kanell
to three and two year contracts re
spectively.
•Falcons’ defensive back Ronnie
Bradford re-signed for three more
years
-Los Angelos Laker sign Dennis
Rodman, promote fire Del Harris and
promote Kurt Rambis to head coach,
win eight straight.
-Los Angelos Clippers lose 16
straight games and counting to begin
season,
Jeff Hickman, still slowed by an
ankle injury, was limited to five points
in 26 minutes of play.
The intense defensive pressure of
the Reddies held senior guard
Demetrius Somerville to two points,
four rebounds, and zero assists in 29
minutes of play.
The only player who had any success
shooting from the floor was center Michael
Richards, who scored 15 points and eight
rebounds on the night.
The Braves went down in defeat to a
great Henderson State team who went on
to the Championship game.
Despite the loss, the Braves still have
many bright points of the season to focus
on.
Coach Ed Murphy assembled a team
in the 1997-1998 off season that came
together quickly for a 21-7 season. The
Braves tied for the Gulf South Conference
East lead with Lincoln Memorial (11-3),
in a year that some thought would be a
down year for West Georgia.
The Braves will begin next sea-
Steve Westmoreland was in
jured on the play and Brad
Schroeder came in as the new
catcher.
Southern Indiana went up 6-3
in the top of the sixth, on three base hits
and a wild pitch by Douglas Bennett.
The Braves scored two runs in the
bottom of the seventh, but would not
regain the lead as Southern Indiana would
go on to win 6-5.
On Monday, the Braves went on
the road to face Georgia South
western and lost 7-3. Pitcher Ja
son Balkcom received the loss and
his record is now 1-1. With the
loss the Braves record on the sea
son fell to 11-5
The Braves played at Georgia
College and State University
Wednesday night, and will return
home to play Montevallo on Sat
urday, March 13.
son with six or seven solid play
ers returning and will have a 21
game home-winning streak to keep
alive.
West Georgia’s main problem this
off season will be trying to fill the shoes
of Gulf South Conference leading scorer
and most valuable player of the
league,Curtis Pass.
Pass and Demetrius Somerville, the
only two seniors on the team, played
prominent roles on the Braves team this
year, and combined will leave a void of 35
points and 10 rebounds averaged a game.
In addition the Braves will miss the
leadership of the two stars, who kept the
team together throughout the season.
The Braves 1998-1999 season is
over, but with the experience the
players returning next year gained
from playing with Somerville and
Pass in the Gulf South Conference
Tournament and NCAA Division II
Tournament, the Braves appear to
be in good shape for the 1999-2000
season.
21 wins, 7 defeats ends
season, but bright
future still in forecast
Hayla Adams
Reporter
The 1998-1999 basketball season
ended with an incredible 21 wins and
seven defeats.
Coach Ed Murphy replaced the
seven players this year and had a
freshman take the position of point
guard after several players graduated
last season.
Considering the forces that worked
against them, this Braves team did
remarkably well. Through December
and January, when the whole team
was heal thy, the B raves wonlsoutof
17 games.
However, once February rolled
around, the Braves were hurting.
Guards Jeff Hickman and Michael
Richards, were both injured at the
closing of the season, and two other
starters were slowed by the flu, but all
continued to play.
Hickman was scheduled to be out
for two weeks due to an injury, but
never missed a game.
The injuries and illnesses certainly
hurt the team, because key players
were forced to miss valuable practice
time despite wanting to play through
the pain.
"They took great pride in their
toughness,” said Murphy.
Despite being out muscled in the
Thursday, March 11, 1999
News and Notes
Compiled by: Gary
Hamrick Jr.
Assistant Sports Editor
Track News
West Georgia junior, Jake Nay,
competed in the 5000 m run at the
NCAA Indoor National Championship
in Indianapolis, IN. He finished in Bth
place with a time of 14:39.27.
Also on March 6th, the West Geor
gia track team opened up their outdoor
season at Oglethorpe University. No
results from this meet were available at
press time. Their next meets will be in
Marietta at Life University on March
18 th and at Auburn University on March
20th.
Softball
The Lady Braves added three more
wins to their record for the season and
a few more losses as well. Their next
game will be at West Florida on Satur
day. Their next home game will be
against Columbus State on Monday.
Misc Notes
The West Georgia Athletic Depart
ment holds its annual Sports Night on
March 11th.
We STILL need a few more sports
writers. Please call the West Georgian
for more information at 770-836-6327.
Help with Tennis and Track coverage
would be GREATLY appreciated.
middle by most teams the Braves stuck
together and relied on each other.
“They were better together than
they were separately,” said
Murphy.
Together they were able to
reach 20 wins or more for the
third consecutive season. This
mark was a first for the program
since they became part of the
NCAA Division 11.
West Georgia also reached the
NCAA Division II Tournament
for the third consecutive year.
Senior Curtis Pass was honored
with most valuable player in the Gulf
South Conference East Division. The
most valuable player award has been
given to a UWG player five out of six
years.
After completing a great season that
was considered to have been an over
achievement, everyone is looking for
ward to next year.
“We have six or seven good
players to start with and we are
going to sign two more,’’said
Murphy when asked about next
year’s team.
“I really feel good about having three
starters back,” said Coach Muiphy.
The future looks bright for the Braves.
“The guys are really excited because
they want to be the best team that we have
had.”