Ben Avon High School - Novaneb Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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llliN AVON 13-OLIVER 26 ln a hotly contested pre-season battle, the Maroon and Cray took a Z6-19 setback at the hands of Oliver High School, on the latter's Hoor. Neither team was able to gain a decisive lead the tirst half, because of the close defensive play by both teams. Oliver had a 13-10 advantage at half time. ln the third quarter Oliver suddenly started a barrage of long shots, which threw our boys off bal- ance. tJliver's lead was never threatened again, as this surprise proved to be the turning point of the contest, llliN AVON 13-AVALON 30 The .Xultmanites opened the ollicial league season, meeting their neighboring rivals, Avalon, on the home tloor. Avalon displayed a quick-shooting team, which battled our boys with hook shots from unexpected angles. .Xt the Start of the second half Avalon had pulled out in the lead by a 17-ll score. The at-cond half was all Avalon. The few times that the llen Avon boys did get the ball they were unable to penetrate the highly effective .Xvalon defense. BEN AVON 15YLl2liTSDAl.li 30 llen Avon traveled down to Leetsdale and came back on the Short end of a 30-15 score. Stellar playing on the part of Leetsdale team resulted in a Z0 to 5 score in their favor at half time.. lien Avon, rising to the occasion during the second half, gave Leetsdale a battle for the remainder of the contest. However, l.eetsdale's decisive lead in the first half was too much to overcome, and the local cagers returned still looking for their lirst win. lllCN AVON 19mNliYlLLli 18 .Xnxious to annex their tirst league victory, the Ben Avon cagers entertained Neville in a genuine thriller. Unable to take many shots, both teams contributed to slowing the game down by their air'-tight defensive play during the first half. The scarcity of lield goals was evidenced by the 8 to 4 favor of Neville score at the intermission. Shooting more freely during the second half, both teams added points to their scores with increasing rapidity. The crowd was on its feet as lien Avon went into the lead with only seconds remaining to play. Neville just missed three very close shots after we had gone into the lead by one point, almost causing heart failure to the excited lien Avon rooters. lll-IN AVON 9-EDGIQVVOOD 21 lidgewood gave us a 21-9 setback in a slow and unexciting encounter on their lloor. Our boys were unable to make a single point the tirst half, Edgewood having gained a decisive 8-0 advantage. The home team collected nine points during the last two periods, but they were unable to threaten the fast-mov'nff 1 as lidgewood outht. 41

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Basketball BEN AVON 26-FACULTY 28 Eager to open the season with a victory over their teachers, the Ben Avon High passers were nosed out by a 26-28 score. With Coach Aultman, Sager, and johns leading the faculty's scoring, the lirst half resulted in a 17-7 ad- vantage over the varsity. After the intermission the varsity displayed a vastly improved scoring attack, coming within one point of the faculty but failing to toss the winning basket. BEN AVON 22-PERRY 34 V The local fioorites went on their lirst road trip of the season only to be defeated by the fast-moving Perry High School aggregation. It was a nip-and- tuck battle for the entire lirst half, with the lead changing several times. Ben Avon showed a smooth-running offense, which more than once puzzled the Perryites. As the second half started, the score board read 15-15. With a smash play from Black to Lawry we surged ahead 17-15. However, the Perry team him the backboard with unusual accuracy, and soon held a distinct advan- tage over the home team. Never able to threaten the opponent's lead again, Ben Avon yielded gradually, lighting right up to the final gun. 40

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BASKETBALL BEN AVON 16-BELLEVUE 31 The Blue and Gold of Bellevue copped a 13-16 decision from Ben Avon on the latter's floor. By dint of some high-class shooting Bellevue pulled out in the lead during the second quarter and maintained a decisive 20-6 margin during the pause between halves. Coming back with an abundance of pep and light, the Aultman-coached cagers displayed a greatly improved brand of ball through- out the second half. Bellevue scored only one more point than our team in the two remaining periods, but their Hrst halt lead. was too large for us to overtake. BEN AVON 23-SEXVICKLEY 35 Putting on one of its best performances of the season at Sewickley, the Maroon and Gray basketeers were defeated by a score of 35-23. The spectators were given some real exciting moments in the lirst half when the lead was snatched interchangeably by both teams. Both teams fought stubbornly, refus- ing to be outdone when one or the other went ahead by a one or two point margin. Between halves the score board read 13-lO in favor of Sewickley, but Ben Avon did not hesitate to tie it at 14-14 immediately after the start of the third quarter. The remainder of the struggle turned out to be a give-and-take affair with much rough play being displayed by both sides. Sewickley did not get a decisive lead until the last minute of play, when they went on a scoring spree, which was enough to put the game down as a win for them. BEN AVON 16-FACULTY 19 Striving to avenge the previous defeat handed them by their teachers, the varsity dropped another one by a 16-19 count. The faculty aggregation turned out to be a one-man te-am with Coach Aultman rolling up seventeen of the nine- teen points. The baskets were few and far between, while most of those that were shot were hook shots from awkward positions. Mr. Johns, the commer- cial teacher, created a sensation by his rough play. 3 BEN AVON Z6-AVALON 28 This never-to-be forgottenbattle with our oldest rivals proved to everyone that the Ben Avon High tossers really can play good basketball. Paced by the dimunitive Sammy Luttrell, the local boys completely outplayed their opponents during the first two periods. VVith our zone defense clicking perfectly, we had gained a menacing 18-ll advantage at the half. It proved too good to be true, however, for Avalon quickly tied up the score in the third quarter. Then it was any marfs ball game up to the last second with the score close all of the time. BEN AVON 14-LEETSDALE 6 Smarting from the ZS-26 edging given them by Avalon, Ben Avon came back to give Leetsdale a sound 14-6 lacing. The defenses of both teams were very effective, resulting in one of the lowest-scoring games in years. It was 42