Page 12 THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1. 1978
sports
Moody Coliseum: a place the Aggies hate to visi
By PAUL ARNETT
Battalion Sports Editor
The Texas A6tM basketball team
doesn’t like to play in Moody Col
iseum. In this decade the Aggies
have lost six out of seven limes.
"The SMU Mustangs are always
tough at home, coach Shelby Met
calf said. “But if we don’t beat them
now we may be playing them again in
Dallas when the play-offs roll
around.
“That’s why I was burning candles
for Ric e the other night. If they had
beaten them then we would have
been tied for fifth place. ”
Fifth place means home court ad
vantage in the conference play-offs.
SMU is currently in fifth place with a
record of 4-5. Baylor and Texas A&M
are tied for sixth place with records of
3-6.
“If we lose tonight, then the best
we can hope for is sixth place, ” Met
calf said. “Tonight is a must game for
It’s a must game for the Mustangs
as well.
“We can’t afford to lose this one,”
coach Sonny Allen said. “We lost a
game in College Station earlier in the
year that we had no business losingj
This time I think our kids know what
to expect. ”
The leader of the Ponies is Reggie
Franklin. The junior transfer from
Houston is the team’s leading scorer
averaging 12.3 points a game.
Franklin proved earlier in the year
that he can also play under pressure.
“We had one second left on the
clock and Franklin made a shot that
one us a ball game against Houston,”
Allen said. “He and Swanson have
been our best players this year.”
Senior Jeff Swanson is averaging
12 points and seven rebounds a
game. He is a player Metcalf has al
ways respected.
“We wanted Jeff real bad when he
was in high school,” Metcalf said.
“He is real strong on the boards and
can score down low. He has never
had a real good game against us. I
hope that holds true tonight.
The other three starters for SMU
are T.J. Robinson, Phil Hale and
Joey Cerovalo. All three are good on
the fast break.
“My theory in basketball is to get
the ball up court on offense as
quickly as you can,” Allen said. “This
year’s club is not as quick as teams we
have had in the past, but we still look
for the quick bucket whenever we
can.”
Metcalf has a completly different
theory. A6cM will try to maintain a
slower tempo. Run and gun will kill
them.
“We 11 definetly try to play our
style of basketball,” Metcalf said.
“We beat them at home by looking
for the good shot; not by running up
and down the floor.”
The team that can play its style of
basketball is the one who shall win.
In Moody Coliseum the Mustangs
have a distinct advantage. Metcalf
hopes his team can overcome the
Moody jinx.
A&M forward Albert Culton (No. 33) tries to
save an errant pass. Culton, a freshman from
Ennis, had four points against the Baylor
Bears on Monday night. The Aggies defeat T° n
the Bears 58-56.
Battalion photo hy Pal OMifc if]
David Boggan
A
revolution has occurred
These are the times that try men’s
souls.
— Thomas Paine
Paine was talking about the Amer
ican Revolution. Remember, the
one in 1776? But his words of wis
dom apply perfectly to the Aggie
basketball revolution of 1978.
The last three home games have
truly been times that try men s
souls. In fact, if the times in G.
Rollie White were any more tying.
Aggie fans would probably squeeze
an entire generation of future Ags
into nonexistence.
Before the season started, coach
Shelby Metcalf said that his team
consisted of three separate groups.
“We have Karl (Godine) and Jar
vis (Williams) from two years ago,”
Metcalf said in November. “We
have Dave Goff and Steve Sylestine
and that group from last year and we
have this year s freshmen.”
It was this lack of togetherness
that was one of the Aggies major
enemies in the first part of the sea-
“They (the players) are all good
people. They all wanted to win,
Metcalf said Tuesday. “They just
lacked unity and Basketball depends
on team work.
Then came the Aggie revolution -
that point in the season where the
team started playing as a team. A
quick look at the history of the revo
lution shows that it started on Jan.
23.
TOM FOOLERY’S
Newly Recovered
pool tables
Electronic pinball
machines
78 Foosball
tables
THE BATT DOES IT DAILY
Monday through Friday
AGGIE SPECIAL Va PRICE WITH I.D.
Open
DOC
3UC
IX 1C
30C
ogK" - -xk:
SENATE VACANCIES
313 S. College
12-12 Mon.-Thurs.
12-2 Fri. Sat.
1-12 Sun.
Located Next to Sports Club
846-9863
Applications will be taken through
Thursday, February 2, for the following
Senate seats:
*
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-K
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It was on that day that with a 1-4
conference record, their best game
of the season against the undefeated
Texas Longhorns. In overtime Ron
Baxter made the shot heard around
the coliseum and gave Texas a 79-77
victory. But the Aggie forces proved
that they were a spirited delegation
that could produce 40+ minutes of
good basketball.
Unfortunately, their next battle
took the* Aggies into the Valley
Forge-like climate of Ft. Worth
where they had more luck with
snowballs than with basketballs.
They were defeated by TCU 66-59.
Metcalfs army returned to their
battleground on the Brazos where,
in two soul-trying confrontations,
they defeated the forces of Rice and
Baylor 74-70 and 58-56, respec
tively.
T think we bottomed out at
TCU,” Metcalf said.
“We had our first team meeting
after that game and worked out our
difference. Now the players have
complete unity and respect for each
other. I think that s one reason for
our improved performance.
But it is not all downhilll
here for the Aggies. With aW(|
ference record, very few of4
remaining games will be easy?
with their new-found unity ]
long road ahead begins ton) ’
against SMU, a team thati
ditionally tough on the Agpie ervict
Dallas. jest of
A victory over the Ponies w
put A&M in a tie for the
important fifth place in the cm orep;
ence standings. If the Aggiesa endoi
get a home court advantageii
first round of the SWC toumaa eady
A&!
they must finish at least
right to a home court is beslf Satun
upon the second through fifthf iofhe
finishers, with the eonfen
champions getting a bye intoti lynn
nals of the tournament
One interesting note isi he B
Baylor shot 28 more free tl®irow:
than A&M did in Waco and
lege Station the Bears shot only
more free throw than the A[
Inconsistancy in officiating? Si ias 0
it so say that if the Aggie revo|i vee k
had a battle cry, it would pro!
be, “Get some eyeglasses, ref.
a a 111 tit it i:
••••••••I
eft kn
nd ha
epon
meup
3ave
The
te
SENIOR — AGRICULTURE
GRADUATE — LIBERAL ARTS
UNDERGRADUATE — OFF
CAMPUS
Contact the Student Government
Office (5-3051) for more information.
£xxi
otyc.
otic
ottc
OtKZ
OtK
SPECIAL
Unclaimed Repair Watches
Fr „ m $ 10 00
Embrey's Jewelry
Pizza Express
Is Now Open
The
day H
loust
rhen
Coa
M
For Lunch!
up
415 University Dr
College Station
'The Friendly Store"
**c=!5 3
9-5:30 Mon.-Fri
9-5:00 Sat.
846-5816
»g'kU2«i^MK* k ^ ( *K n StQ > *2C M 2S >( SS*'&eS*'S£*S£ N 2Si ,l £Sg , *&S n SS9 n 2
EVERY
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11 a.m. to
2 p.m.
846-7785
11 i 11111 it t i m m i rrrri
easo
Cougr
doust
or the
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oi<3 Sowtyi
Saturday February 18, 1978
9:00 - 1:00
Texas A&M University
Town Hall
presents
Special Attraction
MAYNARD FERGUSON
AND
ORCHESTRA
ft ''
Primal Scream
#
The Fly «*
*‘7
Star Wars 9
f
acArthur Park
^ Gonna Fly Now •{
Maria
Tuesday, February 21
8:15 p.m. Rudder Auditorium
Tickets
Zone 1
Zone 2
Zone!
A&M Student/Date $3.00 $2.50
General Public $4.00 $3.50
All seats are reserved
Priority period for Texas A&M students
January 30 - February 3
Tickets and Information:
MSC Box Office 845-2916