Standish on Top in Photo Finish As Intramural Tournament Ends

Thrills were a dime a dozen last Tuesday at the Indoor Athletic Building, as Company C and Standish wound up the intramural basketball season by splitting a double bill, with the civilians copping the all-important nightcap playoff.

Company C, upset earlier in the season by a mediocre D quintet, had kept themselves in the pennant race by smashing Adams 86-53 last Friday in a game which saw Wally Hull of Company C break the intramural scoring record for a single game with a total of 34 points notched. And then on Tuesday the Navy team earned the right to meet Standish in a championship playoff by slapping the freshmen for their first loss of the second tournament, 34-28.

Hull Paces Attack

In the opener, Company C got right down to business and led by Wally Hull, ran up a substantial 19-8 lead by half-time. With Hull continuing his heads-up play in the second half, the V-12ers kept coasting along until Firth and Baker began to get the range for Standish. Three quick scores in the fourth period closed the gap to 27-26 and brought a Navy time out, but Standish faltered and the game ended with Hull stealing the ball and going in under the Standish basket for his seventh field goal of the contest.

Since this victory left Standish and Company C in a first place deadlock, the two teams decided to hold the playoff immediately rather than risk having the second tournament go into the books as a tie. After a 20 minute intermission, the two quintets plunged into the final and crucial battle. This time it was Standish's turn to take the lead, which they did after a rapid exchange of baskets at the start. And as Hull had dominated the play in the first game, so Dick Firth put the civilians out in front in the nightcap. Play remained rough throughout the game (25 fouls, of which 4 were technicals, were called) as tension and tiredness combined to keep tempers at a high pitch.

Evenly Matched

On the short end of a 23-18 count at the half, Company C struck back desperately to force a photo finish in the final seconds. With a minute to go, Standish still held a one point lead and had increased it to three point lead and had increased it to three points with only 35 seconds remaining. Hull came back for Company C with a hook shot that connected from the corner but time ran out as Firth made good on a one-point charity toss from the foul line. Firth, with a second-game total of 22 points, and Baker, with 11, paced the Standish offensive, while for Company C, Love had eight field goals and a foul shot, and Hull and Kavanaugh each put in four field goals.

Final Standings (second tourney):   Won  Lost Standish  7  1 Company C  6  2 Company D  4  3 Companies F-G  4  3 Lowell  3  4 Adams  2  5 Companies H-I  2  5 Companies A-B  1  6

Tabulation of individual Scoring Records for 1944-45 Basketball Season   g.  gls.  fls.  tps. Johnson, r.f.  15  45  15  105 Chapple  11  18  12  48 Clark, l.f.  14  57  29  143 Wolfe  6  3  0  6 Koene, c.  13  39  15  93 Noble  14  24  5  53 Jonkins  2  8  7  23 Collins, r.g.  15  14  10  38 Mackintosh  9  2  3  7 Wallace, l.g.  13  28  12  68 Burk  12  5  7  17

Tabulation of individual Scoring Records for 1944-45 Basketball Season   g.  gls.  fls.  tps. Johnson, r.f.  15  45  15  105 Chapple  11  18  12  48 Clark, l.f.  14  57  29  143 Wolfe  6  3  0  6 Koene, c.  13  39  15  93 Noble  14  24  5  53 Jonkins  2  8  7  23 Collins, r.g.  15  14  10  38 Mackintosh  9  2  3  7 Wallace, l.g.  13  28  12  68 Burk  12  5  7  17