SPORTS THE PRINT February 1,1989 Page 8 Dalton provides muscle for Cougars by Luis Perez Staff Writer Phil Dalton rebounds with a vengeance. The local warrior who has brought his considerable bas ketball talent to Clackamas loves rebounding over any other facet of the game, as evidenced by his average 9.2 rebounds per game this season. Rebounds are an important ingredient for a winning basket ball team and collecting rebounds is Dalton’s biggest strength. “I like to be a rebounder and bang people around,” he said. Clackamas’ Head Coach Royce Kiser elaborated on the subject. “I think Phil is getting good at rebounding. He’s going to keep getting better every year,” Kiser feels. “The main thing about Phil is that he plays hard in prac tice every day...that’s why he’s so good, because he works hard ev ery day. I like his attitude.” Dalton explained that attitude, stating that, “I don’t believe in coming out and giving only 50 percent. You’ve got to go out and play hard-nosed.” Rebounding aside, Dalton has also taken to scoring as of late, registering his season high of 36 points at Southwestern Oregon Community College. “I’ll take the points when they’re there, but I prefer the rebounds,” he confided. Dalton’s basketball career began at Oregon City High School where he played in his share of big games. Early on Jim Warden, the coach of the sophomore team, took an interest in him and convinced him that he had what it takes to be successful at basketball. Because of an' injured ankle Dalton didn’t go out for basket ball until halfway through his sophomore season. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but Coach Warden took me aside and told me that I could be a good basketball player,” Dalton remarked. By the end of his first season of organized basketball Dalton was promoted to the J.V. team. By his junior year he was starting on the varsity. That season he averaged 14 points and'11 rebounds per game, while setting the school single season record for blocked shots with 87 in 20 games. He is currently Oregon City’s all-time leader in that category. A two sport athlete in high school, Dalton played football for the perennially powerful pioneers. Already six foot six and 230 pounds he fit right into the starting lineup at offensive tackle and defensive end. He was a little overweight for basketball, however, and didn’t get into what he calls “basketball shape” until midway through his senior year. The 1987-88 season was a unique one in which Oregon City’s men’s and Women’s basketball teams were briefly ranked num ber one in the state simultane ously. That season ended in the state tournament with a loss to South Salem and it was, for Dal ton, a bittersweet experience. The game against South Sa lem was one the Pioneers should have won. Dalton played brilliantly, outplaying South Salem’s star, the 6-10 all state selection John Fish. The Pioneers, whose strong free throw shooting had taken them to the state tournament, missed the front end of three one and one opportunities in the final 27 sec onds. “We were 27 seconds away from the final four,” he said rue fully. The experience has served him well in his transition to college play. “The competition at the post position isn’t much tougher than in high school...Nate (Pyatt) is the best post player I’ve played against, and he’s on the same team,” he said. Dalton has noticed a differ ence in the level of competition at the guard position, remarking that “they’re a lot quicker than the guards in high school.” So far Dalton has enjoyed being a member of the Cougar basketball team. “I like my teammates. I get along with everybody...the trip to Hawaii really brought us together. As a whole it’s as good of a team as I’ve been on,” he said. “I want us to go as far as we can in the play offs. If we play as a team we can beat everybody.” Phil Dalton is not just a bas ketball player. His first priority in life is obtaining a quality educa tion. A criminal justice major with no definite career plans, he hopes to graduate from a four year schooL “I just want to get an educa tion,” he said. “The education comes first.” One difference between the college and high school game that Dalton has noticed is the coach ing. He has found Coach Kiser to be far more intense than the coaches he encountered in high school. He credits Kiser for im proving his conditioning. “Now I can play a whole half without breathing hard,” he said. One thing Dalton has found disappointing about sports in college is the lack of fan support at Cougar home games. “After a loss we hear people around cam pus talking about us losing when they weren’t even there,” he said. “We’re out there busting our asses and it sounds like there’s a bunch of corpses in the stands. We go down to Umpqua and they have five to six hundred people at the games, and a pep band. It reallv pisses me off.” Did you know we now have Belgian Waffles? inches L* a* b* A D50 Illuminant, 2 degree observer Photo by Julie Chureh Clackamas strong man Phil Dalton has proven to be a valuable inside force so far in his freshman season. His tenacious aggressive play has made him a force to be reckoned with. Turnover problems plaguing Cougars by Mark A. Borrelli Sports Editor Turnovers are one of the rea sons that the Clackamas men’s basketball team has been strug gling. The Cougars have dropped their last two league games, and in those games have averaged over 20 turnovers. The Cougars have let their league record drop to 3-5, putting them in fifth place in the confer ence. They need to improve in a hurry as only the top four teams in the league make the playoffs. “We are committing far too many turnovers. We have been averaging over 20 per game, and by this time of the season we should at 10 or 15,” said Coach Royce Kiser. The losing streak got started last Wednesday, with a hard fought loss from Chemeketa. The game was overshadowed by the fight in the stands, but it was a very good game on the court up until the last 37 seconds. Both teams were back and forth the first half. Chemeketa would forge out to a big lead, and Clackamas would gear down, play tough defense and get back into the game. The Cougars clawed their way to within two points at half time. Clackamas came out storm- ing in the second half and built as much as a seven point lead before letting the Chiefs back in the contest with unmotivated play. The game was nip and tuck down the stretch, but unforced Clackamas errors made the difference, and Chemeketa went on to post a 74- 65 win. Trev Kiser lead all Clacka mas scorers with 21 points. Phil Dalton chipped in 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Jeff Hoffman, in his first game back since his in jury, tallied 13 points and 12 boards. Sloppiness was the name of the game for the Cougars, as they let another game they should have won get away. Linn-Benton, a team that Clackamas should be able to beat, took advantage of Cougar errors to post a 91-85 victory. Trev Kiser lead the Cougars again with 21 points. Jeff Hoffman, and Phil Dalton each added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Tim Osburn chipped in 9 points in the losing cause. The Cougars will try to get back in the win column tonight, as they travel to Portland Commu nity College for an 8 p.m. contest. Their next home game will be Saturday against Lane Commu nity College.