Burns High School - Blazes Yearbook (Lawndale, NC)

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With the other player's eyes on the ball, senior Martin Kee (21) goes for “two” during the third quarter. 62 As his Kings Mountain oppo- nent crosses the time line, junior Lee Mauney (30) antici- pence his next move for the goal. Senior Charles Walton brings down arebound duringa battle ——»— with his Shelby opponents. —— = Burns won 69-65. TEAM BURNS OPP. Boy's Basketball Cherryville 52 44 South Point 78 71 East Gaston 89 72 Chase 78 49 East Rutherford 76 77 R.S. Central 54 60 Kings Mountain 57 97 Ashebrook 79 78 Hunter Huss 54 58 Crest 56 55 North Gaston 61 67 Shelb 55 59 East Gaston 70 64 Chase 61 59 South Point 62 52 East Rutherford 62 68 R.S. Central 58 67 | Kings Mountain 66 70 rest 66 67 North Gaston 69 57 Shelby 69 65 East Rutherford 70 63 Chase 62 via Season Record 12-11 BOY'S VARSITY BASKETBALL — Poston, Kent Clemmons, David BOTTOM ROW: Coach George Banks, Tony Poston, Edwin Hall, Elian Brown, Daryl Hunt, Peeler, Wayne Blanton, Jimmy Eric Campbell, Charles Walton, Lackey, Terrence Chambers, Lee Martin Kee, and Clarence With- Mauney, Gerod King, Calvin worth. TOP ROW: Manager Neal Ross.

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Gail Williams (33) looks on as the ball goes out of bounds follow- ing a rebound in the Shelby game. BOTTOM: Denise Williams (23) steals the ball from a Kings Moutain player as Felicia Roberts (11) looks on. alsin Travel To a basketball team there are two halves to a season. For the varsity girls there was a good half and a bad half. During the first round of Southwestern confer- ence play, the Lady Bull- dogs posted a3-6 record. Coach Tommy Pruett ex- plained, ‘‘We got off toa slow start.’’ Losses to Crest, Shelby, Kings Mountain, and R.S. Cen- tral could have broken the team’s morale but hard work and greatly improved execution of basic principles brought the team together. Assis- tant coach-student teacher Lynn Hicks com- mended the squad, ‘‘The girls played better at the end of the season than when | first came to Burns. They learned a lot.” Improved shooting percentages played a large part in the 6-3 re- cord the team racked up during the second round Of conference action. “Our play was improved during the second half,” was an understatement by coach Pruett. Second half action in- cluded wins over South Point, East Gaston, Chase, GIRLS BASKETBALL: BOTTOM ROW: Rodney Pruett, Carol Borders, Kim Walker, Kim Bailes, Gail Williams, Angela Shuford, Kathy Miller, Ceci- lia Ward, Denise Lawrence. TOP A Long Road To Kings Mountain, and Crest. Coach Pruett felt the win over Crest, who held a share of first place before the game, gave them the confidence they needed, “We proved we could play with anybody.” The team’s goal of a dis- trict playoff berth was cut short when they finished eighth in the final team standings and lost to Shel- by in the first round of the conference tournament. Part of every season is the anticipation for the next. Losing only 4 seniors (2 starters) from this squad, the coaches feel that next year can only be better. Assistant coach Diane Clark related, ‘I think we had a young team that gained a lot of experience; we will be better prepared for next season.” Winning is alway impor- tant but losing can be be- neficial in teaching the les- sons of life. Sophomore Kathy Miller commented, “We came a long way dur- ing the season, and | wouldn't trade the experi- ence for anything.” “We came a long way A statement that aptly sums up the girl's varsity basketball program. ROW: Coach Tommy Pruett, Lisa Brown, Robin Fullove, Christine Webber, Sherrie Sain, Felicia Roberts, Denise Williams, Be- verly Haynes, Lynn Hicks. 61

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Experience is the key element in life and in basketball. Losing seven players to graduation and having a large group Of underclassmen, boys’ varsity coach George Hall felt his team lacked the experience they needed, ‘‘l think the team had the potential to beat anybody in the conference. However, we lacked consistency A Learning Experience and that came from our inexperience.” Though finesse was not their speciality, the varsity squad certainly gave supporters excite- ment. During the first round of confernce play the team posted a 4-5 rec- ord. Although lack of con- sistency was one adver- sary to the team, junior Lee Mauney feels they lacked height, ‘‘The things that hurt us were: not enough height and inexperience.’’ Senior Charles Walton points to poor execution, ‘‘Our season could have been better except for minor mistakes in our game.” Any or all of these could be held responsible for the team’s up-and- down season. Examples of the alternating ‘‘good night-bad night’ play are: an overtime win at Crest, and a loss to Shel- by on a night when snow, not basketball, was the main attraction. The lessons that teach experience can be the toughest ones to under- stand and the team cer- tainly had its share of harsh instruction. Senior Martin Kee may have found the solution, ‘We didn't have enough experience to win the BIG games.’’ Games like R.S. Central, 67-58; Kings Mountain, 70-66; and East Ruther- ford, 68-62. In the second round of play the team improved its record to 5-4 and worked hard to be one of the five conference teams to advance to dis- trict competition. However, finishing in sixth place in the final league standings and losing to Chase in the semi-final round of the conference tournament dashed hopes of the dream becoming reality. If experience really is the ‘‘best teacher’, this Bulldog squad should be a power to reckon with in the near future, for the lessons that teach experience were an im- portant part of the boys’ varsity basketball program. Junior Daryl Hunt (44) flies through the air on a layup against the Mouties. The 'dogs came close, with a loss of 70-69.