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Was There Ever Any Doubt? Aggies SWC Champs!
Che Battalion
VOLUME 64 Number 75
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1969
Telephone 845-2226
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WE’RE THE GREATEST
It was a time for rejoicing in the Aggie dressing room last night as Coach Shelby Met
calf’s cagers cinched the Southwest Conference championship. Joining in the celebration
from left to right above are assistant coach Jim Culpepper, Sonny Benefield, Billy Bob
Barnett, Ronnie Peret, Oliver Biggers and assistant coach Terry Trippet. (Photo by Mike
* Wright)
Water And Glee Flow
Freely After Clincher
By JOHN PLATZER
Battalion Sports Editor
Immediately following A&M’s
79-66 victory over Arkansas, Spec
Gammon grabbed the floor micro
phone in G. Rollie White to an
nounce that TCU had a six-point
lead over Baylor.
The Aggie basketballers were
quicker than the Aggie sports
publicist, however, as Ronnie
: Peret and Oliver Biggers already
had head coach Shelby Metcalf
in hand and were heading up
the ramps in the direction of the
i showers.
Before the celebration was
[ completed, everyone within reach
of the delirious Southwest Con
ference champs had been forced
into a fully-clothed bath includ
ing assistant coaches Jim Cul
pepper, Johnny Underwood and
Terry Trippet, assistant athletic
director Marvin Tate, business
manager Wally Groff and trainer
Billy Pickard.
WHEN THE NEWS of TCU’s
four-point victory was finally re
layed to the dressing room, Met
calf retired to his office to relive
the championship with the press
corps.
“I just don’t know which team
is better. I believe that they’re
both good ballclubs,” Coach Met
calf answered the obvious ques
tion of which of the champion
ship teams he has coached was
the better (1964 or 1969).
Back in the confines of the
Aggie dressing quarters, the word
“great” had become the most
popular word in the English lan
guage.
“It’s great! Just great! This is
the greatest team in the world,”
sophomore guard Bill Cooksey
exclaimed.
BILLY BOB Barnett, who has
been A&M’s top point maker
throughout the season and con
tinued as the big gun last night,
emphasized the scope of the vic
tory.
“This is the greatest win of
Ags Battle Trinity
For Mid west Berth
The winner of the A&M-Trin-
ity game March 8 in Fort Worth
will meet the Missouri Valley
Conference champion, which has
Hot been determined yet, on
March 13 in Manhattan, Kan. At
present, Louisville holds a one-
half game lead over drake and a
one-game bulge over third place
Tulsa, but they still have to play
Drake in their home gym. If
Drake wins the contest, there will
be a three-way tie for the first
place berth and a playoff will be
in the offing.
The winner of the MVC-South-
West game will play the winner
of the game between the Big
Eight Conference and an as yet
unnamed at-large team on March
15 in Manhatten. The leader
thus far in the Big Eight is Kan
sas with a one-game bulge over
both Kansas State and Colorado.
The at-large entries will join
15 conference representatives in
the university division playoffs
starting March 8.
lected Tuesday were St. John’s,
N.Y., (20-3), No. 7 in the AP poll,
and Duquesne (17-3) ranked No.
10
Also chosen were Villanova,
New Mexico State (21-3), No. 16,
and Marquette (19-4), No. 18.
Other at-large teams receiving
bids were Dayton (17-6), Notre
Dame (18-5), Trinity (18-4),
Colorado State (15-4) and Seattle
18-7.
Regional winners will meet for
the national crown March 20-22
in Louisville, Ky.
UCLA is the defending NCAA
university division champion, and
this year’s tournament field also
includes Dayton, last season’s
winner of the National Invita
tional Tournament.
Boston College (18-3) became
the first team Tuesday to be
picked for the NIT, which begins
March 13 in Madison Square Gar
den.
Leading the list of squads se-
University National Bank
“On the side of Texas A&M.
—Adv.
Ags Win SWC Title
With 79-66 Victory
my life,” the Brenham senior said.
“Everybody on this club sticks
together. Everybody fights to win
and, as a result, everybody wins.”
To senior Ronnie Peret the
victory meant the ending of a
long grind and the beginning of
another.
“We’ve waited a long, long time
for this. Since we have waited so
long, I guess it means as much
to us as a ‘Super Bowl’ would,”
the 6-9 Plainview native said.
“We’ve still got a lot of work
ahead of us (the Midwest Re-
gionals),” Peret quickly added.
SONNY BENEFIELD, the Ag
gie’s playmaker from Sweeny,
said that it was strictly a “team
effort.”
“It’s the most wonderful feeling
in the world,” the 6-1 senior said.
“We’ve been working for this
since we were freshmen. I’ll tell
you this, it’s not just for five
players either but is for every
boy on this team.”
“This is pretty good especially
in your sophomore year,” seven-
footer Steve Niles chimed in.
“It was a helluva win.”
MIKE HEITMANN undressed
slowly in front of his locker as
he savored every moment of the
triumph.
“We’ve worked and worked for
this,” the Houston Sam Houston
junior said.
“There was a feeling that we
were home free and then, all of
a sudden, there it (the champion
ship) is.”
“IT’S GREAT, I just wish we
could have been a part of it last
year,” Underwood, a member of
last season’s Aggie team, said.
“It was a tremendous team
effort.”
Trippet, also a member of last
season’s team, said that the cham
pionship “feels great.”
“These guys really worked for
it. They paid the price and you
get what you work for.”
“I HAD a feeling that this was
going to be the longest week of
the season and, yet, it’s been the
shortest and sweetest,” Culpepper
said.
Perhaps the least fazed by the
celebration was sophomore Chuck
Smith. The Odessa native was
calmly dressing when he was
asked for his impression of the
championship.
“It’s different,” the 6-4 West
Texan deadpanned and then turn
ed back to finish dressing.
By RICHARD CAMPBELL
Assistant Sports Editor
As Bill Cooksey’s jump shot lay
on the rim for three full seconds
and finally dropped in, so the
Texas Aggies dropped into the
Southwest Conference throne
room Tuesday night by whipping
the Arkansas Razorbacks, 79-66,
before 5,800 fans in G. Rollie
White.
This victory had iced away at
least a tie for the conference
crown, but the underdog Texas
Christian Horned Frogs helped
pave the way by upsetting the
second place Baylor Bears to give
the Aggies the outright cham
pionship, their first since 1964.
The victory gave A&M an 11-1
conference mark while Baylor is
now 8-4 and tied for second place
with Southern Methodist, who
beat Texas, 71-69. With only two
games left, the Aggies have the
mathematical edge on the rest of
the field.
A&M WILL now meet the Trin
ity Tigers of the Southland Con
ference in the university division
playoffs of the NCAA on March
8 in Fort Worth for the right to
advance to the Midwest Region-
als.
The Aggies used fine outside
shooting coupled with a fierce
rebounding attack to put down
the scrappy but outmanned Razor-
backs. A&M, led by Billy Bob
Barnett with 16 rebounds, com
pletely dominated the boards by
pulling down 50 to 26 for the
Hogs. Barnett also led all scorers
with 21 points to put in one of
his finest games of the year.
Towering seven-footer Steve
Niles dropped in two free throws
to start the contest and give the
Aggies their first lead at 2-0
while sharpshooting Sonny Bene
field kept A&M ahead with two
long jump shots. With 16:22 left,
Razorback Benton Cone, a quick
5'11" guard from Wilmot, Ark.,
popped in two 20-foot jumpers to
push the Hogs ahead for the first
time, 8-7.
ARKANSAS STAYED in front
until Benefield hit a 24-foot
jumper to put A&M ahead 15-14.
From there on, the lead changed
hands seven times and was tied
three times until with 7:54 left
in the first half, junior Bill
Brown found 6'9" Ronnie Peret
free under the basket for a layup
and put the Ags ahead to stay,
25-23. Sophomore deadeye Bill
Cooksey got hot in the remainder
of the first half and hit three
straight jumpers to give the Ag
gies their largest lead at 39-29.
Cone then trimmed the margin to
39-31 with a last second 26-footer
for the halftime score.
After the dust had cleared, the
Ags had dragged down 22 re
bounds to only nine for the visit
ing Hogs and had hit 16 of 31
from the field for 51.6 per cent to
13 of 28 and 46.4 per cent for the
Razorbacks. The turnovers were
tied at eight apiece and the free
throws were close as the Razor-
backs hit five of five from the
line while the Cadets connected
on seven of eight.
IN THE second half, the Razor-
backs stayed within ten points
and even trimmed the margin to
eight with 12 minutes left and it
looked like the Hogs might make
a determined bid for an upset.
But two ticks of the clock later,
their chances all but went out the
window when their leading scorer,
6'5" James Eldridge of Green
Forest, Ark., fouled Cooksey and
departed from the contest with
his fifth personal foul. This spur
red the Aggies to action and they
proceeded to build their lead to
15 points on Cooksey’s 27-foot
jumper with 8:33 left.
But the sticky Hogs fought
back on the outside shooting of
sophomore Donnie Watts, who
had to play with a heavily taped
left knee which he injured in the
first half, to pull within eleven
at 63-52 with 5:46 left. After two
free throws by Barnett, Robert
McKenzie drove the baseline,
made a layup, and was fouled by
Barnett. He missed the free
throw but Arkansas after another
Watts shot had narrowed the gap
to only nine points at 65-56. Fol-
S' 1
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SHOWER BOUND
Aggie Coach Shelby Metcalf was corraled by Oliver Biggers
(left) and Ronnie Peret immediately following A&M’s 79-
66 victory over Arkansas last night and ushered off to the
showers. The Aggies were celebrating their first SWC
cage championship since 1964. (Photo by Mike Wright)
lowing a timeout by the Aggies,
Chuck Smith drove the baseline
and was fouled by Watts. He
made the bucket but missed the
free throw and the Ags led 67-56.
ARKANSAS called a timeout to
talk the situation over with 4:42
left and following that, Smith
made another layup on an assist
(See AGS WIN, Page 6)
CLEAR THE WAY
Billy Bob Barnett (24) clears his own way through the
Arkansas Razorbacks as he scores two of his 21 points in
last night’s game. Getting ready for the rebound is Steve
Niles (52) while Larry Grisham (23) and Ricky Tanne-
berger (11) attempt to block Barnett’s path. (Photo by
Mike Wright)
Jubilant Students
Toast Champions
By JANIE WALLACE
Battalion Sports Writer
Ecstasy is not something you
can describe in a few words, but
Aggies attempted to describe it
with their actions following
A&M’s coronation as the South
west Conference Champions last
night.
“It’s out-of-sight, just out-of-
sight,” exclaimed Ronald Young,
a sophomore from Church Point,
La.
As the crowd tensely waited for
the results of the Texas Chris-
tian-Baylor game, cries of “pull
it out, TCU, beat Baylor” were
heard from the anticipating fans.
“Since the Ags haven’t ‘flinched
in the pinch’, I think they deserve
to win,” James Gieb, a second-
year vet student from Fort
Worth, said.
, After the score of the crown-
cinching Baylor game was an
nounced three times, pandemoni
um reigned supreme at G. Rollie
White Coliseum.
Scotty Taylor, a senior from
Lufkin, wasn’t surprised at the
outcome, “I thought we had it
won all the time—it’s wonderful.”
“I guess we showed t.u., we
don’t share our titles with any
body,” boasted a proud Squadron
8 fish, Roy Rice of Port Arthur.
Texas and Askansas shared the
conference title for football.
“I think it’s about time for an
other championship, since the last
one was five years ago,” stated
Stewart Sisco, a senior from
Bryan.
As the happy crowd milled out
of the coliseum, a lone yell of
“Texas Aggies, 1968-69 South
west Conference Champs!’’
brought forth spontaneous “wild
cats.”
“Even though I’m with the
Aggies, no matter how the season
record looks, I think the basket
ball team makes up for our dis-
appointing football season. Of
course, it’s only natural that we
should have a championship title
every year,” said Tom Steiger, a
freshman from San Antonio.
“We won the championship eas
ier than I expected. Who would
have thought TCU could beat
Baylor?” a senior from Baytown,
John Pavlas said. “It’s great!”
“It’s groovy we won, and that
number 13 (Sonny Benefield) is
so cute,” quipped an anonymous
A&M coed as she walked out of
the stands.
“I’m so happy that we won, I
think I’ll celebrate,” a junior yell
leader, David Hoelscher from
Alice, said.
All in all, “it’s great” was
heard from everyone, but a fresh
man from Dallas, Albert Clegg,
summed up the crowd’s sentiments
with, “It’s absolutely fantastic.”
Yell Practice
Set Tonight
Bryan Building & Loan
Association. Your Sav
ings Center, since 1919.
B B L*
-Adv.
Yell practice will be tonight at
7:15 p.m. in G. Rollie White Coli
seum according to Head Yell
Leader Bill Youngkin.
The Yell practice will be the
first of the season for the newly
crowned Southwest Conference
champion basketball team.