Laney College - Oak Log Yearbook (Oakland, CA)

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Ed. Duffy of Compton's Sporting Goods present' Rufu ll k' 'l h , ,. s s 'au 'ms wit 1 t e Most Valuable Player trophy. T-Birch Win Seconcz' lace In State IC Belrleetbczll Tourney By Stu Smith Climaxing the greatest athletie season in Oli' historv the Thunderbirds of Oakland ,lunioriCo11ege eapturedia second place in the State ,l.C. basketball championships held in Bakersheld in March. losinff out g to l.ong Beach City College in the final game. ln the opening round of play the T -Birds met the Eastern Confer ence champions, Orange Coast ,Ill ., and dumped the over-ranked Orangemen by a 76-57 count. The game was a rout from the beginning as six Oakland players hit for douhle ff' igures. ,loe Johnson and Rufus Hawkins were high for the game as both tallied l-L College of Sequoias, who broke a tournament record I Y . . . . . my scoring 104 points ln their first game also felt the sti ff ,, . f , ,. ng of the Thunderbirds as they were stopped cold, 59-50. The invaluable Hawkins with 18. and Bob Laird with 15 left the Blue and Colders' offense. All-tournament team mem- bers lineup after final championship game. They are Ray McCarty, Sequoiasg ,lim Stephans, Comptong Wayne Olson, Oakland: Bob Berry. Long Beach: and Dave Jones. Long Beach. li ..4fvl.vne.!.'?i2eHna-V'l The final championship frame w , . ga , 'as one to be remem- bc l l ' :ret . as tie weary l'-Birds collided with th- . 1, veteran- loaded bong Beach five. Oakland jumped off to a quick 20-9 lead, but dog-tired from tourney play, they were speedily overtaken. When llawkins fouled out with five minutes left it was a fin al blow and the Big lfiight champs bowed, 57-47. Consolation honors went to the 'Birds as Wrayne Olson, play-making guard, was named to the All-Tournament team. Olson was also voted as the most valuable player h. to is team by the tourney committee. League Action Combine the best defensive 1021111 in the nation, and the winners of the Big Eight Basketball conference with a 14-0 record. and you have the aggregation that proudly represented Oakland Junior College l ' ' , . g , 1 urlng the 1957-58 season. Success was the keynote for the Jcltes all season long from the opening tipoff to the final buzzer. Opening the season against the strong San .lose JC live, Oakland had to go into an overtime period to down the eventual Coast Conference champs, 58-53. Next on the list were the Santa Clara lfrosh. The visit- ing T-Birds dropped a listless -l-6-41 decision to the Bronco team. Another defeat came at the hands of the 'Qloadedn Saint lVlary's Frosh, 64-50. This Gaelet team was heralded by most experts as the best Frosh team in the nation. Practice wins numbers 2. 3. and 4 were gained over East Contra Costa's Vikings 67--19, Vallcjo's Redskins 53-39, and Napais Chiefs as they also fell by the wayside 62-39. The Colden Valley Conference ehamps College of M- . 1 . .N , arm administered the last loss for OJC until the final game of the Bakersfield Tournament, 58-40. The Thunderbirds arrived in the Southland intent on capturing the San Bernardino lnvitational Tournament. Last year they took a second plaeeflosing out to Wlodcsto in the final game. 51-47. This time the 'Birds ran rough- shod over Chaffey 65-45, San Bernardino 60-52, and River- side 64-48 to take all honors and first place. One more warm-up game before league play started found the T-Birds knocking over the Naval Air Station Hellcats 59-51 at the Air Base court. Arriving on the Modesto .lC campus, the Thunderbirds left an impression to be remembered as they completely overwhelmed the Pirates 78-41. Coach Rockwell cleared his bench in an effort to keep the score down.