Gulls Play Tough, But Fall to Baylor

The heart may have been torn out of U.S. International University’s athletic department this week, but the men’s basketball team showed plenty of intestinal fortitude despite losing, 98-87, to Baylor Saturday at Golden Hall.

The Gulls’ 11-point loss was encouraging if for no other reason than the past three defeats of their current 10-game losing streak came by an average margin of 43.3. USIU (1-14) played like a team that had a huge weight lifted from its shoulders, because it did.

On Friday, a day when USIU’s board of trustees eliminated 11 of the bankrupt university’s Division I sports programs, members of the basketball team learned theirs was the only team spared. The trustees voted to let men’s basketball finish the season, at which time it will fold. If it plays the remaining 13 games the way it did against Baylor (7-2), USIU should finish the season with more than one victory.

“If they can taste a win, then maybe they can turn it around,” said Gulls Coach Gary Zarecky, who pointed out that weaker competition lay ahead. “We won’t see another Baylor for a while. A .500 second half would compliment the character of this team.”

USIU was unusually feisty in this game, which saw seven lead changes before the Bears were able to sink nine of 12 free throws in the final minutes to clinch it. The Gulls trailed by 10 with 4:30 to play then went on a 6-0 spurt to cut the margin to four with less than three minutes left.

But USIU’s hopes faded when guard Kevin Bradshaw, who matched his season high with 42 points, missed five of six shots from the field and two free throws down the stretch. Bradshaw, who was 15 of 25 from the field and 11 of 14 at the free-throw line, was visibly exhausted as he tried to rally the Gulls. They trailed, 93-84, when Bradshaw drew a charging call and fouled out with 1:12 remaining.

Baylor, which got 20 points from guard David Wesley and 21 points and 14 rebounds from forward Anthony Lewis, was content to run down the game clock on offense and force USIU to work the ball up by pressing and trapping.

But the Gulls, who led 61-60 at one point in the second half, never quit. They took the court without power forward O.J. Bonner, who left the team for personal reasons, and starting point guard Willie Davis, who was out with stomach flu. Assistant coach John Krogman was coaching his last game, a victim of Friday’s cuts. And assistant coach Don Robinson, another casualty, was a no-show.

USIU was sparked by freshman guard Jeff Polinsky, a Monte Vista High graduate who finished with 17 points, and Isaac Brown, a guard who replaced Bonner at forward and finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds. After the final buzzer, a crowd of about 200 stood and applauded the effort.

“This is the best feeling we’ve had all year,” Polinsky said, “because now we know everything’s going to be all right . . . at least for the rest of the year.”