Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-13
Victory Over Cornell
Gives Middies Crack
Al Favored LaSaIIe

PHILADELPHIA, Mar. l3.--A
Navy basketball team that al
ready has advanced farther In
the NCAA tournament than two
previous entries from Annapolis
runs into LaSalle and Tom Cola
In tonight's quarter finals at the
PaleStra.
LaSalle Is favored, but by no
great margin over q Navy quintet
that has been ct its best while
turning In two slight upsets this
week. A One-handed push shot
last night by Ken McCally with
two seconds left gave the Middies
q 69-67 victory over Cornell, a
team that previously beat Navy;
while LaSalle. with Cola and
Chuck Singley each getting 26
points. worked past North Caro-
lima State. the Atlantic Coast
Conference champion, 1881.
/ Earlier In the week Navy
showed itself in good tourna-
ment shape by winning a pre-
liminary-round game against
Connecticut. These two victories
have advanced the Middies to
tonight's quarter-finals from
which the winner goes to the
semiflnals and finals next week
end at Kansas City.
Previous Entries Lost Early.
Previous Navy teams were in
the NCAA tourney in 1947 and
last year. The At quintet lost
in the preliminary round and
last years team bowed in the
first round. both to Holy Cross.
Before McCally wrapped up
Navy's tense game last night,
the schools two scoring aces,
Don LANCE and John Clune, COL
lected so points between them
to repel repeated threats from
Cornell, the Ivy League cham
pion. LANCE got 20 points and
Clune 81. Capt. Lee Morton
of Cornell scored "a points in
a losing. cause.
The first period was q tight
one with the lead constantly
changing hands until the Mid
dies took a 1913 lead that was
enlarged to 1914 by the quar-
ter's end. LANCE and Clune
then opened more daylight for a
1922 halftime lead, and the lead
held up until Cornell staged a
rally in the late minutes of the
third period for $3.50 tie.
Thriller in Last Period.
The game was a heart-stopper
the rest Of the way with Cornell
twice taking small leads. With
a minute and a half left, the
game was tied at 67-67 and Navy
in possession of the ball. The
Middies made no attempt to
shoot, waiting for that last-sec-
ond chance, and Cornell's de-
tense did not press them. Twice
during the freeze the Middies
called time out to get organized,
and finally with two seconds left
McCally dribbled in and tossed
in his push shot from about 10
feet out.
The score was especially sweet
to McCally who two weeks ago
lost bis place on the starting
five. He got into the game last
night only because two regulars
had fouled out, and his win
ming basket was the only one he
made.
The LaSalle-North Carolina
State also was a tight one, but
without such an exciting ending.
The Explorers went ahead late
in the third period and kept in
front thereafter, although by no
safe margin.
WOlfpack Threats Stopped.
A shot by Cola was what put
LaSalle ahead finally. 48-46,
with four minutes left of the
third period. Until then he had
been having only a $3.50 night,
but he opened up to score most
Of his points while turning back
Wolfpack threats in the final.
Three of his baskets came on
tap-ins in the last minute of the
game to account for much of
LaSalle's winning margin.
The Explorers had a $3.50
lead going into the final but were
pressed all the way, with State
at one point pulling to 60-59
and again to 64-63. That was
the closest State came, as Cola
(See NAVY, Page A-13.)