6 SIDELINES Tuesday. December 2. 1980 Raiders win home opener against UTC By SCOTT ADAMS Simpson said shaking his head. Dec. 18 for a 7:30 meeting with Sidelines Sports Writer Statically, free-throw Clinch Valley. For Stan Simpson and the MTSU basketball team, last shooting was the key as the night's home opening, a 73-67 win over the Mocs of UT- Raiders converted on 27 of 35 chances while UTC hit nine of W. Carolina 77 Chattanooga, was one of those games where you're glad their 16 tries. The Mocs were 29 Blue Raiders 70 to hear the dressing room door close at the end. of 63 from the field for 46 As they say in the coaching profession, the Blue percent while MTSU was 23 of MTSU Blue Raiders opened Baiders played just well enough to win. 46 for 50 percent. their 1980 basketball campaign "I've been telling people that we would have some BECK AND PERRY both in the middle of the Smokey canned 20 for the winners, Mountains Saturday night with exciting games in Murphy Center this season," head followed closely by Harris" 16 coach Simpson said after the contest. "These games are a a dissappointing loss to the points. Eric Smith was tops for Catamounts of Western lot of fun to watch, but let me tell you, they're not very the Mocs with 16 points while Carolina. much fun to coach." James Jones and Willie White THE FEW Blue Raider fans MTSU, coming off of a Both teams opened last night's hit for 13 and 12, respectively. that made the trip came away season-opening loss to Western game obviously nervous and MTSU heads for Mobile, Ala., from the tiny gym in Cullowhee, Carolina on Saturday night, was neither led by more than four today for a Wednesday night N.C., wondering if they had down at halftime. 36-28 to points until Middle went cold in confrontation with South seen two MTSU teams play that UTC, but surged back to tie the the last five minutes of the Alabama, a team that has night. game at 42 on a jump shot by stanza. garnered top-twenty rankings Team "A" won the first half, Pancakes Perry with 14:50 to The Raiders put only three from both the Sporting News 40-38 and played like a ball of play. points on the board during the and Sports Illustrated. fire, but team "B" was out- A 3:30 dry spell by the Mocs last 5:18 of the first half, and Tip-off for Wednesday's game scored, 39-30 in the second half, during the last 10 minutes of the from the look on Simpson's face will be at 7:35 in Mobile. MTSU which put together spells a 77-70 game was the killer as the as the team headed for the will return to Murphy Center loss. Raiders scored nine unanswered dressing room, you could tell points, five by Chris Harris they wouldn't be talking about increasing the lead to 59-50, and which party to attend after the hung on for their first win of the game. 1980-81 season. •COACH REALLY pointed SIMPSON HAD special praise out what we were doing wrong for Harris and Perr\. along with at halftime and more or less just Jerry Beck, after the game said we were playing saying that everybody was lackadaisical," Harris said Starting to get their initial following the win. "We all knew tension out ol the wa\. we weren't playing agressive "(Ihris and Pancakes were two enough and coach Simpson told guys who looked a little scared us just to try playing wide open photo In Mark Holland to play, so to speak, up at for a change. I guess it worked." Western Carolina, especially Simpson had a little con- MTSU junior Chris Harris (20) jumps against UT-Chattanooga's during the first half," Simpson frontation of his own following James Jones (42) in last night's Blue Raider victory. Harris canned said, "but they really answered the name while exchanging post- sixteen points for Middle Tennessee, including a five-point crucial the bell when they came back in game pleasantries with Moc scoring streak, to propel his team past the visiting Mocs. the ring for the second half coach Murray Arnold. The tonight.'" arrangement for last night's Beck turned in another solid game was for the two officials to sports stuff performance, proving to any be from UTC's conference, the by Bob Gary unbelievers that he was Southern, while the referees for deserving of his pre-season All- the February 21 rematch in OVC ranking. The 6-7 junior Chattanooga would be from the poured in 20 points, hitting six OVC. TIA* the season for sports fans of 11 shots from the field and Simpson said that he simply eight of 11 from the line, and stated to Arnold that he hoped Tis the season indeed! jerked down a game-high 15 the refs in the next game would It's that time of year again— when sports fans (football fans in rebounds. show him a little more courtesy particular) feel as though they've died and gone to heaven. For their "JERRY PROVES that he's because the ones in last night's wives, and other sports non-enthusiasts, this is the time of year when one of the premier players in the game wouldn't even talk to him. they feel as though they've died—Period. OVC everytime he walks on the ARNOLD immediately took floor," Simpson continued. "He offense to the comment and shot The end of November has always heralded the time when we had a great first half at Western back, "what are you griping begin to celebrate some of America's greatest institutuons— Carolina and still contributed in about, you got all the breaks in Thanksgiving. Christmas, and the pro football playoffs, not to the second half, even though the second half." photo by Mark Holland mention the college bowl games. they did a great job defending "I didn't mean anything by Pre-season All-OVC choice Jerry Beck (44) lays one up in the MTSU Football is everywhere, for better or worse. against him. This was just my comment, I guess it just win over UT-Chattanooga here last night. The 6-7 forward3/*center With the college season winding down toward the bowl games, another typical day at the office turned into another typical accounted for 20 points in the 73-67 home-opening victory. excitement reaches a peak (unless you happen to be a die-hard for Jerry." MTSU-UTC relationship," Vandy or Tennessee fan). Let's take a look at some of the post season classics and see what they have to offer us this year. First of all, we have the Hall of Fame Bowl, the Garden State Bowl, and the Holiday Bowl. Who Cares? Ladies start season with victory By CAROL A. STUART eventually edge out into a 24- rallied back to a 7-7 tie before Tenn., started in the spot In the Sun Bowl, the Nebraska Cornhuskers will take on the Sidelines Sports Kdilor point lead. Belmont senior Susan going ahead 13-7. vacated by former Lady Raider Mississippi State Bulldogs. The 'Huskers might feel a bit strange at The Lady Raider roundballers Swink hit a field goal on the Ileana Portik, who signed a pro the outset, as their last few contests have been in the barren, frozen The lead then swapped hands opened the season here last night buzzer to narrow the margin to contract earlier in the year. North. The Bulldogs, of course, defeated Alabama and took on an until the MTSU squad outscored with a commanding 77-55 win 22 points. Howard turned in the game- almost saintly halo. This will be a good one, but give a slight edge to the Rebelettes 12 points to seven over the visiting Belmont high scoring with 15 points. Nebraska. going into halftime. The Lady Rebelettes. RELYING ON the sophomore Raiders went to the lockerroom ANOTHER FRESHMAN, The Fiesta Bowl could be the most boring game in After a fairly close first half, trio of Sherry Smith, Ester with a 33-26 advantage. Daphne Newsome, a guard from recent memory. In this one you have Penn State versus Ohio State. the Middle Tennessee squad Coleman and Lindi Dye, Middle "We just made too many floor Fayetteville, Tenn., came off OSU may throw the ball some, but probably not enough to wake the opened up its running game Tennessee grabbed a quick 7-2 mistakes," MTSU the bench to add some fans who will be fast asleep after watching the Nittany Lions ground early in the second period to lead in the game. Belmont Larry Inman said, apparently aggressiveness to the line-up and it out. The Buckeyes should take this one. dissatisfied with the game. "We drop in 14 points. Hendrix, another newcomer to the The Liberty Bowl, on the other hand, should be very exciting. It's played probably one of the defending OVC women's Purdue and Missouri in this one, and between Mark Hermann filling poorest first halves that champs, also bucketed 14. the air with Purdue pigskin and OP Mizzou's unpredictability, the hopefully we'll play. "Sandy [Howard] and fans could get their money's worth. This one's too close to call. "I guess it was just the first- game jitters," he added. Daphne [Newsome], I thought, The could be a blowout. With all due respect to THE LADY Raiders got the did a real good job for us, Heisman winner George Rogers and Coach Jim Carlen. South tip again in the second half but especially both of them being Carolina shouldn't last very long with Lambert Trophy winner Pitt. failed to capitalize, and Belmont freshmen," the MTSU coach The big question here is: Which coach will continue the Woods pulled within a point on three said. " 'E' [Ester Coleman] kept Hayes tradition of slugging a player in the last two minutes of this quick field goals. Middle us in the first half when we had game? Tennessee, however, finally got the first-game jitters." A freshman standout last Now to the big four games: In the Rose Bowl, either Michigan or its patented fast-moving offense season, Coleman added eight for Washington will score more points, but there will be no winner. on the road and grabbed a 10- MTSU while playing only 26 Washington shouldn't be there in the first place, and Michigan is point lead on the inside scoring minutes. Coleman got in foul automatically locked out since they are a Big Ten team, and no team of Robin Hendrix and Lindi trouble as did a lot of the from that conference has won a Rose Bowl since Curt Gowdy was Dye. players—37 personal fouls were knee high to a goalpost. "The second half we got into called in the game. our running game," Inman said. The Cotton Bowl will be interesting, as the Baylor Bears take on THE LADY Raiders hit 50.8 "We played a lot better Alabama and "Bear" Bryant. (Was Baylor's team named for percent from the field and 72.2 defensively, but we still didn't Bear??). 'Bama should take this one if they can avoid the influence from the charity stripe, while do a good job executing the of a stern Baptist sermon by the Baylor players. press. Belmont shot a poor 36.5 field goal percentage and a 50 free The Orange Bowl will be chock full of offense, as Florida State "BELMONT HAS got a lot takes on Oklahoma. There will also be a lot of turnovers. Sooner better ball club than they throw percentage. MTSU outrebounded the quarterback Julius Caesar (that's right, Julius Caesar) Watts should showed out there tonight," he Rebelettes twice-over 54-25, be able to lead his mates over the Seminoles if he can keep from added. with Hendrix bringing down 15 fumbling more than, say, 10 or 12 times. The Lady Raiders continued the driving lay-ups and inside off the board. The Lady And the biggie—the Sugar Bowl. Will the Notre Dame line have Raiders, however, had 34 jumpers to outscore the visitors Georgia's Herschel Walker taking instruction in Catholicism by the turnovers to Belmont's 16. end of the game? Will the Fighting Irish backfield be left lying 44-29 in the second half. FORWARD Cindy Morris prone on the field muttering something about "those damn Dogs"? Just like last year's opening photo l>\ Greg < JUtipbd paced the Rebelettes' scoring Tune in New Year's Day and findout. 73-70 defeat of the Rebelettesin Lady Raider sophomore Sherry Smith (12-light) takes a shot over the Nashville, freshmen were a key with 15 points. Well, that's about it. Enjoj your football over the holidays all you defending hands of Belmont's Charlotte Speakman (12-dark) here factor in last night's victory. The Lady Raiders' next outing sports fans. And to all you who now hate football, or fed you might last night. The MTSU squad downed the Rebelettes 77-55 in the Cassandra Howard, a frosh is a home match with Vanderbilt come to hate it by Jan 2, try and have a nice holidav season Saturday night at 7:30. anyway. season opener. forward from Henderson,

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