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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 1981)
TwM Step 2in title chase begins tonight the battalion Page 9A Tuesday, January 20, issi By RICHARD OLIVER Sports Editor The second quarter of the 1981 basketball season begins tonight for the Texas Aggies, and no one need tell Shelby Metcalf s troops that it’s now or never in the quest for the SWC crown. And the 8-5 Aggies will be pursuing that goal without the help of 6-11 junior Rudy Woods. The three-year letterman from Bryan was declared ineli gible this week after failing to pass enough courses last semester. Although the loss of the big man in the middle may dampen the team’s spirit, Woods’ loss will not be a Analysis tting e extra waiteii ight. ave the SiiJ r. But we fail to happen.” ' restaurants i| at least the onaj are accepted] to start turniij ar times wen] stmas,” said I an’s, one of tit tions when it ; the cuisine, ling establish eipts, the bust ‘tly gloats over ‘ans comes into ness in such Staff photo by Greg Gammon Texas A&M reserve guard Jay McHugh keeps an eye on the ball while defending against SMU’s Dave Piehler in Saturday night’s 71-51 A&M win over the Ponies. The Aggies, 1-3, go against Rice tonight in G. Rollie White at 7:30 p.m. crushing blow by any means. Since Day 1 of the Conference schedule, Metcalf has been platooning Woods and shuffling in a two-guard lineup. Despite the 0-3 SWC record the Aggies brought into Saturday’s game with SMU, the two-guard sys tem has worked quite well as Tyrone Ladson, Reggie Roberts, Jay McHugh and Mike Brown have shared the duties. The most pleasant surprise has been the hustle and court sense of Brown, who dealt out a team season- high seven assists against SMU in the Ags 71-51 win at G. Rollie White. Brown, who transferred from Middle Georgia Junior College where he led that team to the national junior tournament, is now being used much more frequently by Metcalf after seeing action in only half of the first 12 games. He is a possible starter tonight. Another big surprise has been the consistent play of Riley. The newest member of The Wall, Riley exhibited his finest form of the season Saturday by scoring a career-high 21 points. The 6-9 sophomore from Crockett is averaging 11.2 points a game and 6.5 rebounds. Team leaders Vernon Smith and Rynn Wright have been erratic thus far, but their performances against Texas Tech and SMU signify that they may be back on the right track. Smith is averaging 13.6 points a game and nine rebounds, while Wright averages 12.7 and 6.3. Smith will become the Texas A&M all-time scoring leader in the next week or two. Smith has totaled 1,557 points in his over-three- year career here, and needs only 37 more to catch current leader John Beasley, who led the Aggies from 1964-66 and finished his career with 1,594 points. If current average holds true, Smith will pass up Beasley either against Arkansas Saturday in Fayette ville or Texas Monday night in College Station. Rice will be coming into College Station fresh from an overtime upset over Texas Tech, 52-50, which despite the loss has fashioned a surprising 3-2 record in the SWC so far. Rice returns five starters from last year’s 7-19 team, and are led by 6-5 All-SWC forward Ricky Pierce, who is averaging more than 20 points a game, and clinched the overtime win over Tech with a 20-foot jump shot with time running out. He is aver aging 53 percent from the field. 6-8 forward Kenny Austin is also a force to be reckoned with, averaging 10.3 points a game. The biggest problem the Aggies have faced over the past few weeks is a lack of leadership and unity on the court. Against Tech and SMU, however, that was no problem. “We got much more movement,” said Claude Riley after Saturday’s game. “We worked on getting more movement. We needed this win to get us back going. ” Although he won’t start, McDaniel will doubtless see some action. At this point, the Aggies are 1-3 in conference and 8-5 overall, it’s as simple as that. Judging from Satur day’s performance in front of a packed home crowd, the Ags have found themselves on the court. Howev er, the Owls have found they can play ball, too. At home in front of another packed house tonight, though, the Aggies will be hard to beat. “I just think we need to play at home,” Rynn Wright said Saturday. That’s the difference. \ \Welcc Big Ice Cream / Bash (If' Jan. 21, 7:30 B’NAI B'HlTH HILLEl, FOUNDATION Hillel Jewish Student Center 800 J ersey College Station, Tx. 696-7313 DART Leagues sign up now! B/Y.O. Darts Supplies Available 'ni YESTERDAYS “A fine entertainment establishment” BIlLL\RI)SH-BA€K(iAMMOiV--DAHTS Next to Luby’s 846-2625 HOUSE DRESS CODE {ichard given OK to train to have its gh the Supei Linda Hayden ; Chamber of >ple who come e what a vital United Press International Orleans is in- HOUSTON — Doctors Monday ^ a t BourbDu earedstroke-victim J.R. Richard to itch again and begin full-scale work- sew Orleans 11 Jls ‘n preparation for rejoining the louston Astros. 1 lot of people ^ staternent from the team termed -st party oil :tte N en t’ the results of medical t at the River- s t sma de last week to determine if -enter located icliarcl Had residual damage of he Mississippi e t e , ned muscIes on the left side of L Super Bond ls , 0 arder to come ^ statement clearly gave it it ictiard, last year s N L all-star start- orchestra will l? P itcher ’ the g reen nght for a re- - Preservation l " lto ‘ lle Ast u r . os ’ a f eat / ew P eo P k ‘ Orleans el,ev ecl possible in the first months been held at lllow inghis collapse July 30 from a as the Astro- j luxury liner Port of Lo 1 race track iree years the he number of its party, hot >-wall people- night New mows howto dded another tfolio. blood clot in a neck artery. The left side of his face, and his left arm and leg were partially paralyzed due to the absence of blood to his brain for more than four hours. Richard/30, underwent lifesaving surgery to remove the clot and then two months later went through an 18-hour operation to remove a clot in his right shoulder and to place an abdominal artery section in his right shoulder. A righthander, Richard is feared by National League hitters as one of the hardest throwers. He regularly throws his fastball at close to 100 mph. Richard was unavailable for com ment. Since the stroke, his attorneys have kept him in seclusion. The announcement did not speak of limitations, and it did not specu late about his future. “Houston Astros pitcher J.R. Richard has been cleared to begin a full pre-spring training workout program,” it said. s'WSC AGGIE CINEMA” In new screen splendor... The most magnificent picture ever! § DAVID QSFIZNICKSmwwctoio, MARGARET MITCHEU5 GONE WITH THE WIND” (MA Rrilcose . Comp.., O I n. t times! PG) (PG) I AST ALL IKE S” n e * la” : 3tt 9:35 I * : ! * ! s * I * i * lay 108 COLLEGE MAIN 846-2522 . v — __ - - .. —y Every Purchase Over $ 10°" Sale Items Not Included (Jan. 19-24 Only) AT NORTHGATE t STEREOPHONICSOUND-MEIROCOtOR • An MOM Re ieiease WEDNESDAY 7:30 FRIDAY 7:30, 9:45 & 12 Wanted!... used books Who needs them? Your College Bookstore. Top prices for used textbooks. Now that you ve finished the fall semester, why delay? Bring in your used books and get cash on the line today. ... , - • - SATURDAY7:30, 9:45 & 12 "ANN W HAL ir IpgI United Artists SUNDAY 7:30 HALL OF FAME Welcome Back Aggies! if * * * ! -I * J i ! * J ! TUESDAY NIGHT.. . Music by “Loners” All single shot drinks $ 1 00 60 oz. pitcher of Lone Star $ 1 00 Admission $2.00 per person WEDNESDAY NIGHT... Music by “Silver Creek" ASM students get in FREE! with I.D. and valid identification Pitcher Beer $ 2 50 Thursday night. .. Music by “Deboniares” Admission $2.00 per person THE TEXAS HALL OF FAME OFF 2818 IN BRYAN N I !> N S N s S s s s s ***** <izZZZ2ZZ2SZZZZZ32ZZZZZZZ23ZZ <£££ J J # custo' 11 Cap® . €y “If an Aggj e needs it, we’ Vp probably got jt “ Used B° okS # Scftoo/ # %/fe, Up PHes s„J Sf y /,es # calculator* ^' S hirt s * Full 2-Week Refund * 90-Day War- ranty on All Calculators * Quantity Discounts 0n Shirts * Plenty of Free Parking • Aggie Gifts * y et supP l,es OPEN DAILY 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. We Accept Master Charge & VISA on All Books 696-2111 Across from the University Police Station 340 Jersey St. and Supplies ’-3 >