Sun-Democrat, March 14, 1974

 

Murray Opens Tourney Play Today--First Region Champs Meet Warren East

 

By Jerry Atkins

 

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--Murray High School’s growling Tigers will find out how it feels to play in spacious Freedom Hall tonight when they go against Warren East in the final first-round games of the 57th annual Kentucky High School State Tournament.

 

Coach Bob Toon’s Tigers, riding the crest of a 17-game victory streak and sporting a shiny 26-2 seasonal record, will test the Region Four champions in a 9 o’clock tipoff tonight.  It will be Murray’s very first State Tournament, and only the second for the Raiders of Warren East.

 

The 1974 “Sweet Sixteen” featuring Kentucky’s 16 Regional winners got underway yesterday with Greenup County, Madisonville, Louisville Central and Taylor County advancing into Friday afternoon’s quarter final matches.

 

In yesterday’s action, Greenup County defeated Fleming County, 62-49; Madisonville topped Clay County, 76-62; Louisville Central dealt Anderson County an 87-58 setback, and Taylor County downed Powell County, 64-53.

 

Today’s lower bracket action gets underway at 1 p.m. with the state’s top-ranked team, Lexington Bryan Station, taking on tournament-veteran Owensboro.  Louisville Male then meets Pikeville in the second afternoon game while Newport Catholic opens the night session against Monticello.  Today’s afternoon winners will meet in the 7:30 opener Friday night with the Murray-Warren East winner going against the Newport-Monticello winner in the nightcap.

 

Thus, if Murray’s First Region champion Tigers survive their first test, they’ll play another late game the following night.  And, another win Friday would set up an 11:30 semifinal test on Saturday.  Then, the finals are set for 8 p.m. later that same day.

 

All four games that involve, or could involve Murray High will be televised locally.  Paducah station WDXR-TV will carry the Thursday and Friday games while WPSD-TV handles all semifinal and final showdowns.

 

Murray, which hasn’t lost since suffering a 64-54 setback at Mayfield on Jan. 18, hopes to stretch that winning streak to 18 with a successful State Tournament debut.  Coach Toon in his 10th season at the helm, is expected to start the same lineup that already has rewarded him with six consecutive tournament wins--three in the Fourth District and three more in the Regional.

 

Four seniors and a sophomore are expected to go for the Tigers.  Standout seniors Glenn Jackson and Ray Lane will handle the guard posts, senior Tyrone McCuiston and sophomore Bob Wilder the forward slots and senior Danny Hudspeth will go at center.  Senior Johnny Shelley and junor Phil Miller are the top reserves.

 

Jackson, a 6-footer, leads the team in scoring with a 19.5 average.  Lane, a 5-11 shooter with range, leads the team in assists and ranks as the second-best scorer with an 18-point average.  McCustion, a 6-2 leaper, tops the rebound charts with a 13.1 average and also contributes 14.2 points an outing.  Hudspeth, a 6-1 strongman who plays under the goal, is averaging 12.3 rebounds and 14.2 points.

 

Wilder, a 6-5 soph, is tallest among the starters, but doesn’t shoot as much as his senior-inspired mates.  Still, he’s averaging better than five points and almost six rebounds a game.  Shelly, a 6-3 forward, is averaging three points and five rebounds while Miller, a 6-2 center, is counting about four points and that same number of rebounds per game.

 

Warren East, sporting a 22-7 record after “upsetting” Fourth Region favorite Scottsville 85-78 in the finals, will start a much smaller team than the Tigers.  Expected to go for the Raiders are 5-9 senior Marcus Britt, 5-10 junior Steve Lyons, 6-3 sophomore Clinton Britt, 5-8 senior Ronnie Watt and 5-8 junior Jerry Britt.

 

Of the three Britts starting, two are brothers and the other (Jerry) is an uncle.  Clinton, the only starter over six feet, is the team’s leading scorer with a 24-point average plus a 15-rebound output per game.  Jerry Britt and Watt each are averaging 15 points while Marcus Britt follows closely at 14.

 

In the Regional finals, Clinton Britt had 30 and Watt pumped in 29.  Murray’s leading scorers in its 67-65 win over Paducah Tilghman in the First Region title showdown were Jackson and Lane with 24 and 20 points respectively.