Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-03-21
California Defense Pitted
Against Vests Hot Hand
West Virginia
Stur at Peak for
NCAA FinuIs

tAF) .--Calit0rnia ana It's rock
ribbed defense 60 against West
Virginia and Jerry West, q pro-
lific scorer, for the NCAA bas-
ketball title at Freedom Hall
tonight.
The finalists, California OF
the Pacific Coast Conference
and West Virginia of the
Southern Conference. meet in
the blue chip game at 10 pm.
following a consolation match
for third place between Cin-
cinnati and Louisville.
Neither California nor West
Virginia ever has won a NCAA
title. al
The big question is whether
CALIFORNIA; opportunists can
contain West, the great ALE
America from West Virginia.
the way they handled Cincin-'
nati's Oscar Robertson In last
nights semifinals.
Brakes on Robertson
They held Robertson, ma
tional scoring champion the
last two years, to 10 points and
even nullified his play-making
| in the second hall, while rally
ing for a 64-58 victory.
Whether West can be stopped
is another matter.
The handsome g. foot 3
junior from Cabin Creek. w.
Wa fine player all season.
has reached his peak In the
tournament. Last night he
earned a standing ovation from
the partisan crowd Of 1859
after q brilliant 38-point show
in a romping 94-79 victory over
Louisville.
In four tournament games,
West has fired in 1872 points
q 35-point pace. He needs 70
tonight to smash the flve-game
NCAA record of l60 set in 1866
by Hal Lear of Temple. Lear
averaged 80 2 game.
West Takes Spotlight
Behind Vests spectacular
play, West Virginia has won "a
of its last % games in q 29-4
season. They were talking
West - not Robertson - after
last nights double header.
st don't know what we'll do
against West Virginia." Coach
Pete Newell said Of his Cali
fornia squad that tops the Ma
ton in defense with a 50-point
per game record. THAT West
is something. But Wen be In
there if we can do the job we've
been doing"
The Golden Bears, first Pa
cific Coast Conference team to
reach the NCAA final since
! Stanford won the championship
in 1912, have parlayed their
defense and opportunistic play
into a 15-game winning streak
and a 24-4 record. Balanced
and slow-working in contrast
to West Virginia's driving at
tack, the key men are 6-foot-l0
Darrall Imhof and 6-foot-2 AL
Buch.
California Catches Up
While the bear-hug defense
limited Robertson to five field
goals and only one in the sec.
ond half, Buch and Imhoff han.
died the attack and got better
as the pressure became thicker.
Eight points behind early in
the second half. California
caught up with II minutes to
play and pulled away in the
last three minutes as Buch
scored 10 of his 10 points and
Imhoff cashed in six Of his %.
II thought Inihoff probably
played his best game" Newell
said of the crewcut junior best
known for his defensive abili.
ties. He was the key when we
revised our defense to force
Robertson out in the second
half"
I'VE played some defense
ourselves" said West Virginia's
Fred Schaus. When we do
that, it helps all the other
parts of our game.
West? The kid brought us
through again."
I'VE just weren't alert-no-
where near the club we were
in the regionals," Peck Hick-
man Of Louisville said.
Cincinnati Coach George
Smith echoed the remarks:
I'VE just didn't have 1t. We
diEy,r Y.,,y, ond xuo didv.lk do khA