1948: Favored Cats Stumble in Final Four.

Regional Semifinal

KANSAS CITY (AP)- Building up a 19-point lead early in the second half, Kansas State's Wildcats coasted to a 58-48 victory over the University of Wyoming in the opening game of the Western Regional N.C.A.A. playoffs Friday night.

Baylor's Bears staged a magnificent second half rally to overcome the Washington University Huskies, 64-62, in the second game. Kansas State will meet Baylor Saturday night for the western title and the right to play the eastern winner for the national championship in New York Tuesday. Holy Cross and Kentucky meet in New York Saturday night to decide the eastern representative.

A Municipal auditorium sellout crowd of 9,700 saw the Kansans play "cat and mouse" with their foe in the second half. Near the end of the game, K-State Coach Jack Gardner pulled his first string, with the score 41-23. The Cowboys rallied mildly against the Wildcat reserves.

Mack Payton, Wyoming forward, dropped in two long shots and his teammates, John Pilch and Lloyd Doty, also hit the bucket to cut the Kansas State advantage to seven points, 53-46.

Then the Kansas State starting five came back on the floor and Wyoming's attack wilted.

Wyoming's deliberate offense was no puzzle for Kansas State. The Wildcats held the Rocky Mountain boys without a field goal for the first nine and a half minutes of play. Only Payton's one-man stand saved Wyoming from a complete rout. He tossed in nine field goals and two free throws for 20 points- the best

individual scoring performance on either team.

The Kansans also were lethargic at the start, but gained steam about five minutes before the half with Jack Dean, Rick Harman and Howard Shannon hitting the hoop regularly. At intermission the Wildcats had a 23-15 lead.

When they came back for the second half, K-State rained shots into the basket. With only five minutes gone they had stretched their advantage to 17 points, 36-19.

The Wildcats slowed their fast break after that. They controlled the ball and were content to coast in.

National Semifinal

KANSAS CITY, Mo, March 20 (UP)- A "never-say-die" band of battling Baptists from Baylor University, led by an ordained preacher, Saturday night won the NCAA western playoffs and a place in the Olympic bracket as they turned back favored Kansas State College, 60-52.

The hard-fought victory, second in two nights for the Baptists, sent them to New York to represent the west against Kentucky, eastern N.C.A.A champions in the finals in Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. Kansas State will meet Holy Cross, tonight's 60-52 loser to Kentucky, in the first game of the New York doubleheader Tuesday.

As they did Saturday night against the University of Washington, the boys from Waco, Tex. had to overcome a great handicap. Once again they started at the 17 minute mark of the first half trailing then 19-29.

Once again it was the fancy work of Jackie Robinson, the black haired parson, who sparked the great drive to win. Playing most of the last half with four personals on him, Robinson, with Bill Johnson and Don Heathington helping, forked in the fielders which tied the game nine times in the final half before the Baptists broke away at the 16-minute mark.

A shirt-sleeved crowd of 9700, second full house in two nights to watch the westerns, saw Kansas State pull out steadily after breaking an 11-all tie at the 7-mlnute mark of the first period. Three minutes later the Kansans had a five-point lead and they went on in the next seven minutes to run it up to 29-19 as Clarence Brannum, Rick Harman, Ward Clark and Lloyd Krone counted.

Then the Baptists started. Bell DeWitt counted from the field. Bill Johnson hit a pair of two-pointers, Robinson one, and Johnson wound up the half with three charities. The score was 32-28.

National Championship and Consolation

New York (AP)- Kentucky and Holy Cross won in NCAA basketball finals here Tuesday night. Kentucky took the championship with a 58 to 42 win over Baylor and Holy Cross defeated Kansas State 60 to 54 in the consolation.

The smart, sharpshooting boys from the blue grass country succeed Holy Cross' Crusaders. Kentucky and Baylor may meet again since both are participants in the Olympic tryouts opening at the Garden Saturday.

The Kentuckian's won the eastern NCAA title by defeating Holy Cross here Saturday night while Baylor, champion of the Southwest conference, was annexing the western division at Kansas City with a final win over Kansas State.

Adolph Rupp's Southeastern Conference champions stepped off to an early 13-1 lead and were never headed, leading 29-16 at the half.

Baylor, scoreless for the first five minutes, pulled up to 44-35 after intermission but the Wildcats staged another spurt and won breezing.

Holy Cross stood off a stout second half rally by Kansas State to defeat the Big Seven champions.

The Holy Cross Crusaders, led by George Kaftan and Bob Cousy, stepped off to an early lead and increased it to 36-24 at the half.

Kansas State rallied after intermission and at one time pulled up to 50-47 but the Crusaders outlasted the late spurt. Kaftan and Frank Oftring scored 11 points each for the Crusaders, but both were short of Kansas State's fine marksman, Howard Shannon, who rang in 17.

Kaftan and Cousy contributed valuable floor performances, as backboard retrievers and play makers.

Holy Cross, winner of the NCAA championship last year, held a 20-9 lead at one stage in the opening half.

For 15 minutes it appeared like a romp for Holy Cross. After going ahead in the opening minutes of the game, the Crusaders gradually increased their margin and with one minute of the first half remaining, led by 16 points, 34-18. It was mainly the work of Shannon that kept the Wildcats in the running. He scored 10 points in the opening stanza.

Opening the second half with a rush, the Wildcats tallied five straight points by Harold Howey, Rick Harmon and Jack Dean to cut Holy Cross' advantage to seven points. After a pair of Holy Cross baskets the K-Staters went on an 11 point scoring spree to tie the score at 40-40 after nine minutes. A free throw by Dean tied the score for the first and only time.

Pulling itself together, Holy Cross scored six straight points to move ahead again and was never caught, although the Wildcats three times moved up within two points.

The American Olympic basketball committee will meet Friday to decide how it will select the 14 members of the team which will represent the United States in the 1948 Olympics.

Lou Wilke, chairman of the committee, said the only thing certain was that the team will consist of 14 players and that seven members will be chosen from the college ranks and seven from the independents.

Wilkes also said the coach of the winning team in the Olympic tryouts which starts Saturday will be named the Olympic coach.

All eight entrants in the Olympic basketball eliminations will be on exhibitions at Madison Square Garden Saturday.