Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-14
La Sale Whiips
Niddies, 64-48,
In NcAAP|ay
Explorers Pull Awoy
After First-HuIf Tie:
Meet Penn Stute Next
By MerreII WhittIesey
Stor Stoff Correspondent

Sfor Ssotf correspondent
PHILADELPHIA. Mar. 49,
La Sale won its way to the
NCAA semifinals and a Friday
night meeting with surprising
Penn State by thoroughly out
playing Navy in the second half
tonight en- route to a 64-48
triumph.
Meanwhile, Penn State halted
Notre Danes 18-game victory
streak. upsetting the Irish, 71-63,
at Iowa City.
A Palestra crowd Of 7,641
watched the Middies bother the
favored Explorers with zone
defense that helped hold the
flrSt-half score to 21-all. But it
took Navy 5 minutes and 81 Sec
onds to score a field goal in the
third quarter. and by that time
La Sale had an 1l-point mar
gin and it was all over.
While Tom Cola, La Sales ex-
preSSionless All-American. scored
% points and came of with most
of the honorS. it was an alter
nate starter, Bob Naples, who
hit for three quick field goals at
the outset of the second half.
and that splurge started Navy to
its downfall.
Lang Has OFF Night.
North Carolina State. cham
pions of the Atlantic Coast Con-
ference. defeated Cornell. the Ivy
League champs, 1854. in a list
less consolation game which
didn't seem to have much excuse
for being on the program.
Navy lost, and lost badly, be-
cause it received only three
points from Don Lange, the g.
foot-4 hook shot artist who hit
for % last night against Cornell.
The Explorers were doing a
pretty good defensive job on
Lange, but he was having a bad
night even without anybody near
him. He finally fouled out after
having been taken out at least
once each quarter.
And Johnny Clune, the other
half of Nays usual potent scor-
ing team, also wasn't himself.
Clune scored six quick points
near the end to give him a re-
spectacle Is for the night. but
he couldn't hit when it still was
ball game. At one time. Coach
Ben Carnevale had both Clune
and LANCE out of the game by
choice
Cola Most Valuable.
Cola, who plays completely
without emotion, deserted his
usual position under the basket
when Navy went into the zone
but he found the range after
slow start and as usual was high
scorer and the top rebounder.
Cola won 13 out of Is ballots
as the most valuable player and,
along with Lee Morton of Cor
nell, was a unanimous choice for
the All-Tournament team of the
two doubleheaderS in the Eastern
regional playoffs. Mel Thompson
and Vic Molodet Of N. c. State
and Lange also made the team,
LANCE getting a break because
it was picked at halftime during
the final game.
Navy. which reached the East
ern final with triumphs over
Connecticut and Cornell. shocked
the pro-La Sale crowd with a
seven point squirt in the first
quarter which gave the Middies
a 1913 lead over the slow-start-
ing Explorers as the period
ended.
La Sale bettered this with an
eight-point furry at the outset
of the second period which gave
the Philadelphians a 1914 edge,
as Navy required more than five
minutes for it's first field goal of
the period.
The Middies were playing de-
liberately, waiting for their shots,
and with La Sale making only
seven out of 80 in the first half.
Navy. had tie ball game on its
hands.
But after trading couple of