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Show «iM\). V- ,' .': m % :: j «•¦? '§§8 I . I ilipSIlp ........Hifi ifllljplltllThe Utes begin to see the light when BYU takes the lead.at one time. At the same time, Ute fans were beginning to wonder if their Redskins were really that good. Utah satisfied some doubters in their next outing by scoring a whopping 112-81 victory over New Mexico's hapless Lobos. This scoring binge gave Utah a new conference scoring record, and also set a new high for total points scored in a Skyline game - 193. But the Utes ran unto trouble again, this time at Denver. Behind for almost three quarters, the Redskins finally fought back to a hard-earned 76-62 victory. Again the Utah speed was the deciding factor in the victory.By this time, the Utah starting five of Rich Ruffell, Allen Holmes, Joe Morton, Bill Cowan, and Billy Mc-Gill had finally started to jell into a permanent unit. It was a more polished crew that returned to Salt Lake and racked up consecutive wins over arch-rival Brig-ham Young and Loyola of Los Angeles. But with toughUtah State in the driver's seat and Colorado State growing stronger by the game, it was becoming more evident that the Utes had a long uphill pull ahead of them if they were to capture the crown that they had been so overwhelmingly favored to win. The Redskins rose to the occasion though, as they went on a fantastic shooting spree to down three straight conference opponents by more than convincing margins. During this time, the Utes hit on more than 50% of their shots, with a high of 59% against second place Colorado State. This last victory, coupled with wins over Denver, BYU, and New Mexico, put Utah in undisputed second place and left only Utah State to be reckoned with. By this time, Utah and Utah State had soared to fifth and seventh places, respectively, in the national polls. So when Utah moved to Logan to battle it out for the Skyline Conference title, there was more than local prestige at stake.(continued page 230)229 |