Thursday, March 13> 1986TThe Battalion/Page 9 Delta Devils pray for inspiration =: Mississippi Valley State needs miracle against Duke Associated Press If the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State are looking for inspira tion, they might consider the Flying Dutchmen.of Lebanon Valley. Mississippi Valley, the little school whose mailing address is “Highway S2, Itta Bena, MS, 38941,” is receiv- ng an untold amount of national at tention because it has to play top- anked Duke on Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA basket- aall tournament. The history of the NCAA tourna ment is littered with the broken dreams of unassuming little schools which found themselves vying for the national championship and all too quickly found themselves out of the running, with no more than a ‘Thanks for coming and drive home safely.” Rarely does a team of Mississippi Valley’s stature survive a first-round meeting with a team as powerful as he Dukes of the world. Last year, for example, little Lehigh was pic- ured as being fed to the lions*— ac- urately, as it turned out. T he Hoyas NCAA Basketball Tourney of Georgetown licked their collective chops and swallowed Lehigh 68-43. Ahh, but once every so often . . . In 1953, Lebanon Valley, now a Division III member of the Middle Atlantic Conference, was invited to the NCAA tournament. The Flying Dutchmen were decided underdogs against Fordham, but the kids from Annville, Pa., knocked off the big boys from the Bronx, N.Y., 80-67. The dream died in the next round when Louisiana State beat Lebanon Valley 89-76. Mississippi Valley Coach La fayette Strihling is delighted to be pursuing the dream this year. “We’re not going in there with the attitude that we can’t win,” Strihling said. “We respect all, but fear none. I’ve always said that before you can be successful you have got to over come obstacles.” Yes — but what about playing Duke? “We are proud to be here, to be a Kings subdue Mavs in overtime, 127-120 Associated Press DALLAS — Sacramento’s Reggie ITheus hit six free throws and a bas- | ket in overtime Wednesday night to I lift the Kings to a 127-120 NBA lovertime victory over the Dallas | Mavericks, who had beaten them eight straight times. Rolando Blackman’s two free throws tied the game at 109-all in regulation with 41 seconds left, and Eddie Johnson missed a short jumper to give Dallas a chance to run down the clock for the final shot. But Jay Vincent’s jump shot hit the rim at the buzzer. The Kings took immediate com mand in overtime with Theus’ eight points, giving him 32 for the game. Blackman had a game-high 46 points for Dallas, which was without the services of leading scorer Mark Aguirre, who missed his second straight game with the flu. iMSArro Johnson added 31 points for the , Kings, while Vincent had 20 for Dal las. NBA Roundup Hide as lay. the Kings hit 19 of 24 shots in the first quarter and the 79-percent shooting staked them to a 38-26 lead. Sacramento built the margin to 16 points midway through the second Other Wednesday Scores: (home team in capitals) Atlanta 113 NEW JERSEY 97 PHILADELPHIA 105 New York 95 Washington 128 CLEVELAND 114 DETROIT 1 1 1 Indiana 101 Phoenix 127 MILWAUKEE 126 (OF) Golden State at UT AH (late) Seattle at L.A. CLIPPERS (late) quarter before Dallas cut it to a 61- 51 deficit at halftime. Dallas f inally grabbed the lead for the first time in the third period on a James Donaldson dunk; then the game see-sawed back and forth until the overtime. part of the NCAA tournament. And playing a team like Duke is another honor.” Yes — but what are the Delta Dev ils’ chances of winning? “We’ll pray a lot,” Strihling said. In Thursday’s two other East Re gional first-round games at Greens boro, Oklahoma plays Northeastern and Virginia faces DePaul. In the Southeast Regional first- round games Thursday at Baton Rouge, La., it’s Georgia Tech vs. Marist, Virginia Tech vs. defending champion Villanova, Memphis State vs. Ball State and Purdue vs. LSU. In Midwest Regional opening- round play at Dayton, Ohio, it’s Jacksonville vs. Temple, No. 1 seed Kansas vs. North Carolina A&T, 1985 runnerup Georgetown vs. Texas Tech and Michigan State vs. Washington. And in the West Regional first round at Ogden, Utah, it’s Louisville vs. Drexel, Bradley vs. Texas-El Paso, Alabama-Birmingham vs. Mis souri and North Carolina vs. Utah. 5- run inning powers Twins past Astros Associated Press KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Mark David son hit a grand slam home run, and Kent Hrbek added a two-run homer to power the Minnesota Twins to a 7-4 exhibition victory over the Hous ton Astros Wednesday. Davidson’s homer highlighted a five-run seventh inning against Jeff Heathcock. ■ Hrbek’s homer Exhibition came off Hous- ton starter Nolan Ryan in the first inning. Bert Blyleven allowed only one hit over the first four innings to earn the victory. Ron Davis pitched two scoreless innings to collect the save. Troy Asenir capped a four-run Houston uprising in the seventh with a two-run homer. Braves 6, Rangers 5 POMPANO BEACH, Fla. —- Omar Moreno’s two-out, two-run homer capped a four-run ninth in ning comeback as Atlanta beat Texas 6- 5 in an exhibition baseball game Wednesday. The loss was the Rangers’ first of the spring against three victories. Texas was playing a second, split squad game against the Yankees at Fort Lauderdale Wednesday night. How to buy a performance You can use the American Express® Card to buy concert tickets for your favorite groups or airplane tickets for your vaca tions. It’s the perfect way to pay for all the little things, and the big-ticket items, that you’ll want during college. How to get the Card before you graduate. Because we believe college is the first sign of success, we’ve made it easier for you to get the American Express Card. Graduating students can get the Card as soon as they accept a $10,000 career-oriented job. If you’re not graduating yet, you can apply for a special sponsored Card. Look for student applications on campus. Or call 1-800-THE-CARD, and tell them you want a student application. The American Express Card. Don’t leave school without it? M Dorm Students! “Prepare your hearts for Easter” Lenten Worship Series in All Faiths’ Chapel sponsored by United Campus Ministry Holy Communion Service - led by Mike Miller (VCM), Stacy Ikard (VCM intern for Princeton Semi nary) and A1 Krumminocher (Princeton) 1 Opm-10:45pm Thursday Nights AH students and faculty invited St. Patrick deserves more than a day J.T McCord’s iving him a week. Being a good Irishman, J.T. McCord feels that St. Patrick is entitled to more than a single day of tribute. After an ugly incident with a power-painter, some green latex enamel and a busload of Japanese tourists, he settled for a less extreme St. Patrick’s Day celebration — St. Patrick’s Week. We’re honoring St. Patrick with green beer and green drinks from March 10 through March 17. That old Irish favorite — Rueben sandwich and fries — is only $3.99 all week long. And on March 17, we’re giving away three green satin jackets for the traditional wearin’ of the viridescent shiny stuff. We realize this doesn’t overcome the problem of ignoring St. Patrick for most of the year. But it does give you six more days of green beer than you’d have otherwise, and that’s a start. FUN. FOOD & SPIRITS 2232 Texas Avenue, College Station, TX 77840 Brazos Square Shopping Center No purchase necessary to win jackets. A plentiful supply of green beer encourages demonstrations of daring and dexterity during St. Patrick’s Week at J. T. McCord’s. O' r< ti || JJi s. 53 mf >n «! - >1 i wk "I o Play The Game Li I is Dallas’ largest I and most exciting | drinking and | dancing emporium fl 55