Any success on the court for last season’s tournament champions was a bonus. Not only had they lost coach Buzz Peterson, who went to coach at Tulsa, but all season they mourned the drowning death of teammate Rufus Leach in Wautaga Lake last year.
New coach Houston Fancher oversaw an up-and-down season, highlighted by a four- game win streak followed by a losing streak just as long at the end of the season.
On the plus side, no one hit the boards better than the Mountaineers, as they outrebounded their opponents by 5.6 caroms a game. The lynchpin behind this hustle was Donald Payne, who averaged 6.3 rebounds per game

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