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MARCH 8. 1971
MERCER CLUSTER
PAJE IB
Before I get onto the business at hand, I want to stick my foot in my
mouth (for the umpteenth time.' I’m predicitng that Muhammed Ali
will knock out Joe Frazier in the 8.‘h r >und.
Now, I’ve seen both of these guys fight, and I don’t really know why
I pick it to end that soon. Frazier is a tough nut to crack, as is Ali. but
there is a little voice in the back of my blank mind that says ’‘Frazier
is going to get his."
Tom Robinson
Sorry about this, Mercerians, but we were screwed to the wall-to
use a contemporary phrase. Our not getting a bid to the District 25
NAIA Tournament is a crying shame. This is one team that really
deserved the bid. Sure, we blew some really bed ones- Clemson,
Oglethorpe, LaGrange, and a few others that were blown for us-but,
we played a tougher schedule than any of the teams playing the
Tournament up in Augusta.
From the
bench
Garland Dickey, athletic director at Berry College, as well as
District 25 chairman, admitted that the other teams did not play as
tough a schedule as Mercer had. but that the Carr Ratings are final.
Augusta. Columbus and LaGrange were the schools who played the
weakest schedule. Valdosta State played Jacksonville (a team we
also played) and Florida State.
It is sickening to think that this is the way Jim Graham has to end
his career at Mercer. The 6-4 Fort Valley native has put a lot of sweat
out for this school, and it's a crying shame that he never got to play in
a tournament for his efforts. It may make it all right to think that one
of these years we will go onto some kind of Tournament, but thinking
of the fact that Jim won't go with the team makes it all turn sour.
And it is unfair to the other members of the team. Georgia South
western knocked off first-ranked Augusta late in the year, and we
heat Southwestern early in the year-And, neither one of them will
take the credit for themselves-they just pass it on to the players.
Speaking of LaGrange, who in his right mind could have put them
ahead of us? §ure they beat us up there, 76-69-after we had a
horrendous first half, only scoring 22 points. We beat them 61-54 in .
the Coliseum, and anyone who was there can tell you that it wasn't
that close. So, we lose by seven, and win by seven. They play Gar
bage U., and we play Jacksonville and Davidson. They end up the
year ISM) and ours’ finishes at 14-9. Who gets the invite, but the
tremendous Panthers.
If I sound bitter, you're d^mn right I'm bitter. These guys grow on
you after a year, after you’ve been with them the whole season, seen
them play good, bad, terrible, terrific. It’s bad when you've seen
them on and off the court.
How much have they changed ? Have they gotten better 7 Taking a
look at their record is just one way erf telling how far they have come.
Being on this campus last year, and this year is another indication.
Last year the basketball team was a joke, and not a very funny one at
that. What made it even worse, was that the players believed that
they couldn't play winning basketball.
That was, however, before Morrison and Nidiffer and Stone. First
of all, a little plug for Athletic Director Stone. It's hard to describe
him without sounding like I’m trying to brown nose him. But the
truth of the matter is, that, he has done a tremendous amount in his
short span as AT). Getting Morrison here was one thing. Getting the
players here was another. Getting the publicity going, that was
another.
Plus it was other things outside of just basketball. A soccer team
vkas finally started. A Girls’ Basketball team was created. The whole
concept of Mercer Athletics was brought up, like the mythical
Phoenix, we’ve sort of risen out of the ashes. Athletics is no longer a
joke. It is a real, tangible thing that we can see. that we can see
progressing.
Now onto Coaches Dwane Morrison and Jay Nidiffer To say'
they've done a lot for Mercer is really only repeating something that-
I’ve been saying here for the past few weeks
"When we started. I really didn't think that we'd be going
anywhere" said Morrison, when the shock of not being accepted to
the Tournament had worn off. "But they never gave up. You'd push
them down, but they’d get right back up and keep going. We had
trouble running off the guys who weren't here on scholarship. We had
to tell them that there would be cuts before they left, and then they
only left°the last day,”
I remember the first time I met Coach Morrison and Coach
Nidiffer. It was in Jerry Stone’s office, getting set up-for the in-
Cont. on Page «B.
Freshman sensation Leonard Hardin drives past a Ga. Stole defender for two of his 21 points. (Photo
by Bob Johnson.
Bears smash Ga. State
r ,
with big second half
Dwane Morrison's Mercer
Bears closed out the season with
a powerful 100-74 victory over
Georgia State, in a game played
in Porter Gym Friday the 26th.
The Bears placed three men in
the 20-or more pojnt column, the
first time this year that more
than one Bear has made that
plateau in a gme
Bruce Gordy led the way with
24 points Leonard Hardin had
21, 17 in the second half, and
Jack Scott put 20 through the
nets. Hardin rebound honors,
with 13 Billie Smith and Gordy
had 8 a piece, while Scott
collected 7.
For the visiting Panthers,
Ron Ricketts was the top scorer
with 22. Tom Richardson had 17,
and Dwight Hamner had 11.
Ricketts was also the reboun
ding leader with ^2. Richardson
had 7, and John Cunningham
and Hamner had 6 a piece.
The Bears had knocked off
State earlier in the year, by a 70-
64 count, up in another old
gymnasium, . O’Keefe
Auditorium. The Bears had
been down the whole ball game
up there, but came back in the s "
last ten minutes, caught the
Panthers', and won the game on
four Scott foul shots in the
closing seconds
And if Oglethorpe was a game
of spurting offense action, then
this one made it look like an
exhibition of ball control. The
Panthers went out to a quick 5-2
lead, mainly on the effort of 6-9
Ricketts, who had three of the
by Tom Robinson
points.
But the Bears came right
back, putting in eight straight
points, with Scott, Jim Graham
(who was playing his last game
for Mercer) Gordy, and Monnie
Brabham putting in the points.
Two straight buckets by
Richardson tut the lead to one
with 14:40 lefi in the half.
Brabham kicked the score up to
13 by himself. A foul shot by
Scott made the score 14*11 with
12:54 left.
But State came right back
and passed the Bears at 15-14 on
a 15-footer by Richardson at the
12:40 mark.
30- footer that had the score at
25-24
Another spurt By State, again
with Ricketts leading the way.
pushed their lead back to seven,
31- 24, with 3:31 left.
But the Bears were not to be
put down for long. Mercer rolled
off nine points straight to go into
the lead, 33-31. Scott, Smith and
Gordy were the heroes of the
drive, with Gordy hitting a foul
shot with 2:03 left for the lead.
Oliver tied it up on a jumper
with 24 seconds left, but then
Hardin hit a 20-footer for what
seemed to be the half time lead.
Coat, from Page SB
The MERCER CLUSTER
Sport s
Mercer tied it up on a foul shot
by David Jones, but then the
Panthers hit a warm spell and
"Turned out seven straight
points, by working the ball
inside to Ricketts and 6-7 ■
Richardson. Richardson hit a
lay-up with 8:54 left in the half
Gordy hit for three points
within a minute to cut the score
to 22-18. and the big Bear
comeback was on.
The Panthers scored two to
make it 24-18, but when they
tumed around to see where the
Bears had gone. Scott put in a
But Smith was called for goal
tending on«a Richardson at
tempt with one second left, to
knot it ail up at 35-a piece at
halftime
When the halftime statistics
had been tabulated, the results
Were what was expected
Richardson Was the top scorer
for either team, with' 13
Ricketts had 10 for the Pan
thers.
Scott led the Bears through
the intermission with 11 (tor^y
had 10. Brabham had 5. and