Pickle Classic Ñ '85 Trojans came up short in Classic

Published in Sports on November 16, 2005 1:56 PM

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John Simmers led Mount Olive with 17 points, but it wasn't enough as the Trojans lost to the North Carolina Wesleyan Bishops 64-56 in the 1985 Pickle Classic Final. Mount Olive beat Warren Wilson 92-71 in the first round.

In the first game, Mount Olive jumped on top early and built the lead to 43-21 with four minutes left in the first half. The Trojans maintained at least a 17-point margin over Warren Wilson throughout the second half, going on to win their second game since joining the NAIA.

In the final, the Trojans recovered from a shaky start with experienced play from Simmers and John Blackwell to forge ahead to 27-24 at the half. North Carolina Wesleyan retook the lead early in the second half and never trailed again. Mount Olive cut the margin to four but was unable to pull any closer.

North Carolina Wesleyan forward Daniel Wright was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. For the Trojans, Simmers and freshman Forde Aley were named to the All-Tournament Team.

1985 - A Look Back

News: Ronald Reagan inaugurated for second term as President of the United States ... Mikhail Gorbachev becomes U.S.S.R. president ... Original Coca-Cola replaced by "New Coke" ... New Coke flops and is replaced by "Coca-Cola Classic" (aka "Old Coke") two months later ... Actor Rock Hudson dies of AIDS ... Singer Ricky Nelson dies in plane crash on New Year's Eve ... Murders of two organized crime bosses in New York City make John Gotti leader of the Gambino family ... Microsoft releases Windows 1.0 ... Passenger ship Achille Lauro is hijacked ... Acid rain is discovered.

Entertainment: Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones and a host of music superstars form USA for Africa to record We Are The World to raise funds to fight famine in Ethiopia ... Live Aid concerts in London and Philadelphia also raise money for famine relief (Phil Collins flies across the ocean to perform at both venues) ... VH-1 debuts with Marvin Gaye's rendition of the Star Spangled Banner ... Back To The Future makes Michael J. Fox a movie star ... Members of the "Brat Pack" star in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire ... Sequel Watch: Friday the 13th Part V, Rocky IV, Death Wish 3 "Elmo" makes his debut on Sesame Street ... TV debuts: Golden Girls, MacGyver, Growing Pains and Moonlighting, featuring Bruce Willis with a full head of hair ... Money for Nothing by Dire Straits hits top of radio and video charts ... Hulk Hogan and Mr. T defeat Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff in the main event of the first Wrestlemania, held at Madison Square Garden ... Madonna marries Sean Penn ... Calvin and Hobbes hits the comic pages.

Sports: Michael Jordan named NBA Rookie of the Year ... Villanova shocks Georgetown to win NCAA Men's Basketball Championship ... Kansas City Royals defeat St. Louis Cardinals to win "I-70" World Series (much to the chagrin of 2-year-old Sara Christie in Champaign, Ill., who would grow up to become a record-breaking volleyball setter at Mount Olive College) ... Chicago Bears record "Super Bowl Shuffle" music video on their way to 15-1 season and Super Bowl championship ... Mike Tyson's first pro fight - wins by first-round knockout...NFL rival United States Football League disbands ... Major League Baseball players go on strike - for two days ... 2005 American League Manager of the Year Ozzie Guillien named American League Rookie of the Year as a shortstop for the White Sox.

Born in 1985: Figure skater Sarah Hughes, singer Ciara, actress/singer Raven Simone and "Malcolm in the Middle" star Frankie Muniz.

Back to the present:

A look at Chowan

Chowan is coming off of a 14-12 season, the most wins posted by the program since making the transition to a four-year school in 1993. The Braves were crowned tournament champions at the Washington & Jefferson Tournament and the Southern Virginia University Tournament.

The Braves earned a bid to the 2004-05 NCCAA South Region Tournament, the first time Chowan advanced to men's basketball post-season play since becoming a four-year school.

Junior NCCAA All-American Trayvon Lathan returns as the Braves' top scorer, averaging 17.9 points per game. Sophomore Montino Williams was the Braves' second leading scorer last season with 16.0 points per game. Other returners include junior forward Wayne Hambrick, sophomore forward Roderick Ramsey, junior guard Marcus Artis and junior forward Isaac McCall.

Head Coach Jim Tribbett is in his fourth season at Chowan. A native of Crawfordsville, Ind., Tribbett received his undergraduate degree from Florida State University and his master's from DePauw University.

Chowan is a Division III school making the reclassification to Division II this year.

Kornegay Arena may be home away from home for Chowan. Along with playing two games in the Pickle Classic, the Braves return to Kornegay Arena December 15 to play Mount Olive.