South Mountaineer Volume 31, Issue 13

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Volume 31, Number 13
December 6,1988
Bethlehem, Pa.
Binder named
to PA Sports
Hall of Fame
William G. (Billy) Binder, a
Lehigh University basketball star
of the World War II era, has been
inducted into The Pennsylvania
Sports Hall of Fame.
Binder, a native of Steelton,
Pa., where he was a high school
star in basketball, football and
track, came to Lehigh from Blair
Academy where he helped that
school win state titles in football,
basketball and tennis.
A resident of Hershey, Pa., he's
the second Lehigh alumnus in the
Pa. Sports Hall of Fame, following race car and track owner
Roger Penske who was inducted
in 1984.
Binder, a favorite with Lehigh
basketball fans of the early 1940s,
came to the University in 1939.
He left school early in his senior
season to join the Army and while
stationed in North Africa played
basketball on a unit team and
earned all-Mediterranean honors.
He later played and coached in
the Eastern Pro League.
Inducted with Binder Oct. 29 at
a testimonial banquet in Carlisle,
Pa., were former football stars
Allen Atkinson, Fred Biletnikoff,
Joe (Jazz) Diminick, John Gurski
and Mike Jarmoluk, Stan Lopata
and Art Mahaffey of baseball
fame, Olympic trackman John
Romig, soccer coach Jerry
Yeagley, professional boxing
champion Billy Soose and the late
Jake Nevin, Villanova trainer.
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Lane Pendleton locks Rick Novak's leg on his way to an 11 -5 decision versus Iowa.
Photography by YOUNG HONG
Grapplers win Sheridan crown
By MEGAN CULHANE
South Mountaineer Editor
Late in his semi-final bout with East Stroudsburg's
Steve Baumbach (167), Solomon Fleckman (Merritt Island,
Fla.) suffered an unfortunate twist of fate. He wrenched his
ankle.
Visibly in pain, the sophomore continued to wrestle to
a 3-2 decision that landed him in the finals of the 10th
annual Billy Sheridan Invitational at Stabler Center last
Saturday night - the injury, however, would keep him from
wrestling a full championship bout with North Carolina
State's No. 2 seed Mike Lontz who won the championship
by default.
And so it went. One down and nine to go. Just what
head coach Tom Hutchinson didn't want to see happen to
one of his top prospects - especially with 134 pound captain
John Epperly (Fairfax, Va.) sidelined with a cracked rib and
a lean lineup that can't afford to cut weight.
But Fleckman's semi-final bout set the tone for the rest
of the tournament. Lehigh has been hungry to win the
Sheridan Tournament since 1985, when it last took the
trophy home, and it wasn't about to stand down now.
After the semis, the Brown and White had placed five
men in contention for the title, Joe Herrmann (142),
Fleckman (167), Derek Brophy (177), Matt Ruppel (190)
and John Morris (HWT).
At 142, Herrmann (Sayville, N.Y.) went on to become
See WRESTLING page 2
Basketball off to fast start with new winning fomula
By Ron Ticho
Director of Sports Information
The men's basketball team, coming off a 21-10
record in 1988 and the most successful season in
Lehigh basketball history, have found a new way to
win basketball games without the P's and Q's.
They're using the whole alphabet.
Six players scored in double-figures in Lehigh's
86-72 triumph over Loyola (Md.) at the Lobo Tip-off
Classic held in Albuquerque, N.M. There was no 32-
point performance, or even a 25-point performance.
Solid defense, and a "total" team effort sparked the
victory.
Freshman Dozie Mbonu (Philadelphia, Pa.) scored
18 points and sophomore Mike O'Hara (Philadelphia,
Pa.) scored 14 to lead Lehigh. Other players in double-
figures included captain Scott Layer (Hatboro, Pa.)
with 12, transfer Neal Fenton with 11, and Chris Block
and Tom Martin with ten points apiece.
Certainly this type of scoring is a new look for
Lehigh basketball fans.
"Everyone kept asking how are we going to
replace Daren (Queenan) and Mike (Polaha). Well, I
think better defense and a more balanced attack is a
good start," explained first-year head coach Dave
Duke.
Lehigh opened the 1988-89 season at the Lobo
Tip-off classic in New Mexico. In the first round they
lost a tough 68-58 decision to the University of San
Diego-the eventual tournament champion. In that
contest Lehigh led at the half, 30-24, but were unable
to maintain that margin.
See BASKETBALL page 3