Hawks Top Quaker Cagers in Loosely Played Contest

By Mark Rosenfield

Could it have been the final exam layoff? “Let’s hope it was that,” stated dismal Jack McCloskey when explaining just what went wrong with the usually sharp hustling Quakers in Saturday’s important City Series loss, 77-70, to St. Joseph’s in a loosely played affair.

Hustle, they did. That is a Quaker quintet trademark. But the Penns were anything but sharp. They repeatedly ruined scoring opportunities by poor ballhandling and the rebounding at several stages was non-existent.

Then how did the Red and Blue cagers come so close if all this was going wrong? Well the sophomore-studded Hawk squad weren’t setting the world afire with their floor work either. In fact, it took a tremendous one-man effort by the City Liners’ phenomenal backcourt ace, Bob McNeil, to hold the fort for the Hawks. It was McNeil who hit for nine consecutive points midway in the second half on an assortment of shots to break each comeback attempt of the Quakers who had trailed throughout.

Proof of how loosely the game was played was reflected in the personal foul department where the referees called 32 against the Hawks and caught Penn on 27 infractions.

There were a few bright spots in the disappointing loss, however. Jack Saxenmeyer netted 17 points and played a time floor game before his early exit. Hustlers personified, Jack Follan and Fred Doelling sparked Penn’s final all-out effort with their quick steals and good drives. Their work enabled the Quakers to close the gap to 69-67 before the Hawks pulled away for keeps.