Manhattan College - Manhattanite Yearbook (Riverdale, NY)

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only four minutes remauiini:, but manai:ed to blow the lead, although most spectators could not understand just how they did it. Veryzer was the only capable scorer, garnering seven- teen points. In the latter game, the Jaspers were outclassed throughout, and at one time trailed by thirty points. Joe Lord led the home team with twenty-two and Poppe had tweh ' e for Manhattan. The first game of the western swing pro- duced a satisfying victory, as the Kelly Green sported some of their early season aggressive- ness in trimming Eastern Kentucky, 62-16. They held a slim margin throughout, but the home club was constantly threatening. Ed Hicks of Eastern was high man with nine- teen, while Kelly topped other Jaspers with fourteen. The second half of the trip met with disaster, however, as Cincinnati ripped an ice-cold Manhattan five, 57-51. Trailing by twenty points with only ten minutes re- maining m the game, the Jaspers finally woke up, but their spirited closing spurt fell short. The annual jaunt over to Rose Hill, to engage Fordham, might |ust as well not been taken, as the Rams triumphed, 60-5-t. The game v as tense and spirited throughout, with even a short order of fisticufis mixed m. Fordham established a seemingly safe lead at the start of the second half, but a closing drne by the Kelly Greens nearly upset the applec.irt. Jerry Smith, the Rams ' freshman star, led all scorers with nineteen points. For Manhattan, Skronski and Cohane each had nine. Rit ht on the heels of the Fordham setback. -iwr (ir .n Je;( .; Alumni G)m the Jaspers returned to Madison Sc]uare Gar- den, and met a similar fate at the hands of New York University, 67-57. The Violets reigned supreme all the way, although the Jasper five was constantly nipping at their heels. The team played a good game, except 253

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Poppe |ust at the end of the half tied the score, 22-22. High scorers for the night were John Burke of Manhattan and Ken Hag- gerty of Ht)ly Cross, formerly co-captains at Andrevs Jaci son High Scliool, with eleven points apiece. This good showing against Holy Cross was later emphasized as the Cru- Ktlly Y ilihi. ' i V.itlDiiiiilh L.nt ScumbU ' saders became National Champions in the Invitation Tournament. Ihe Jaspers got hack in the winning col- umn at Albany on January 2°), when they gained a hard-fought victory over Siena Col- lege. The seven-point advantage held at the half by the hoine team seemed tenable until a late drive gave the Kelly Green a 50-47 de- cision. The score was tied at least a dozen times, but with one minute remainintr, and the ciiunt knotted at -i7-l7, John Hughes netted a foul shot and Hank Poppe scored under the basket, to provide the winning margin. Poppe was high for the Jaspers with sixteen, but the game high of eighteen was scored by George Weber, a former Man- hattan student. A strong Vermont team was the next to trip the Jaspers, and they turned the trick by the score of 64-58 in their home town of Burlington. The game was one of the best played all season, but was not in the books for a Jasper victory, even though the River- dalers led at half time by the score of 31-24. Sparked by one of the finest ballplayers en- countered all season in Larry Killick, the northerners went ahead midway in the final period, and staved off a strong closing bid by a desperate Manhattan team. Gerry Co- hane led all scorers with twenty-one points. The less said about the next two games the better for all concerned. The victors were St. Francis, 53-52, and ViUanova, 77-60. In the first of these, the Jaspers led, 50-42, with John B nit 252

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Kill) Anjiii! for occasional lapses, and it was these that cost the ' ictofy. Bob Kelly played excep- tionally well and tied with Adolph Schayes of N. . U. for scorins: honors with seven- teen. The worst defeat of the season was suf- fered at the hands of another Metropolitan foe, City College, 76- ' S7, in the Fordham gymnasium. City ' s fast break proved too much for the Jaspers, although they ran with the La ender a good part of the i)pening period. Hank Poppe and Mike Joyce were our bright lights. Poppe hit for twenty-one points, even though he fouled out early in the second half. Joyce, the 6 foot 7 inch sub- stitute center, entered the game in the List fi ' e minutes and threw in ele ' en points. A win and a loss were recordet.1 in the next two cc)ntests, where a pair of victories were thoutiht tc) be a foretrone conclusion, hi the first of these, against the New ' ork State Maritime Academy, the fi ' e had a difficult time getting started, and had to come from behind to eke out a (-lO- !) win. Kelly was tops with thirteen, hi the latter game, a group of aggressive ballplayers from Hofstra out- fought five superior opponents to gain a ■17- 3 victory. The Hempsteaders, led by (ohn Mills with nineteen, refused to give up, and clinched the game with a scant ten seconds remaining. Bob Kelly once again headed the Jaspers with fourteen. If this unpredictable Manhattan team had played all season as it did in the last two games on the schedule, few teams would ha e decisioned it. I- ' or the Jaspers came to life long enciugh to trample Albright 70- ' i.T, and Scranton, which holds the dubious dis- tinction of being the only team to twice bow to the Jaspers, 71-45. The boys in green and white played a fast, powerful game on both occasions, and looked like a truly line team. Hank Poppe took honors in the first game with seventeen, while Kelly and Cohane held forth in the latter with thirteen apiece. Four players scored over two hundred points for the season, and Gerry Cohane was the first of these with 262. Kelly and Cohane Skinnsti. Ktlly—B.iUet? 254