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David CreamerDsEIy Nsfcrsiksa
Nebraska's M erlene Ottey finishes first in the 303-yard run Saturday in
the Big Eight Indoor Track end Field Championships at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center. Ottey won the event with a record tine cf :C3.11.
Hoppen's slam quiets critics
Nebraska wins at home
By Stu Pospisil
Dave Hoppen wanted to end all the
statements about losing at home, so he
used his best exclamation point a
thundering slam dunk.
Hoppen's stuff shot with :40 left
sealed Nebraska's 75-67 victory against
Colorado Saturday afternoon before
9,994 in the Bob Devaney Sports Cen
ter and a regional television audience.
TI wanted to stick it to them," Hoppen
said. "We felt we should have beat
them in Boulder, and we wanted to
piay well at home."
Nebraska broke a three-game home
losing streak with the shooting of Ron
nie Smith and Stan Cloudy. As a team,
Nebraska shot 63.5 percent from the
field. The Huskers sank 1 5 of 22 second
half shots. 1
Two Smith baskets spurred a 10
point Husker explosion after the Buf
faloes had taken a 40-38 lead with
17:14 left in the game.
Cloudy scored more than 20 points
for the third consecutive time finishing
with 22 points on 10 of 14 shooting.
Hoppen, who also finished with 22
points, praised Smith and Cloudy.
"Ronnie's been playing well in practice,
and now I feel he has more confidence.
And Stan, he's playing like he can. With
them; we'll win a, lot more games."
Nebraska Coach Moe Iba was pleas
ed with the Huskers' unity.
"Everybody played together and
worked for one goal, and that was to
win the game," Iba said.
Nebraska controlled the game's tempo
after Colorado outscored the Huskers
10-2 to open the second half. Randy
Downs scored three baskets against
Hoppen, who was playing with three
fouls, while Jay Humphries chipped in
two more.
"We had trouble defensively when
we came out," Iba said. "Hoppen got
into foul trouble early, but he protects
himself well in those situations. We
went to the zone, and it worked." '
The Buffaloes failed to score for
three minutes, while Nebraska scored
10 consecutive points.
Smith hit from the baseline, then
Cloudy and Brian Carr added long
jumpers. Another basket by Smith pre
ceded Hoppen's second dunk of the
game.
"We got away from what had given
us the lead," said Colorado Coach Tom
Apke. "We allowed Nebraska and its
fans to get back in the game. We
started taking any old shot and that
hurt us."
Nebraska expanded its lead to nine
on a Hoppen hook with five minutes
left before Colorado rallied. '
Six consecutive points brought the
Buffaloes to 62-59 with 2:41 left and
Mike Reid shooting a one-and-one.
v ' Reid missed, and Eric Williams padd-
ed Nebraska's lead on a jumper with
2:14 left. Three points by Downs made
it 66-62, but Nebraska converted seven
of eight free throws in the final 1:09.
Humphries led Colorado scorers
with 22 points, while Downs added 19.
"We were coming out and not play
ing well," Cloudy said. "We said 'Let's
take control of the game on our home
court,' You've got everyone who is be
hind the team sitting around you."
Nebraska, 16-9 and in sole posses
sion of third place in the Big Eight with
a 6-6 record, faces Kansas State Tues
day night in Lincoln.
"Our victory gives us a chance to
play Kansas State for a home court
advantage in the playoffs," Iba said.
By Bob AsEiussen !
Nebraska scored its fifth consecu
tive Big Eiht women's indoor track
title Saturday, easily outdistancing second-place
Kansas State 167 to 94. -
Despite Nebraska's recent domina
tion of the meet, Coach Gary Pepin
said this win is special
"Every one you win becomes more
important than winning one two or
. three years ago," Pepin said. "This is an
important meet for us. I think this
team at the conference level i3 the best
we've ever had. It was really a teanv
effort."
Nebraska was led by Merlene Ottey's
victories in the 60- and 300-yard dash
es. Ottey was competing for the last
time at the Bob Devaney Sports Center
track as a Husker. She has never lost
there.
"I wanted to win and I didn't care
what the times were," Ottey said. "I
wanted to do good. I went out and ran
the best way I could."
Nebraska got off to a good start in
the team race Friday when Debbie
Clark won the pentathlon and Angela
Thacker outdistanced all competitors
in the long jump. Thacker's leap of 21-7
broke the Big Eight record.
"I wanted to go 21," Thacker said. "I
knew that I could do it. Twenty-one
seven is really good because it's going
to take 22 feet to make the Olympic
team, and I really want to be on the
Olympic team."
The Nebraska championship drive -was
slowed a bit early in Saturday's
competition when they were unable to
win the 10C0- or 800-yard runs.
The winner in the 1 ,C0O was Kansas
State's Deb Pihl. Pihl was named the
meet's outstanding performer by the
Sunday Journal-Star. Besides the
1,000, she won the mile and ran the
anchor leg of the Wildcats victorious
two-mile relay team.
"I was very comfortable," Pihl said. "I
went out and charged in the 1,000 and
then I really relaxed in the mile. I
wanted to improve my performance
over last year so I had to win three gold
medals instead of two."
Rhonda Blanford got Nebraska back
on the winning track with her victory
in the CO-yard hurdles. But the race
was a disappointment for the junior
from Denver. The timing device mal
functioned and nullified what would
have been a Big Eight record time.
"I felt like crying when I heard it was
hand-timed," Blanford said. "That des
troyed my whole day."
Pepin said the malfunction was the
one disappointment during the day for
his team.
. "I think she (Blanford) let it effect
her some in the 60 (dash)," Pepin said.
"We had two set up just so that
wouldn't happen. I don't know what
the problem was."
Nebraska finished 1-2-4 in the 60
with Ottey being followed by Thacker
and Blanford. Ottey got out to a quick
start which, she said, surprised her.
"Usually I'm running from behind
and trying to catch up," Ottey said. "I'm
not usd to getting out first."
Nebraska sewed up the title with a
first-place finish by Marcia Tate in the
600-yard run and another Ottey vic
tory in the 300.
Eight Big Eight meet records were
tied or broken. Nebraska's Heather
Smith scored a victory in the high
jump with a new meet mark of 6-0&
"We knew that she was really a tal
ented athlete," Pepin said of the Hur
lock, f.Id., native. "In the middle of the
fall she had knee surgery which caused
her to miss so much practice time."
For the Huskers, it's on to the NCAA
championships in Syracuse, N.Y.,
March 9-1 0. They will be attempting to
capture their third consecutive indoor,
national championship.
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