First Divisional Title Gained From Straus; Grays Wins, 40 to 36

Grays Hall won the Yardling first division basketball championship last night, defeating Straus South, 40 to 36. Both teams clinched places in the major league for the remaining second divisional games.

Straus started quickly and led at the half, 20 to 17. Grays' Chuck Steel scored several jump shots in the third quarter, but Straus again sprinted ahead for a seven point lead. Two shots scored from the corner by Buzzy Alexander cut the margin to three points.

Grays finally pulled out in front, led by Captain Gordie Taylor. They froze the ball for the last minute of the game.

Grays played zone in the first half, but gained the lead by switching to a man-to-man defense. Straus depended on control play and waited for good shots throughout the game.

The Straus defeat was largely due to Grays' outstanding rebound play. Straus had only two foul shots, and missed them both. Throughout the game, Grays shot more and sank more.

Both teams felt the lack of several star players. For Grays, Langeley Keyes was lost to the freshman team, and Straus' Gus Alexander did not come through with his usual outstanding rebounding.

Captains Bill Bradshaw and Gordie Taylor called attention to the use of only one referee for position calls. "Although, on the whole, the calls were fair, we both felt that there should have been two refs," added Bradshaw.

The freshman basketball intramurals will now be reorganized into a major and a minor league for the second divisional games.