G-Men clinch state after tournament playoff
The
{jrantonian
Vol. 74, No. 6
U.S. Grant High School, Portland, Ore.
GRINS ON EVERY FACE, the basketball team proves that
“We ARE number one” after Saturday night’s victory against
the Madison Senators and the first state championship after
seven trips to the state tournament.
March 28, 1969
by Bruce Fishback
Returning to the state tourna­
ment after a four year wait, the
varsity eagers pulled off two
tight wins while rolling to the
school’s first state basketball
championship.
The Generals started off
tournament play when they
met North Eugene in a
game which showed a lead
change several times, but
with the G-Men coming out
on top in the last seconds
41-39. This win gave the
eagers the right to meet
Klamath Falls in the quar­
ter finals of the tourney.
TEAM MEMBERS ARE: Steve Crane, Artie Wilson, Mike Har­
ris and Mike Naylor. In the middle are: Robin Sinclair, Dan
Percich, and Ed Geist. On top: Gary Johnson, Bill Flowers,
June Jones, and Tim Meyers. Don Lincoln is missing.
Coaches sip champagne
Bubbles, basketballs mix at victory celebration
Tiny bubbles and basketballs
finally got to know each other
last Saturday night at the var­
sity basketball team’s victory
celebration party. The tiny bub­
bles which popped in coke for
the players and champagne for
the coaches exploded from 11:30
p.m. until 3:00 a.m. at varsity
coach Rooney’s home.
There were about 20 to
30 people at the party,”
commented Mr. Rooney after
a moment’s tabulation.
Members of the Rally, JV
and Varsity basketball
teams, coaches, ex-coaches,
ex-basketball players and
even a few strangers were
in attendance at the gala
event.
Among the graduate guests
were Mark Leap, who gradu­
ated in ’62 and played with the
team when it went to state twice
during his years at Grant, and
Sid Cooper, who is a junior
Chamber of Commerce repre­
sentative. He also went to Grant.
Both Sid and Mark furnished
the coaches with champagne.
Even though there was
no live orchestra or floor
show, the players had an
enjoyable evening discuss­
ing and comparing experi­
ences of the tournament.
In between discussions party
members kept busy munching
various crackers and pizzas.
As far as after party damage
reports go, Mr. Rooney smiled,
“We have nine kids and after the
party everything just- looked
normal.”
Mr. Rooney previously planned
to take the players to breakfast
Sunday morning but due to some
confusion the breakfast was can­
celled.
A banquet is now in the proc­
ess of being planned to honor
the “state winning team.”
The K-Falls game proved to
be the highlight of the tourna­
ment. The Generals led for most
of the game but the Pelicans
stayed within one to five points
throughout the first three quar­
ters. The fourth quarter high­
lighted the game as the K-Falls
eagers pulled ahead and led the
Generals by three points until
Don Lincoln was fouled while
making a shot with 40 seconds
left in the game. Lincoln put
both shots in which left the G-
Men trailing by one.
Employing a full court
press, the Generals managed
to get the ball on a turnover
when it was knocked out of
bounds. The G-Men raced
down court and fed the ball
to Bill Flowers who shot
but was fouled with 12 sec­
onds left on the clock. Flow­
ers missed both shots but
the ball was knocked out of
bounds by Klamath’s B. G.
Brosterhous.
The ball was tossed out and
fed to Flowers who put the shot
up and in with eight seconds
left. The Pelicans tried to come
back but the buzzer rang, leav­
ing the Generals to face the de­
fending champions McNary in
the semi-finals.
“Being behind Klamath
Falls with 40 seconds to go
had to be the most tense
part of the tournament,”
stated Coach Ed Rooney.
The McNary game proved ex­
citing during the first half as
the G-Men and the Celtics stayed
close together and at the half
the score was knotted at 29-29.
The third quarter was the turn­
ing point as the Generals poured
in 20 points to McNary’s 10. The
game ended with the Generals
headed for a third meeting with
Madison in the finals.
The Generals were the
first to score but the Sen­
ators quickly rebounded and
captured the lead. Both
teams gained the lead dur­
ing the first quarter but as
,
it ended Madison held a
four point edge. The second
quarter was not good for
the Generals either, as the
Senators picked up two
more points and at the half
led by a score of 27-21.
The second half started off
poorly for the G-Men as the
Madison eagers picked up four
more points and held a ten point
lead. Midway through the third
period Ed Geist made a three
point play and when the quarter
ended the Generals had cut the
deficit to three points.
The fourth quarter almost
turned into a K-Falls game,
but Flowers sank a basket
and he and Don Lincoln
dropped in four freethrows
to put the game on ice.
“The boys decided that they
weren’t going to quit when they
were down by ten,” stated Coach
Rooney. “In fact, the deficit ac­
tually worked to their advan­
tage. The turning point came
when Ed got those three points.
From there it was all downhill.
The boys really started moving
then,” he added.
Besides capturing the state
crown the Generals also man­
aged to place two players on the
All-Tournament teams. Mike
Naylor gained a spot on the first
team while Don Lincoln cap­
tured a spot on the second team.
“I could not pick out one boy
that did a great job during the
tournament, but I would have to
say all five did a great job. We
don’t have one or two good play­
ers like the other teams, we have
five,” concluded Mr. Rooney.