12/2/1960

'CATS SCRAP SURPRISES COLORADO

UA's Own Aggressiveness Causes Cats' 82-72 Loss

By CARL PORTER

-UA Photo by Bob Broder

SCORING SCREEN
Speedy Arizona guard Wes Flynn (10) wheels around a high post screen by UA center Russ Stevens (44) to lose his defensive man, Colorado's Eric Lee (3), long enough to get off a successful jump shot from some 15 feet out as the Buffs' giant center, 6-8 Roger Voss (55), makes a vain attempt to block the play. The screen was typical of many in the Cats new tandem offense, which enabled them to lead powerful Colorado for three quarters of the game, before bowing 82-72 at Bear Down Gym last night.

Someone forgot to mention to them that they had neither the size, ability nor winning spirit to play on a par with the powerful Colorado Buffaloes of the Big Eight.

So Arizona's basketball Wildcats simply went out and played it by ear last night—and a pretty tune it was for UA hardwood hopefuls, despite the fact it wound up on a sour note as Arizona finally bowed to a combination of Colorado height and its own aggressiveness, 82-72.

It was the season's opener for both teams and the two meet again tonight at 8 o'clock at Bear Down Gym.

And Colorado Coach Sox Walseth goes into tonight's rematch with plenty of respect for the scrappy Wildcats, who won the enthusiastic roars of a crowd of 2,069 last night as they sprinted into an early lead and fought to hold it throughout the first 30 minutes of play.

IN THE END, however, it was the very aggressiveness which kept the Wildcats in the game as they struggled to match the towering Buffs on the backboards which proved their downfall.

Colorado scored nearly half of its 82 points, 38 to be exact, from the foul line as the Cats fouled 35 times to only 18 infractions on the part of the visitors.

Nevertheless, led by an exciting jump shot exhibition by transfer Joe Kaisgir who poured 29 points through the nets, Arizona fought its way to a 21-17 lead after 10 minutes, deadlocked the Buffs, 40-40, at the half, and led 59- 58 going into the last 10 minutes.

Colorado, however, calmly dropped in '24 points in the last quarter of the contest—18 of these from the foul stripe—to Dull away.

"WE WERE JUST hustling real well," said Assistant Coach Bruce Larson (doing double duty while Head Coach Fred Enke recuperates from an operation) with a shrug. "We had a lot of fouls that were unnecessary ... we were just trying to battle the height in there, trying to get rebounding position on them."

The Cats, however, couldn't match the Buffs' big front line of 6-6 all-Big Eight star Wilky Gilmore (27 big ones last night), 6-7 Ken Charlton and 6-8 center Roger Voss.

"They were pressing us half court almost all the game," explained Buff Coach Walseth. "They have a real aggressive bunch ... I liked their whole outfit, especially that Skaisgir and those two guards (Bill Weese and Wes Flynn)."

CRIP SHOTS—Skaisgir, a 6-4 junior college second-team All-American last year, showed all the necessary ability to fill the shoes of departed scoring star Ernie McCray . . . "But," points out Larson, "at forward it will be harder to get the ball to him than to McCray at center last year Weese and junior forward Kirk Young showed promise of the scoring potential expected from them this year and Flynn undoubtedly cinched a starting spot with some nifty jump shooting . . . Colorado was slowed up by three quick fouls on the giant Voss . . . Both Skaisgir and Flynn had to come out of the game temporarily with leg cramps. "That shows how hard they were playing," said Larson, "they burned up the salt in their bodies" . . . Perhaps key to the Wildcats surprising showing was their new tandem offense, with Skaigir, Weese and Flynn scoring consistently on jumps and drives off screens by the high man (center) in the tandem . . . Larson and Walseth once played baseball together at Pierre, S.D., in the semipro Basin League . . . Enke, who talked with the players via telephone after the game, hopes to be back on the bench by next weekend.