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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide for Reeves County, Trans-Pecos, Big Bend of West Texas

Sports

Wednesday, January 21, 1998

Steers manage to stay in front of Eagles

By JON FULBRIGHT
Sports Editor
PECOS, Jan. 21 -- The Big Spring Steers ran up and down the court, and
their lead against the Pecos Eagles also went up and down for most of
Tuesday night.

Playing an up-tempo game, the Steers took a nine point lead on the
Eagles in the second quarter, only to see Pecos tie it just before
halftime, then went up by as many as 16 points in the third quarter and
were ahead by 14 with under six minutes to play.

Three minutes later, that lead was down to three, but by then the Eagles
had lost one of their starting posts to fouls and would lose the other a
minute later, allowing Big Spring to pull away at the finish and score a
74-60 victory at the Pecos High School gym.

Lorie Marquez, who led all scorers with 22 points, picked up her fifth
foul with 4:24 to play and the Eagles down by eight. But guard Marisol
Arenivas picked up the scoring slack, hitting two jumpers and four foul
shots over the next minute to cut the lead to 61-58, before Steers posts
Nadia Cole and Keesha Lott got inside for a series of baskets in the
final three minutes that sealed the victory.

"I didn't have any time-outs left by then. I had to use them in the
third quarter to stop the bleeding, and we did, but it came back to
haunt us," said Eagles' coach Brian Williams, who was as upset with his
team's first half effort as in their third quarter streak, which saw the
Steers turn a 30-27 lead into a 50-34 advantage.

"We didn't have a very good practice yesterday. Being a holiday, I don't
know what they did during the day, but we practiced at 6 p.m. and we
were tired and weren't enthused, and it showed in the first half."

Big Spring was equally sloppy in the early going, but the pace of the
game made up in part for all the turnovers. Annette Marquez helped give
the Eagles an early 8-3 lead, but Big Spring's Traci Bellinghausen put
the Steers up 13-12 as the quarter ended with a rebound lay-up.

The Steers controlled the board for much of the second period, while
taking a 27-18 lead off a steal and lay-up by Marlena Light. But Lorie
Marquez then scored six straight points, and a 3-pointer by Annette
Marquez tied the score at 27 before Kara Hughes' 3-pointer just before
halftime gave the Steers a three-point lead.

Big Spring would lead the rest of the way, and appeared read to put the
game away in the third period, when sloppy passing by the Eagles led to
a series of baskets off steals or second-chance opportunities.

Marquez would follow up a missed Shey Lara free throw, then scored again
off a pass from Arenivas to cut the lead back to 50-39 just before the
quarter ended, but a Maggie Haddad basket off a turnover and a Lott
free-throw would take the margin back up to 17 before Pecos began their
last comeback effort.

After a Arenivas hit a jumper she would feed both Marquezes for baskets
off steals, then scored her own lay-up off a Lorie Marquez assist. It
came right before she fouled out, but the Eagles kept the run going when
Arenivas was fouled on a three-point attempt, hitting two foul shots,
then hit a couple of foul line jumpers around two more foul shots.

Annette Marquez wound up with 16 points and Arenivas had 11 for the
Eagles, who fell to 1-4 at the halfway point of District 4-4A play, and
11-11 on the season. Lott had 21, Hughes 17 and Cole 16 for Big Spring,
which kept its hopes of a seventh straight 4-4A title alive, as they
improved to 3-2 in district, 13-9 overall.

"The intensity we showed Friday (in a loss at San Angelo Lake View)
we've got to have every time out," Williams said. "We know we can play
with these people, but now we have to go out there and finish it off."

The Eagles will be at home again on Friday against Fort Stockton,
seeking their fourth win of the season over the Prowlers.

BIG SPRING (74)
McWherter 2 0-0 4; Lott 7 7-12 21; Jackson 0 0-1 0; Haddad 3 3-8 9;
Bellinghausen 1 1-2 3; Hughes 6 1-1 17; Light 2 0-1 4; Cole 8 0-1
16.«MD0» Totals 29 12-25 74.

PECOS (60)
Arenivas 3 5-7 11; Lara 1 1-2 3; A. Marquez 6 0-0 16; Armstrong 3 2-3 8;
Orona 0 0-0 0; Quiroz 0 0-0 0; L. Marquez 10 2-3 22; Levario 0 0-0 0;
Thorp 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 10-15 60.

Big Spring 13__17__22__22__--74
Pecos 12__15__12__21__--60
Three-point goals: Big Spring 4 (Hughes 4); Pecos 4 (A. Marquez 4)
Fouled out: Pecos, L. Marquez, Armstrong. Total fouls: Big Spring 18,
Pecos 22.

Blown chances cost Pecos game at buzzer

By JON FULBRIGHT
Sports Editor
PECOS, Jan. 21 -- For the past several weeks, Pecos Eagles coach Mike
Sadler had been warning his players that missed free throws "will kill
us when we get to district."

The killing arrived Tuesday night, when the Eagles blew a 10 point
second half lead and lost at the buzzer to the Big Spring Steers, 64-62.

Big Spring got 6-foot-4 post Greg Wollenzein in a baseline mismatch with
5-foot-7 Oscar Luna with 3.5 seconds to play, and when the ball was
lobbed over Luna's head it forced Omar Hinojos to come off Chauncey Ford
and onto Wollenzein, who simply passed underneath to Ford for the
game-winning lay-up as time expired.

But the Eagles twice had chances to put the game away in the final 30
seconds, but couldn't hit from the free throw line.

"We can't hold them off," a dejected coach Mike Sadler said after the
game. "We've got to learn how to hold and lead, and to do that we've got
to make our free throws and lay-ups."

In addition to those problems, Pecos also got a questionable
double-dribble call against Jacob Chavez with seven seconds left, after
Ford's lane jumper had tied the score at 62-all.

The Steers inbounded to the baseline, but the ball was knocked away from
Andy Hall by Luna and rolled on top of both falling players and out of
bounds. Again, the call went against the Eagles, as the ball was ruled
to have touched Luna last, setting up the game-winning play.

Before that, the Eagles had many chances to put the Steers away. They
controlled the ball up by two at the two minute mark, only to see Hall
steal it and tie the game with 1:24 to play. The Eagles then took the
lead back at the 44 second mark on a grab-and-shoot lay-up in mid-air by
Fernando Navarrete, one of many give-and-go baskets the Eagles scored.

Luna then picked off Wollenzein's pass to Hall, forcing the Steers to
foul Luna, who went to the line with 30 seconds left, but missed the
front end of a one-and-one. The Steers came back down court and turned
the ball over again, as Ford dribbled it off his foot trying to drive on
Hinojos.

Again Big Spring fouled, and this time it was Chavez who missed the
front of a one-and-one at the 18.7 second mark, setting up Ford's tying
jumper.

Ford finished with 22 points, and he and Justin Myers, who had 17, got
the Steers off quickly. Ford's inside game and Myers' 3-pointers gave
the Steers an early 14-6 lead before Chavez led the Eagles back.

He had all 17 of his points in the first half, including five from
3-point range. The third of those gave the Eagles a 17-16 lead as the
opening period ended.

The Eagles wouldn't trail again until the final second. Chavez' next two
3s and a Navarrete lay-up gave the Eagles a 25-18 advantage, which Pecos
later expanded to as much as 10, at 32-22, on a Hinojos three-point
play. Luna capped the half with a 3-pointer from the corner while
heading out of bounds, and in the third period, he was one of several
Eagles to work the back door give-and-go with Navarrete at the high
post. Navarrete wound up leading Pecos with 19 points, while Luna's his
steal and lay-up late in the period gave the Eagles their biggest lead,
at 50-38.

Pecos was still up by 10 at 60-50, off a lay-up by Hinojos, when Ford
and Wollenzein led the Steers back. Ford hit from the foul line and
scored off a Bandy Rollins assist, while Wollenzein got position inside
for a pair of lay-ups.

The four-year varsity post gave the Eagles a little help, going 1-for-4
from the line, but the Eagles hurt their own cause with a couple of
missed lay-ups in the final four minutes of play.

"I'm sick of losing, I know that," said Sadler, who added, "We've got to
get everyone to practice, that's one thing. I've got to be the 10th man
(in scrimmages) every day because they don't all come."

The win was only Big Spring's fourth in 21 games and lifted them to 1-2
in district, while Pecos is 0-3 and 13-10 going into Friday's home game
against Fort Stockton, 81-63 losers at Andrews.

Big Spring downed Pecos' junior varsity by a 60-51 score Tuesday, while
the Eagles' freshmen went to Balmorhea, and defeated the Bears' JV,
42-36. Alex Garcia and David Chavez each had 13 for Pecos.

PECOS (62)
Garcia 1 0-0 2; Perea 0 0-0 0; Luna 5 0-1 12; Martinez 0 0-0 0;
Navarette 8 3-4 19; Hinojos 4 2-3 10; Matta 0 0-0 0; Adame 1 0-0 2;
Marquez 0 0-0 0; Chavez 6 0-1 17. Totals 25 5-9 62.

BIG SPRING (64)
Williams 0 0-0 0; Myers 6 0-0 17; Watson 0 0-0 0; Hall 3 1-2 8;
Wollenzein 5 1-4 11; Lowkey 1 0-0 2; Ford 11 0-1 22; Rollins 2 0-0 4.
Totals 27 2-7 64.

Big Spring 16 10 15 23 --64
Pecos 17 18 15 12 --62
Three-point goals: Big Spring 6 (Myers 5, Hall); Pecos 7 (Chavez 5, Luna
2) Fouled out: None. Total fouls: Big Spring 14, Pecos 10.

Bear squads again sweep by Vaqueros

PECOS, Jan. 21 -- The Balmorhea Bears scored basketball teams their
second victories in a week over the Sierra Blanca Vaqueros, taking both
the boys and girls games by double-digit margins at home Tuesday night.

The boys improved their season record to 14-2 with a 79-58 win over
Sierra Blanca, while the girls are now 7-9 after taking their final
pre-district game, 49-34.

The girls bounced back from a 47-25 loss last Friday at Dell City, as
Amanda Lozano scored 12 points and Cherry Garcia and Amy Garcia had 10
apiece. Coach Ennis Erickson said his team was in control most of the
way. "We just played better (than Friday). We didn't have the turnovers
we did the time before."

The boys also were in control during their victory, and were led by
Kevin Castillo's 22 points. Arturo Miranda put in 18 and Zane Rhyne 16
for Balmorhea, which will be going for its third straight District 29-A
title starting on Friday in Marathon.

The boys already own a 63-49 win over the Mustangs last month in the
Sanderson Tournament, while Balmorhea's girls were edged by Marathon in
that tournament, by a 45-41 final score.

Eagles prepare to open spring tennis schedule

PECOS, Jan. 21 -- It's still January and the latest winter cold front is
scheduled to arrive Thursday. But if it's not too cold, that's the day
the spring tennis season for the Pecos Eagles will get underway, with a
dual meet against Odessa Permian's junior varsity.

The Eagles will host Permian's JV at 4 p.m., then face Odessa High's
varsity on the Bronchos' courts a week later, in the first of six dual
meets on the spring schedule. Pecos also has six tournaments scheduled,
leading up to the District 4-4A tournament in Midland on April 17-18.

"We've been practicing since January 1," said Eagles' coach Bernadette
Ornelas, who'll go the first month without a full boys squad.

"We've got more than enough girls. We've got 12, and there are only five
boys, but there are two or three boys in other sports right now," she
said. They include junior Mark Marquez who is in basketball, and
freshman Craig Wein, who is on the swimming team.

Pecos will also have home dual meets against Monahans and Fort Stockton,
and play in their first tournament on Feb. 13-14, at San Angelo Central.
They'll go back to San Angelo the following month for the Lake View
Tournament, a week after the Eagles host their own tourney on March
20-21.

Pecos Eagles 1998 Varsity Tennis Schedule

January
22 (Thur.) - Odessa Permian JV 4 p.m.
29 (Thur.) - at Odessa High 4 p.m.

February
|5 (Thur.) - Monahans 4 p.m.
13/14 (Fri.-Sat.) - at San Angelo Central Tournament Times TBA
17 (Tue.) - at Fort Stockton 4 p.m.
20/21 (Fri.-Sat.) - at Colorado City Tournament Times TBA

March
6/7 (Fri.-Sat.) - at Ft. Stockton Tournament (team) Times TBA
17 (Tue.) - Fort Stockton 4 p.m.
20/21 (Fri.-Sat.) - Pecos Tournament Times TBA
26 (Thur.) - at Odessa Permian JV 4 p.m.
27/28 (Fri.-Sat.) - at SA Lake View Tournament Times TBA

April
3/4 (Fri.-Sat.) - at Monahans Tournament Times TBA
17/11 (Fri.-Sat.) District 4-4A Tournament at Midland 8 a.m.

Media rush pressures Denver's offensive line

By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 21 -- They spoke at last.

Tackle Gary Zimmerman admitted he's uncomfortable around a lot of
people, and here he was, shoehorned onto the same patch of field with
some 3,000 members of the media. Center Tom Nalen disclosed that he
vomits before each game, apparently from nervousness.

Those were just some of the revelations that came out Tuesday at Super
Bowl media day, when Denver's offensive linemen broke a two-year code of
silence. During that time, they imposed fines on themselves if they
talked to reporters.

But faced with $10,000 fines by the NFL if they boycotted the first and
biggest of three interview sessions, the code was broken.

Guard Mark Schlereth was amused at the cluster of journalists
surrounding each of the linemen, who usually wander around anonymously
at such sessions.

``It's not like we're a bunch of ogres who don't know how to speak,''
he said. ``But if we did talk all season, nobody would want to talk to
us now.''

The linemen suspended their own system of fines for any members who
violated the code.

The media moratorium began as a bonding experience for the linemen,
with the encouragement of line coach Alex Gibbs. Gibbs spent the full
hour answering questions patiently from a seat in the stands. But he
made it clear he considered it a distraction to deal with the media
while preparing to meet defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay on
Sunday.

``I've got problems blocking Gilbert Brown and Reggie White, and this
interview isn't solving any of those problems,'' Gibbs said.



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