Sun-Democrat, March 6, 1974

 

Tournament Opens Tonight -

Top-Ranked Murray Headlines 1st Region’s Lower Bracket

 

By Jerry Atkins, Sun-Democrat Sports Editor

 

Tonight’s the night for four of the First Region’s top four teams.  For after tonight, there'll only be two of them heading for a Friday night showdown that will trim them to a magic one.

 

The 1974 First Region high school basketball tournament opens tonight with second-ranked Paducah Tilghman (20-8) going against fifth-rated Calloway County (16-9) at 7 p.m., and third-ranked Mayfield (23-5) testing fourth-ranked Carlisle County (25-7) in the nightcap.  The two winners will then meet Friday night in the upper bracket semifinals.

 

Meanwhile, play in the lower bracket won’t take place until tomorrow night in the Murray State University Sports Arena, site of the four-night tournament.  Here’s the way that card reads:

 

7:00--Murray High (23-2) vs Symsonia (9-17)

​

8:45--Hickman County (20-7) vs. Paducah St. Mary (21-12)

 

Yesterday, we took a close look at tonight's opening games...so today, let’s glance at tomorrow’s lower-bracket openers.

 

Top-ranked Murray High, so voted by First Region coaches in the Sun-Democrat’s final poll of the season, ranks as the solid favorite of the lower bracket.  The Tigers, riding the crest of a 14-game victory streak, drew the tournament’s only unmarked team for the opening round, plus drew into the bracket away from the second through fifth rated teams.

 

This isn’t to say that any of the teams in the lower bracket are out without a chance, but should another team advance to the finals, a major upset must be scored.

 

Coach Bob Toon’s Tigers, ranked number one since sweeping to the championship of the Mayfield Christmas Invitational back in mid-December, will meet Symsonia, the only tournament team with a losing record in the lower bracket opener.  And, Murray will be an overwhelming favorite even though the two schools didn’t play during the regular season.

 

Murray’s only two setbacks this season have been avenged by the Tigers.  The high-flying Bengals dropped a 75-66 decision at Carlisle County back on Dec. 11, but gained revenge with a 69-65 overtime triumph in the Mayfield Invitational.  Then, Mayfield took a 64-54 home-court decision in January, but the Tigers laughed it off with a 73-65 triumph toward the end of the season.

 

Symsonia, on the other hand, had to score a couple of District Tournament upsets--61-60 over Lowes and 66-54 over Wingo--in order to earn a Regional Tournament berth.  Coach Donnie Caldwell’s Rough Riders, crushed by Mayfield in the Third District finals, have not won a game against any of the other teams in the Regional.

 

After starting off with a 4-1 record, Symsonia fell on bad times by losing nine straight, and things didn’t get much better until those two district upsets.

 

With an offensive average of almost 80 points a game, Murray figures to be 13 better than Symsonia’s 67-point mean.  Individually, the Tigers will enter with four players averaging in double figures--senior guards Glenn Jackson and Ray Lane leading with 19.5 and 18.7 averages respectively with Tyrone McCuistion and Danny Hudspeth each counting just over 14 points an outing.  Symsonia’s top scorers are Robert Whittemore and Curtis Hobbs with 15.9 and 15.7 averages.  Steve Mason, averaging 11.4, gives the Raiders three in twin figures.

 

The lower bracket’s second hookup doesn’t carry a clear-cut favorite...in fact, both Hickman County and St. Mary will carry pretty good credentials into the showdown.

 

Coach Dale Ray’s Falcons, upset winner over Carlisle County in the First District finals, will be hoping for a repeat of the 1973 regional when they won it all. Currently riding an eight game victory binge that started following a 67-45 loss to Murray, the Falcons are one of the area’s best late-season units.

 

Meanwhile, St. Mary rebounded from somewhat of a drought down the stretch with a strong performance in the Second District Tournament.  Coach Dennis Gourley’s Vikings, lacking in size but not in hustle and shooting poise, trimmed seventh-ranked Lone Oak and 10th ranked Reidland en route to the district finals before arch-rival Paducah Tilghman prevented a second consecutive championship.

 

Included in Hickman County’s victory binge is a 59-55 win over St. Mary, the only meeting between the two schools this season.  That setback launched a three-game tailspin for the sixth-ranked Vikings, but a 4-3 turnaround since then sent the St. Mary quint over the 20-victory season.  The 8th ranked Falcons made the magic level by winning over Carlisle in the district title hookup.

 

The final first-round game in the Regional will undoubtedly be decided by the team that best displays its type of game.  The Falcons are a ball-control team, using that to prevent opponents from reaching the scoreboard often.  St. Mary, on the other hand, is a run-and-gun type club where points, and lots of ‘em, are emphasized.

 

The Vikings are sparked by two underclassmen--sophomore forward Gene Roof and junior guard Rick Cochran--along with one senior--forward David Paxton.  Roof, one the the Region’s top scorers, holds a 20.5 average through 33 games while Cochran stands at 16.6 and Paxton at 13.8.

 

Hickman, which made it all the way to the State Tournament semifinals last year before tumbling, will count on a pair of starters off that team--senior Sidney Spate (15.1 average) and junior Rick Weatherspoon (15.7)