MEN'S BASKETBALL REBOUNDS IN LSC PLAV Despite a rocky start, the Bison basketball team managed to overcome early season setbacks and earn a SpOt in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) Tournament. "I am very excited abou t this team despite our slow StarL Even though we were struggling, we could see that we wefe capable of doing some very good things," Assistant Coach Jeff Kirby said early in the season. The Bisons finished with an 8-6 reco rd in the LSC North Division, good enough for third place and a playoff game at West Texas A&M. West Texas won 92-67 Feb. 29 to end H ard ing's "You CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THE RHODES ROWDIES; THEY MADE IT FUN FOR ALL OF THE PLAYERS. " season . Thi s yea r's Bison squad consisted offout sen iors: Chr is H ardaway, Lenny Bert, Levern Floyd and Dwayne Ell iot. These four players stepped co the forefront as leaders of the Bison team. -COACH JEFF MORGAN "Th roughout the year our four senio rs exhibited a good work ethic, which ca rried over to [he rest of the team," Coach JeffMorgan said. One element which contributed to the Bisons' success whil e playing at home was the fa ns, which have been appropriately dubbed "The Rhodes Rowdies." ~ he has done in the past , Morgan praised the fans for their suppon week in and week OUt. "The fans were great this year. You can' t say enough about the Rhodes Rowdies; they made it fun for all of the players," Morgan said. "The atmosphere they provided generated a lot of fun. " The Rhodes Rowdies were in top form at the Dwayne McDonald (42), junior, scores two points with an uncontested slam dunkagai nstArkansas-Mon(icello. The Bisons topped the Boll Weevils at Rhodes Fieldhouse, 78-75, but lost in Monticello, 99-88. 204 Athletics Stan of the LSC schedu le in January. After staning conference play with twO losses on the road, the Bisonscamehome to Rhodes Fieldhouse and won three out of their four home games in January. One of the wi ns in that streak, 100-58 domination of Cameron Univers ity, set a new school reco rd for margin of victory in a LSC home game. There are several things that made this year's Bisons a unique team to watch and to play for. Many of the Bison players said their ability to overcome obstacles was one element that made winning possible. "This team had the abili ty to react well to adversity," Armand Etame, junior, said. "I am also proud of our relationships on and off the court. " Morgan was also impressed with the play of his underclassmen this season, he said. Jay Brogdon and Michael Jackson were twO freshmen who played well fo r rhe Bisons. Both are expected to contribute toward the future of Bison basketball. "We have a good nucleus coming back next season, Morgan said. "Give the freshmen another year and they wi ll be more experienced and adj usted." One thi ng that this year's team did on a consistent basis was work ext remely hard on and off the coun, according to Morgan. T he team could be seen in the weigh t room constan tly, and they practiced six days a week, he said. "Weworked harder thisyear,»Jason McGiney, sophomore, said. "We' re JUSt now starting to come together as a team." - Alan Se im
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