Hilltopper Haven - Hilltopper Flashbacks

Throughout the offseason HH is running past stories about memorable moments in Hilltopper history. The latest installment is the March 11, 1978 NCAA first round matchup with 18th-ranked Syracuse at Knoxville's Stokely Athletic Center. Led by second-year coach Jim Boeheim, the Orangemen entered the matchup with a record of 22-5 and were considered one of the favorites to reach the Final Four.

The Hilltoppers meanwhile, led by Jim Richards in his last season as head coach, had suffered through an up and down year dealing with injuries and other setbacks. It was a season characterized by close games as the Toppers played in 6 overtime contests as well as several others that were decided by single digits. And heading into the OVC Tournament at Diddle Arena Western's record stood at a mediocre 13-13. However, led by junior center Aaron Bryant's 25 points versus East Tennessee and 21 points versus Austin Peay the Toppers prevailed and captured the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, salvaging what had been a frustrating season up to that point.

And on a sidenote, the NCAA matchup with Syracuse was not only important to Western from the normal competitive standpoint, it was also crucial to the entire OVC as it had been announced that if the OVC lost another NCAA first-round matchup the conference's automatic bid to the tourney could be revoked. So, the pressure was on the backs of the Toppers in more ways than one.....and the guys in red would respond.

The game is also remembered for another incident.....in the first game of the night uk faced off against Florida St. and the several hundred Topper fans in attendance were asked by uk cheerleaders and fans to help them cheer on the cats, which most all proceeded to do. Naturally, the Topper faithful were expecting the same support in return for their game. However, once Western took the court in the final game of the night almost all of the uk fans showed their class and filed out of the arena without giving a second thought to showing support for Western and her fans who had minutes before been helping cheer on uk.

Tops Nip Syracuse in OT 87-86
By Clark Hanes
BG Daily News

March 11, 1978

RealVideo Clips:
Western ties the game late in regulation (1.1mb)
The wild scramble at the end of regulation (2.3mb)
The final seconds of OT (762k)

Knoxville, Tenn. - With the kind of fight that took San Juan Hill, Western battled from ten points down in the second half here Saturday to claim a thrilling 87-86 overtime victory over Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The stunning upset may or may not have saved the Ohio Valley Conference's automatic berth to future NCAA tourneys, but that was the farthest thing from anybody's mind here at Stokely Athletic Center.

For one thing, the sellout crowd of 12,700 was too busy trying to figure out how Western actually won the game. And even when it was all over, as far as Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was concerned, it wasn't.

The second-year coach was miffed about an apparent game winning basket that was disallowed with three seconds to play. A driving basket by Marty Byrnes was put up on the scoreboard and then taken off, but the 6-7 senior still had a chance to win the game at the foul line.

However, Byrnes' first try in the bonus situation bounced off to the right side into the waiting arms of Greg Jackson, and the game belonged to Western.

"I don't know how you protest a game, but this game will be protested," vowed Boehiem afterwards. "One official called the basket good, and the other came over and took it away. We got two points and they took it away from us."

There was a controversial call to begin with, judging from the television replays. Western guard Steve Ashby was charged with moving into Byrnes on the crucial play, but winning coach Jim Richards thought his man had already established position. So did Ashby.

"I thought I had been there a good two seconds and he ran into me," Ashby said. "I didn't see how they could call anything but a charge."

After the collision with Byrnes, seven inches taller and 40 pounds heavier, Ashby laid sprawled on the floor in the hectic seconds that followed. As a result, he missed out on the excitement while Syracuse took a false 88-87 lead on the scoreboard.

"I didn't even see it," he noted. "I'm glad I didn't."

The win put Western at 16-13 going into a matchup with Big Ten champion Michigan State at Dayton Thursday night, while Syracuse bowed out at 22-6.

James Johnson led the winners with 21 popints, but all five starters hit double figures. Aaron Bryant was next with 16, but Turner and Ashby had 12 apiece, and Greg Jackson finished with 11.

Sharp-shooting guard Harold Cohen led the Orangemen, heavy favorites going into the game, with 23 points in a reserve role. Byrnes was right behind with 21, followed by Roosevelt Boule with 16 and Louis Orr with 14.

Boule, a 6-11 sophomore, pulled down 15 rebounds after getting off to a slow start, and Western finished with a surprising 45-44 edge on the boards. Johnson led the Hilltoppers with 12 rebounds.

"They didn't die," said Richards. "They didn't give up, and that's so important. I thought Syracuse had the potential to be in the Final Four, and I'm sure they overlooked us to some degree."

Western was down five points going into the last minute of regulation play, but a free throw by reserve Greg Burbach cut it to 76-72 with 53 seconds left. A layup by Johnson cut it to 76-74 nine seconds later, and a 22-footer by Mike Reece with 27 seconds left wound up putting the game in overtime.

Syracuse got off only one long shot in the final seconds of regulation play, and missed badly.

It was the Hilltoppers who ran off to a five-point lead in the overtime, perhaps due to their experience in seven other overtime games this year. But Syracuse regrouped in time to win it, setting the stage for the controversial conclusion.

Richie Willer, the official who first counted Byrnes' basket and then changed his mind, issued the following statement after the game. "The decision was covered by the rules. I misunderstood my partner (Benny Bishop) and signaled the basket good. Then he corrected me that the shot had come after the fould had been committed. That's all there was to it."

The game was tied 41-41 at intermission, but Syracuse scored the first six points of the second half and pushed ahead by 10 (55-45) with only five minutes gone. Western did get back in the game, but only after Reece and Burbach came in to provide the spark.

"I was most impressed by Reece and Burbach," said Richards. "I think they came off the bench and turned the game around. We were down about 10, and they got us back in the game."

With 10:20 to play, Reece drilled a 12-footer from out front to close the gap to 57-56. Western came down the floor with a chance to tie the game five minutes later, trailing 67-65, but a turnover set up a three-point play at the other end to put the Orangemen back up five.

The Hilltoppers were still down 76-71 going into the last minute of play, before beginning their heart-stopping comeback to send the game into overtime.

Western (87) - Johnson 21, Bryant 16, Ashby 12, Turner 12, Jackson 11, Prince 8, Reese 6, Burbach 1

Syracuse (86) - Byrnes 21, Cohen 23, Boule 16, Orr 14, Shackleford 4, Moss 4, Headd 1

Sidebar from a later DN Article:
After yelling their collective heads off for uk in the first game Saturday, many Western fans were up in arms when the favor went largely unreturned.

Most of the kentucky fans didn't even stick around for the Western game, much less cheer for their down-state neighbors. And when Gov. Julian B. Carroll left at halftime of the second game, it left some Western fans with a new perspective on life.

Carroll reportedly had to "catch a plane for a speaking engagement" in Maryland. That might have gotten him off the hook, but it didn't do anything to help the uk fans who left in droves after the first game.

It didn't do anything for the spirit of brotherhood between the two schools either.

"I've never felt strongly about uk one way or the other," said one Western fan at the game, "but I was yelling 'Go Big Blue' as loud as anybody else today. I figured they'd do the same for us, but I guess I should've known better."

Another disgruntled Western fan was more to the point, vowing, "That's the last time I ever yell for those jerks."

Previous Game Articles
WKU vs. Michigan (1966 NCAA Tournament)
WKU vs. Loyola (Ill.) (1966 NCAA Tournament)
WKU vs. Georgetown (1982 Wendy's Classic)
WKU vs. UAB (1/25/86 - Mars Bars Game)
WKU vs. Auburn (1985 Wendy's Classic)
WKU vs.Florida St. (1993 NCAA Tournament)
WKU vs. Seton Hall (1993 NCAA Tournament)