r20,
The Battalion
j, SPORTS
it
Monday, November 20,1989
Sports Editor Tom Kehoe 845-2688
eryoiM
place I
h is, ^
been. I
Aussies Gazed, but Milton the sharpshooter in Ag win
i at the
tries to
:ys, cor s
ch as
ard, aoi
pot
beenl®
she
ie that
istantd;
s at Pc
teed to
when
ess. Pc:
r aftet
ninistu
atorsis
it bars::
cksa
ut Rvj:
s these
eduE
latstx^
it aid!
■sen h
oil
seast
)rodci
nd “LeJ
in thi
art,"
sohai
nduikj
hosva
ilon'
Ids.
ighse
onto
irthe
ornia.
ichhe
too s
insitiorj
lat’s 4.«
typeffl®
link stt
with tli
erdor®
teigei
is bro:
for"'
loto.
en be:
land..
iut of
nt tot
’s a
it prct
ools. i
istosr^
tice.”
if Do«
ick kid
By Clay Rasmussen
Of The Battalion Staff
It wasn’t a G’day for the Australian
Olympic National basketball team Sunday.
Texas A&M dominated the game, and
the Aussies, 87-74 in front of a crowd of
1,524 at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The only thing that kept the Australians
dose was the three-point shooting of for
mer star Seaton Hall guard Andrew Gaze.
Gaze, who led the Aussie team, hit four-
of-six three pointers. His 67 percent accu
racy from three-point range accounted for
12 of his 20 points.
The Australians shot 42.8 percent from
the three-point range and hung in with the
Aggies throughout the first half.
“They played with a lot of heart,” A&M
guard Tony Milton said. “I’ll tell you one
thing, they can shoot the three-pointer.”
Australian Coach Adrian Hurley said the
Australians’ whirlwind tour schedule is par
tially to blame for his team’s poor showing.
“We were mentally tired,” Hurley said.
“We’ve been on the road three weeks now
and have three more to go.
“Tomorrow we’ll go to L.A. and play
UCLA and then Santa Barbara. After that
we’ll go down to Argentina. It’s really grue-
ling.”
Still, Hurley gave credit to the A&M’s
dominating defense and quick offense.
“We were surprised at the Aggies’ run
ning game,” Hurley said. “We had heard
that they weren’t that strong.”
The Aussies stayed even with theAggies
throughout the first half, but with 2:34 left
in the first period,Milton sunk a three-point
shot that gave the Aggies a nine-point lead,
their largest of the first half.
The Australians never recovered, and
A&M never trailed again.
In the second half with the Aggies lead
ing 44-38, the Australianscame out and
took advantage of A&M’s agressive de
fense, converting free throws and shooting
from outside to even the game at 48.
The teams see-sawed back and forth
throughout much of the second half until
the Aggies’ offense got back on track and
outscored the Aussies’ 25-16 in the final
seven minutes.
“I thought we played hard and we played
unselfish basketball,” A&M Coach Shelby
Metcalf said after the game. “I was pleased
with our play.”
The Aggies seemed to pick up where
they left off last year, shooting 52.1 percent
from the field and converting half of their
free throws.
Last year, the Aggies turned around
their struggling 1-7 team to finish 7-1 in the
second half of Southwest Conference play.
A&M crashed the boards time and time
again, giving the offense second and third
chances.
Aggie forward David Harris was unre
lenting under the basket, snagging a total of
10 rebounds. He also finished with 16
points.
“Everyone ought to like the play of David
Harris,” Metcalf said.
Everyone, that is, except for Harris him
self.
“I did good defensively, but I think I
could have done better,” Harris said. “I was
missing a lot of shots after we would get the
rebound.”
Harris couldn’t have done much better.
He shot 53.8 percent from the field.
Only leading scorer Tony Milton shot
better than Harris.
Milton finished the game with 25 points.
He shot 61.1 percent from the field and hit
two three-pointers.
Still, Milton also was disappointed with
his play.
“I don’t feel like I played up to my poten
tial,” he said. “I had a couple of bad passes.
I think I can play much better than that.”
However, the Aggies were impressive,
playing the fast-break type of basketball
that Metcalf believes will make the Aggies
strong contenders in the SWC this season.
A&M plays its first collegiate team of the
season next weekend when the Aggies
travel to Anchorage, Alaska to take part in
the Great Alaska Shootout.
The Aggies open the Shootout squaring
off against the University of Connecticut.
With games lined up against Auburn,
Michigan State and Florida State, A&M
should find out early in its season if the
team can contend in the SWC.
“We still have a lot of hard work to get to
where we were last year,” Milton said.
Still, the game with the Australian Na
tional team showed the Aggies a bit of what
they can be in 1989.
“I feel like this game help us out a lot,”
Milton said. “It showed us what we could do
and where we needed to work more.
Photo by Mike C. Mulvey
Aggies David Harris (I) and Freddie Ricks (r) steal the ball from Australia’s Andrew Gaze in A&M’s 87-74 win.
Floyd hot in Rockets’ 132-84 win over Heat
Wiggi
3 and 1
ms
and Sleepy Floyd scored 26 ancT 23
points respectively to lead the Hous
ton Rockets to a 132-94 victory over
the Miami Heat Sunday night.
Floyd, who was scoreless in last
night’s loss to Denver, did not start
for the first time this season.
But he came off the bench for a
season-high point total.
The victory for the Rockets was
their first in four games against the
Heat.
The Heat, loser of four consec
utive games, were led in scoring by
reserve forward Billy Thompson,
who had 21 points. Tellis Frank
added 15 for the Heat.
With 7:39 left in the first quarter,
Wiggins hit a 15-foot jump shot to
give the Rockets the lead for good.
Akeem Olajuwon, Buck Johnson
and Floyd led the Rockets scored
eight points apiece to give the Rock
ets a 36-24 first-quarter lead.
In the second quarter, Wiggins
scored 10 of 14 points in the first
half as the Rockets increased their
lead to 65-48. Frank led the Heat
with nine first-half points.
Led by Floyd with 10 points and
Otis Thorpe with eight, the Rockets
shot 53 percent from the field and
led by 25 points, 97-72, after the
third quarter.
Thompson led the heat with 10
pointzs.
Rockets reserve forward Larry
Smith had a game-high 14 re
bounds.
Olajuwon had 12 points and 11
rebounds.
guitar
'thm
I
,ihek‘
event
jevefc
ard«
a shat
the pr
U.S. soccer
advances to
Cup finals
PORT OF SPAIN, TRIN
IDAD (AP) — The United States
advanced to the World Cup finals
for the first time in 40 years by
beating Trinidad and Tobago 1-0
Sunday on Paul Caligiuri’s goal in
the 30th minute.
Trinidad, playing before a
boisterous overflow crowd of
35,000 at National Stadium,
needed only a tie to become the
smallest nation ever to qualify for
the World Cup. But Caligiuri
spoiled the national celebration
with a spectacular left-footed
shot.
Tab Ramos made a throw-in
and Caligiuri raced down the left
side before sending a curving,
dipping shot that went into the
upper right corner. Michael Mau
rice, the Trinidad goalkeeper,
was in the middle of the net and
had no chance to stop the shot.
Caligiuri is a 25-year-old from
Diamond Bar, Calif., who played
for SV Meppen of the West Ger
man second division before re
joining the National Team full
time in May. He also beat Trin
idad, and Maurice, by scoring the
only goal in a 1-0 World Cup
qualifying victory on May 19,
1985 at T orrance, Calif.
The United States, which
played in the 1930, 1934 and
1950 World Cups, became the
24th and final team to qualify for
next year’s finals, which begin
June 8, 1990 in Milan, Italy.
Cameroon qualified earlier
Sunday, beating Tunisia 1-0.
The North and Central Ameri
can and Carribean region gets
two spots in the 24-team field.
Costa Rica finished first at 5-2-1
and the Americans were second
at 4-1-3. Trinidad ended up with
a 3-2-3 record.
Bo may know football, but
Oilers know how to stop him
Houston now 7-4 with 23-7 win over Los Angeles;
three-game win streak longest since 1985 season
HOUSTON (AP) — How to stop
the Los Angeles Raiders: make in
terceptions, force fumbles and bottle
up Bo.
Houston did all three Sunday and
won 23-7. It was the Oilers’ third
straight victory, their longest win
ning streak since 1985.
“Credit our players. (Bo) had to
beat 50 people today and he couldn’t
beat 50 people today,” Oilers coach
Jerry Glanville said.
“He’s a great talent. I hope he
goes on now and beats everyone on
their schedule and next year I hope
he stays in baseball.”
Houston, which intercepted three
passes and recovered two fumbles,
held Jackson to a season-low 54
yards on 11 tries — the first he
hasn’t gained 100 yards in four
games.
Jackson carried just twice for four
yards in the second half when the
Raiders went to the air and tried to
try to erase a 17-7 halftime deficit.
“I thought we could run the ball
on them by running right at them,”
Jackson said.
“But then they kept the ball away
from us. They were trying to contain
our speed. To get back in the game
we had to pass.”
The Oilers (7-4) tried to come up
with new wrinkles to stop Jackson in
the first half, but those didn’t work
so well.
“We started slanting and getting
into the gaps, but they took advan
tage of that and Jackson made some
good runs,” linebacker John
Grimsley said.
“We went back to playing heads
up football, trying to be where he
was going and it must have worked
out.”
Quarterback Steve Beuerlein
tried to rally the Raiders (5-6) in the
second half without success.
“We just didn’t make the plays
and there are a lot of reasons,”
Beuerlein said.
“We had penalties and dropped
passes. Those things are going to
happen during a game. We just
dian’t overcome them today.”
The Oilers, meanwhile, did fine.
Warren Moon threw two touchdown
K es and Tony Zendejas kicked
goals of 20, 20 and 46 yards,
extending his string to eight in a
row.
“It doesn’t matter how many wins
in a row or how you win them,”
Glanville said.
“We just have to keep winning.
We gained half a game today be
cause Cleveland tied.”
The Oilers lost three started in the
first half with injuries. Ernest Givins
(ankle), George Yarno (knee bruise)
and Robert Lyles (knee sprain) left
the game and only Givins returned.
Raiders nose tackle Bob Colic left
with a concussion in the second quar
ter.
“We were totally outplayed by a
good football team,” Raiders coach
Art Shell siad.
“They beat us in all phases of the
game. They plain and simply out
classed us.”
Moon’s touchdown passes went 25
yards to Curtis Duncan and 11 yards
to Leonard Harris, sparking the Oil
ers to a 17-7 halftime lead.
Zendejas capitalized on Raiders’
turnovers for his first two field goals.
An interception by Tracey Eaton
and a fumble recovery by Kenny
Johnson on the second-half kickoff
set up Zendejas’ kicks.
A 42-yard pass from Moon to
Haywood Jeffires set up a 46-yard
field goal by Zendejas with 10:26 left
in the game.
Beuerlein completed a 22-yard
touchdown pass to Mike Dyal in the
second quarter.
Houston took a 10-7 lead on Zen
dejas’ 20-yard field goal in the sec
ond quarter and an interception by
Eaton set up Harris’ touchdown with
25 seconds left in the half.
Eaton returned the theft 13 yards,
lateraled to Jeff Donaldson, who ran
another 14 yards to the Raider 36.
Moon completed 20 of 30 passes
for 249 yards. Beuerlein, who com
pleted one of nine passes in one
stretch of the third quarter, was 10-
for-25 for 149 yards.
Marino, Aikman have
impressive passing day;
Cowboys drop to 1-10
Zendejas misses last-second
field goal attempt to tie game
IRVING (AP) — Former Dal
las quarterback Roger Staubach
invented the “Hail Mary” pass,
but the patent has run out and
now Dan Marino owns it.
For the second time this year,
Marino hit a desperation pass for
a touchdown to end the first half
and Sunday’s completion ignited
the Miami Dolphins over the
lowly and luckless Dallas Cowboys
17-14.
It was Miami’s sixth victory in
seven games and propelled the
Dolphins into a tie with Buffalo
for the AFC East lead at 7-4. Dal
las dropped to 1-10 in its second
worst season in 29 years.
Marino’s 48-yard “Hail Mary”
to Andre Brown was called “a
great lift” by Miami coach Don
Shula.
“It was what we needed after
Dallas played us so tough in the
first half,” Shula said.“Brown just
has tremendous leaping ability.”
Brown outjumped five defend
ers for the ball and said “that was
a shot in the arm for us and a shot
in the back for them.”
Dallas Coach Jimmy Johnson
agreed, saying, “The ‘Hail Mary’
took a lot out of us. We would
have been leading 14-3 at the
half, instead it was 14-10. It
hurt.”
Shula was told in the dressing
room that Buffalo had lost and
responded “Oh wow! That’s big.
That really makes us happy.”
Sammie Smith’s 1-yard scoring
run early in the fourth quarter
provided the winning points but
it was Marino’s miracle that de
stroyed Dallas’ upset dreams.
The victory wasn’t secure until
Dallas’ Luis Zendejas missed a 53-
yard field goal attempt at the
gun.
It was the second time this year
that Marino had lofted a touch
down prayer at the end of the
first half that was been answered
for a touchdown.
He hit a similar 43-yard pass to
Fred Banks to end the first half in
a game on Sept. 24.
“There’s a lot of luck involved
on a play like that but Andre had
to have a lot of talent to pull it
off,” Marino said.
Johnson, who saw Miami play
for five years while he coached
the University of Miami, still had
trouble believing it.
“It’s been a tough season and
that’s an example of it,” Johnson
said.
“We played tremendous de
fense. We even sacked Marino
twice and not many teams have
done that. At least we are getting
to the point where we can say one
or two plays decide a game. We’re
getting closer.”
Liffort Hobley’s interception
and 22-yard return set up Smith’s
game-deciding touchdown.
Marino completed four passes
on the 62-yard drive.
With the touchdown pass, Mar
ino moved into ninth place on the
NFL’s all-time touchdown pass
list with 213, ahead of Terry
Bradshaw and Y. A. Tittle.
The Cowboys built a 14-3 sec
ond-period lead on the sharp
passing of Troy Aikman, who
completed four straight throws to
set up Broderick Sargent’s 1-yard
touchdown run.
Aikman then flipped a 6-yard
scoring toss to Darryl Johnston.
Fete Stoyanovich kicked a 23-
yard field goal for the Dolphins,
who were stymied offensively un
til Marino’s desperation throw.
Aikman hit 25 of 33 passes for
259 yards while Marino com
pleted 21 of 36 and 255 yards.