3/21/1951

KANSAS CITY- Kansas State sweated out a 61 to 59 victory over Arizona last night in the opening game of the Western NCAA basketball tournament. All the contest thrills were packed in the final 10 minutes when the Big Seven champions blew a 21 point lead except for the winning margin.

Brigham Young University, striving for basketball's double crown, sputtered to a 68-61 victory over much-maligned San Jose State in the second game. The two games opened the Western NCAA playoffs. With the final period half gone, Coach Jack Gardner pulled his first team and inserted his reserves. The score was 54-33 at the time. Before he could get his stars back into action the Border Conference team had cut the margin to 59-45.

Driving constantly, the Arizona team, first round victim in the National Invitational Tourney at New York, slashed the deficit to only three points, 60-57, on Bob Honea's basket with about three minutes remaining. Roger Johnson looped in another for the Far Westerners to make it 60-59 with 90 seconds left.

Kansas State repeatedly refused free throws in those stirring last seconds to keep the ball, and just before the gun Ernie Barrett sank the first of two gratis shots for the final margin

The eight team Western field will come up with a champion Saturday night who will move on to Minneapolis for a meeting with the Eastern king Tuesday to determine the NCAA titleholder.

Until the final Arizona spurt, the game was all Kansas State with Ed Head, a brittle senior from Los Angeles, the hero.

Four times during his career at Kansas State, Head had been sidelined by injuries, but last night he was sound as a pre-depression dollar. He poured in 13 points, and starred under both backboards. He was the victors' leading scorer.

Honea and Roger Johnson each collected 15 points for Arizona.

Arizona's dying gasp was in sharp contrast to its spotty play in the first 30 minutes. Kansas State had built up an 11-1 lead in the first five minutes and left the floor at intermission with a 36-20 edge

That bulge was brought about when Arizona was shut off for five full minutes while Kansas State was hitting sharply. The Big Seven kings kept right on having their fun at the start of the second half and when Kansas State's lead went over the 20 point mark Gardner sent in the reserves. Then, came the fireworks.