VOL. II, NO. 10
March 3, 1961
Freeman's Cagers Finish Fourth In Interim League
Maine West's varsity basketball Warriors ended their second season in Interim conference play and opened in the tournament in the Prospect regional with two decisive wins, February 24 and 28. Against Willowbrook in the league wrap-up, the Warriors rallied from a 10-point deficit to triumph, 71-60, on the Brooks court. Last Tuesday in the Prospect regional tourney, West dumped suburban Niles, 67-57, in their opening round of play.
With the win over Willowbrook Coach Freeman's cagers end their 1960-61 bucket season in fourth place in the Interim standings, behind first place Prospect, Wheaton, and East Leyden. Here are the standings:
| VARSITY |
W |
L |
Pct |
| Prospect |
11 |
1 |
.917 |
| Wheaton |
10 |
2 |
.833 |
| East Leyden |
8 |
4 |
.667 |
| MAINE WEST |
6 |
6 |
.500 |
| Willowbrook |
4 |
8 |
.333 |
| Proviso West |
2 |
10 |
.167 |
| Glenbrook |
1 |
11 |
.083 |
In the opening round of play at Prospect, West started their first quarter off with a bang. Niles really wanted to win the game, and it looked as if the Warriors were going to let them do it for a while. But Maine West, trailing 19-8 at the onset of the second period, began shooting and rebounding like champs. Warriors Al Waters, Mike Rowlee, Rick Warnicke, Doug Halpenny, and Bill Dausman, all hit for buckets in the second period, tying the score at halftime, 26-26.
West really broke the game wide open in the third quarter. Rebounding fiercely, center Bruce Shriver popped in four baskets and two free throws for 10 points, in leading Maine to a 20-9 advantage in the third period. Going into the final quarter of play, Maine West, which had once trailed in the game by 11 points, now led by 11, 46-35.
It appeared as though the Warriors had the game all sewed up, but the Trojans weren't through yet. Sparked by the shooting of their 6 feet 3 inch enter and a substitute guard, N1les closed the gap to six points with 2:28 remaining to play in the game, 54-48. Then guard Halpenny of West began finding the range and pumped in 11 points before the final buzzer sounded.
Three Westmen scored in double figures for the game. Guards Waters and Halpenny led Warrior pointmen with 17 apiece, while center Shriver was right behind with 16.