Philo Electrics 1944 Basketball Team. FRONT: Forest Cale - Bob Kilpatrick - Captain Bob Clapper - Dallas Cale and Virgil Harris. BACK: Manager Jim Corder - Bob Ryan - Ike Sheppard - Jim Dickson - Russel Swingle - Warence Fye - Manager Gene Arnold and Head Coach Sam Hatfield.
ZANESVILLE - The long reign of Northern Division teams over the Eastern District Class B Basketball ranks came to a sudden end here last night when the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates and Walnut Creek Cardinals were both eliminated from District Tournament play. The magnificent 26-game winning streak of Head Coach Earl Sundheimer's Sugarcreek-Shanesville cagers was snapped by an upsetting crew of Electrics from Philo by a 32-30 score, while Walnut Creek bowed out to a superior West Lafayette Generals combination 40-29.
Nearly 2,000 fans crowded Zanesville's City Auditorium for the games and filled the hall with a roar that continued for 5 minutes after the timer's buzzer sounded the death knell for the undefeated Pirates. And so tonight a team from the Southern Division will be crowned Champion of the District for the 1st time since 1934 when Chandlersville won the bunting. New Matamoras from the Steubenville Section won in 1935 and Dennison and Amsterdam in 1936 when the tournament was split and from then on it has been a steady stream of Tuscarawas combinations.
The Electrics and the Generals will play their title game tonight at 8:30PM.
A combination of several things brought about the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (5-1) (26-1) downfall before a team not near so well versed in basketball, but blessed with great height and an intense competitive spirit. To start with, the Bucs were not up to their usual par. They appeared lethargic at crucial times, a trait that they haven't displayed all season.
The Philo Electrics' great height in center Forrest Cale, 6-foot 4-inches and his brother guard Dallas Cale, 6-foot 3-inches, put the shorter Creekers' combine in a bad hole at the outset. Another thing was the fact that while the Pirates were unable to make their shots stick time after time they dipped in and then came back out. The Philos took the blankets off a lad by the name of Virgil Harris, a forward who pitched 6 straight field goals from the middle of the floor without a miss.
The Pirates started out in good fashion and fought their way to a 13-8 advantage in the opening period with Senior forward Warren Craigo clipping 5 points and Captain Gene Mast, a forward, boosting in 6 points with 3 field goals. Guard Ernie Raber contributed the other Pirate field goal. Philo was held to single baskets by Harris, guard Captain Bob Clapper and the Cale brothers during the period.
In the 2nd quarter the Tuscarawas County cagers opened the gap to 8 points outscoring the Electrics 7 to 4 with Mast and Raber scoring baskets and Junior center Bob Lanzer hitting a field goal and a free throw. Clapper scored all of Philo's points. The Muskingum County Champions stasrted to fight their way backinto the ball game in the 3rd stanza when the Pirates started to miss. Harris fired 3 times and 3 times the ball went through the hoop for his team's entire 6 points in the period.
In the meantime Sugarcreek-Shanesville was collecting only 3 markers, a field goal by Mast and a free throw by Craigo, thus as they entered the final quarter Philo was still trailing 23-18, but coming up fast, while lthe Pirates were fading. Craigo hit twice more from action and Mast hit once from the field and once from the free throw line for all the points the Bucs could muster. Philo doubled that 7 count with Hasrris hitting 2 more long ones, Forrest Cale popping 2 through and Clapper getting another pair.
Philo moved up to 25-24 and then went ahead 26-25 with 4 minutes to play. Mast dropped one from the side to regain the advantage for the Bucs, but an instant later Forrest Cale hit one from under the hoop and the victors had a lead they did not again lose. Mast led the scoring with 13 points for the Pirates, while Harris' 6 field goals brought him in 1st for Philo. Craigo had 10 for the Pirates tying Clapper of Philo.
PHILO ELECTRICS - 32
Virgel Harris F 6-0-12
Bob Kilpatrick F 0-1-1
Forrest Cale C 3-0-6
Bob Clapper G 4-2-10
Dallas Cale G 1-1-3
Bob Ryan F 0-0-0
SUGARCREEK-SHANESVILLE PIRATES - 30
Warren Craigo F 4-2-10
Gene Mast F 6-1-13
Bob Lanzer C 1-1-3
Junior Miller G 0-0-0
Ernie Raber G 2-0-4
Bill Neff F 0-0-0
Saturday, March 11, 1944
Clyde Shaffer, Sports Writer
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
West Lafayette Generals 1944 Basketball Team. FRONT: Jack Botimer - Dick Miller - Bill Shurtz - Don Shaw and Don McCleary. BACK: Manager Carpenter - Bob Crouso - Linday Van Dusen - Bob Householder - Al Huff - Bill Trenor and Head Coach W.C. McKee.
NOTE: Philo went on to win the District Title with a 33-28 win over the West Lafayette Generals. The Electrics' last contest was in the State semi-finals game where they lost to Akron Ellet 47-37. Philo's Little guard Virgil Harris had 21 points in that game. Akron then went on to win the State Championship contest 49-39 against Worthington.
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