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Sports Sports editor Taking Losing Like A Winner Any time a team loses a game, no matter what the situation, it is often difficult for a reporter to conduct a post-game interview in any land of tactful fashion. Can you imagine dealing with Bobby Knight after Sunday's loss at his Ohio State alma mater? I'm sure that he was ripping reporters left and right Look, reporters often think that they know the game when they don't have a clue. But Bobby Knight makes you look stupid, whether you are or whether you are not Fortunately, Coach Knight often bypasses the post-game and goes straight to the heart of the matter throwing chairs, pounding his own son or talking about the Almighty as if he was an Indiana fan. A little bit different situation came about Saturday night in the small city of Albany, Ga. The Perry boys basketball team had just lost only its third game of the *93- 94 season. This one was a little .different than the first two, however. Yes, Perry's season was over. All the dreams of spending this weekend in Atlanta came to a crushing halt Hey, it was even tough on me. Don't think that I didn't care about Perry. Following the team the last three months has been very entertaining. Everybody was very cooperative, especially die seniors. Honestly, I couldn't say anything negative about these guys because what I saw was totally positive. So was the coach. Dealing with Carl Thomas was not very difficult. When you win by 30 or 40 points *every game, it's kind of tough to talk about the game. I mean, what do you say? But, and I say this with appreciation, Thomas would always come up with some type of cliche to fill the pages. He saved some of his best work for those blowouts. And that helped me fill the 20 inches of text that I had on those deadline nights. However, here we are Saturday night. Game over. Season over. Carroll Rogers of The Macon Telegraph and I are standing outside the locker room waiting for Thomas to emerge. I didn't know what to expect. Would Thomas just walk on by in disgust? Would he start crying in mid-sentence? Would he angrily blame Rogers and the Telegraph for picking his team to have little trouble with Westside? None of the above. He spoke quietly, looking rather exhausted. But Thomas was positive throughout. He took losing like a winner. That is something I've really grown to admire in my short stint as a sports journalist I’ve dealt with a lot of coaches, most on the college level. I've seen coaches just walk oft the podium in post-game. Flustered, angry, crying, etc. I've seen it all. In my mind, the true mark of a coach is his or her ability to handle defeat with the same dignity and grace of a win. Winning is a part of life I think we often take much too seriously. All too often, we lose more than we win. Sometimes, you just have to let your emotions go. But nobody should be used to absorb the punishment, whether it's a reporter, a spouse, a friend, a player, a drink, a wall or somebody's face. Panther Baseball Extravaganza If you are a fan of Perry High School baseball, you will undoubtedly want to contribute to this Saturday's 100-inning marathon game to be held at the school. It will be a day of fun for all involved, and there will be plenty of entertainment for all members of the family. Possibly the best entertainment will be provided by the extremely youthful Panthers, who have already accrued a pair of wins in two shot weeks of play. The money raised Saturday will go toward getting jackets for each member of the team. For more information, call coach Bob Jones at 988-6298 or Sandra Jones at 987- 2167. PHS Title Dream Cut Short Bv s Moore Scores 31 As Patriots Move On To Atlanta By BILL OVERTON Sport* Editor James Brown may be the headline act when he arrives at the Albany Civic Center for a concert next week. But Saturday night, Westside junior all-American Ricky Moore was doing all the dancing. And there's no doubt that he was humming a few bars of "I feel good." Moore exploded with 20 second half points to almost single handedly give the Augusta-based Patriots a 76-67 victory over Perry in the quarterfinal round of the GHSA Class AAA Tournament Westside, 26-2, moved on to Thursday's semifinal against Lithonia. Perry ended its season at 24-3. Moore, a Street and Smith all- American, sewed no points in the first quarter, even more remarkable considering he finished with 31 on the evening. Perry coach Carl Thomas said that there was little that his team could do to stop Moore. "[He was] everywhere and everything," Thomas said. "But you've got to give the rest of them credit to. When we played zone, they all hit their shots. When we trapped, they moved the ball and would get a good shot. When we played man, they'd penetrate and go to the basket "They had the answer for every move that was made." Moore was the catalyst for nearly every second half action by the Patriots. Oinging to a 55-54 lead entering the final quarter, Moore turned it up to what seemed to be a new level But Perry had its own version of an all-American in senior Keith Wimberly. Seconds into the fourth, Wimberly drove into the paint for a short jumper to give Perry a 56-55 lead. wm jhh|, — v — aBPSH k pHpi- 3p r «Hi ■ m t 1 »!»V I" .-;jPPpBI ; jjjß Bp||HHppHH m gNpr f-'- : Hr ShUSt * ;«lgMlfcf?ljflsSjgli»MMß3MH«a«BHßKißßßiHßii^Hßßaß i 3»sfip%ggaE ~ «3aaß». wpnpnW : » .9HH | s^Ul^MSftpggiSg^^ ' >; coach Carl Thomas and tha rant of tha Parry bench wonder during the closing momenta. Seniors Marked By Accomplishments By BILL OVERTON Sports Editor As Westside salted away the final 20 seconds of its 76-67 victory over Perry Saturday night, the Panther bench started growing somber. The third-ranked Panthers were about to lose for only the third time in 27 games. But this loss was like no other, for there was tomorrow for Perry. It was simply win or be eliminated. As broken-hearted as the bench looked surrounding sixth year coach Carl Thomas, it was hardly matched by the pain of the five remaining players on the floor. Seniors Eric Richardson, Keith Wimberly, Stacy Francis, Tarvish Felton and Boris King all stood on the Albany Civic Center floor in that last 20 seconds, cruel victims of Albany's mystique once again. The five seniors ended their careers Saturday, careers that span back about as long as they can remember. They went from childhood friends playing for enjoyment to young men playing with goals. Many of those goals were Boys Westside 76 Perry 67 For the next several minutes, the game turned into a one-on-one battle between Moore and Wimberly, with each matching the other’s shots. The lead flip-flopped nine times during the opening four minutes of the quarter. "We tried to send one of our post men at [Moore]," Thomas said. "We like to double a lot with guards. But they were moving the ball to open guards and hitting the shots. So finally we came up with the idea of running a forward at him. And it was semi-successful." The two teams (or players) finally went silent three-quarters through the quarto-. With Westside holding a 65-64 lead, and both teams looking sluggish, Patriot senior Troyce Tillman found his way into the lane, knocked down the two and was fouled by Wimberly. Tillman made the free throw and Westside led by four with 1:48 remaining. Thomas knew that Perry had plenty of time to make up the four point margin. But he also knew that Perry couldn't afford any mistakes down the stretch. The Panthers made two crucial blunders in the final moments. Both came with Perry down four and dying to find an outlet pass to start the transition game. But Perry rushed the passes and ended up throwing them out of bounds. Opportunities lost translated Into a long trip home for the Panthers. "Down the stretch, there were some key things," Thomas said. "We missed a couple of free throws. We had some turnovers. We rushed when it really wasn't necessary to push the ball." Please see PHS, page 8A realized. One big one was noL But Thomas thinks that the play of the five starting seniors, plus Shawn Bass and Boris Nedev, will be remembered for their accomplishments, not for what they failed to accomplish. "There's nothing that I can say right now that's going to take away the pain at this moment," Thomas said following the game. "Well have the time to reflect on not only the season, but the careers. "I hope we're at the point in our program where we're at this level each year. That would be [the seniors'] legacy." The achievements of the 1993-94 version of Perry basketball are numerous. The most consistent of Thomas' six clubs crept all the way to third in the state among Class AAA teams by the end of the regular season. The Panthers finished unbeaten at home for the second straight season. Perry beat Peach County, a team which occupied the number one spot in the Associated Press poll, twice. Included in that batch of victories was a win in Fort Houston Times-Jous ,t w> rm W vljEasßiSlßly* .. Wi il n El** m SL^ ji life I life:;, - * H p: :-X III? Erie Richardson takes on the starting five of Weatskle on his way to ttu> b>> ' Valley, the first one for a Thomas-coached squad. Perry won the Region 2-AAA title, never losing a game against a region opponent and averaging victories by 29.5 points per contest And the Panthers put an end to the question, "will Perry ever beat an Albany team?" by knocking oft Monroe of Albany in the first round Thursday, avenging one of the prior two losses in the season. All the achievements may mean very little to the Panthers at this moment. But with the move to Class AA next year and three solid seasons of winning basketball, Thomas knows that Perry basketball is back on the map. And most of the thanks goes to the collection of seniors. "The last two years, the team that has put us out was runner up in the state," Thomas said. "[Westside] will finish no worse than fourth. "At Perry we have a good basketball tradition. It slipped for a little while but I would like to think we're back at the level people expect" Wednesday, March 9,1994 Houston Times -Jourr Baseball/Soft ball Registration Ongoing The Perry Recreation Department is still holding softball registration through Friday afternoon at the recreation office on Keith Drive. There will be three leagues open for play, including men's open, church and ladies' open. The fee is $350 per team. Also, Perry Recreation baseball and sotball registration is currendy ongoing through March 18 or until full. The signups are available for boys and girls ages 5-18. The baseball program is affiliated with Dixie Baseball and will have an age cut-off of August ■ vvIBSP’ \ -Biff Close But Not Quite Close Enough Keith Beamon lets fly a birdie putt In Monday's Perry Rotary Club Tournament at the Perry Country Club. Seamon and hla team of Larry Arnold, Llnwood Barrett and Hal Brannan played In the acrambts fc » t tournament. Incidentally, tha putt flew by th # t /« page 7A 1, 1994. For softball, dir. age cut off is September 1 The cost is slb b « - $32 for two or more I; te city of Perry. For county ms, that fee goes up to $24 and S4B, respectively. For out of of county residents, the fee goer up to $32 and $64. Practices are scheduled to begin in middle to late April The recreation ofi see at Rozar Park is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information on softball or baseball registration, call the recreation office at 98K 8075 or 988-8131.