PAGE 8   THE CATS' PAUSE, DECEMBER 2k, 1977
Joe Hall Visits With Coach Fran Curci During UKIT
Balanced Attack Paces St. John's To 77-60 Win Over Seattle
THE OLYMPIANSPosing for posterity with Coach Adolph Rupp are Wildcats Ralph Beard (12), Cliff Barker (23), Kenny Rollins (26), Joe Holland (14), Wallace Jones, Alex Groza (15), Jim Line (25) and Dale Barnstable (18), who were national champions and champions of the collegiate division of the 1948 Olympic Trials. The "Fabulous Five"Beard, Barker, Rollins, Jones and Grozaparticipated in the 1948 Olympic Games in London.
UNDEFEATEDSweeping through a 25-game schedule without a defeat was the 1953-54 Wildcat squad featuring "Skippy" Whitaker (32), Bobby Watson (38), Billy Evans, Frank Ramsey (30), Lou Tsioropoulos (16), Cliff Hagan (6) and Shelby Linville (11).
St. John's advanced to the finals of the University of Kentucky Invitational Tournament by blowing out Seattle 77-60 in the opening game of the 25th annual event Friday evening at Rupp Arena.
With an attack which featured balanced double-figure scoring from all five starters, St. John's leaped out to a 36-22 intermission lead and never looked back as the Redmen upped their record to 7-1 on the season.
The Redmen clearly were the superior team, whipping Seattle in virtually every department.
George Johnson, St. John's Ail-American candidate, and Bernard Rencher shared team scoring honors with 14 points each while freshman sensation Wayne McKoy added 13, Kevelin Winfree added 11 and Tom Calabrese put home 10 more.
Seattle's best effort came from Jawann Oldham, who scored 22 points and had seven rebounds.
St. John's hit a blazing 63 percent the first half, a new UKIT record, as the Redmen canned 17 of 27 attempts. For the game, the Redmen cooled off a little and finished at a torrid 55 percent on 33 of 60.
Meanwhile, Seattle hit a fair 45 percent after a frigid 34.5 percent the first half. St. John's won the battle of the boards, 34-30.
"This is the best offensive game we've had this season," said winning coach Lou Carnesecca. "We had been shooting blanks all season."
St. John's had been ranked as high as No. 13 nationally, but lost that lofty number after suffering an upset at the hand of Rutgers a week ago.
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