Basketball's Week

THE TOP THREE:

1. UCLA (15-0)
2. OREGON STATE (16-3)
3. UTAH STATE (12-2)

As most people suspected, OREGON STATE is more than 7-foot Mel Counts alone. Last Friday when the big fellow got into foul trouble, outside shooters Jim Jarvis and Frank Peters took over against Stanford. Jarvis scored 19 points, Peters 11, and the Beavers won 65-57. Saturday night, Counts again picked up three early fouls. This time Peters poured in 20, Jarvis 12 and Stanford lost again by exactly the same score.

It was a frustrating week for Colorado State's excitable Jim Williams. While UTAH STATE'S big front line merrily thumped his Rams at Logan, Williams prowled the sidelines, wringing his hands at every whistle. His histrionics were futile. Led by Wayne Estes' 29 points, Utah State won easily, 86-70. The next night at Salt Lake City, Williams was reasonably calm as his team baffled UTAH with perfectly executed screens that trapped Ute Guards Doug Moon and Skip Kroeger. Then Utah switched from hustle to muscle as burly Granny Lash and lanky Dan Hawes put a stop to CSU's patterns. Moon got the idea too, and his long-distance shooting put the Utes back in the game. That touched off Coach Williams. He sat on the floor, exchanging barbs with the officials and even Utah Coach Jack Gardner. But Utah beat him anyway, 78-68.

Brigham Young's Stan Watts was much more composed when his Cougars played Utah State. He just sat by helplessly as Estes fired in 28 points, and Troy Collier 27, to bomb BYU 105-90. Said Watts admiringly, "I don't know what on earth we could have done to stop them."

Seattle had almost no trouble with Dayton. Little Peller Phillips bombed away from outside and the Chieftains romped, 80-63. But it took last-minute baskets by Charlie Williams and Rich Turney for Seattle to put down Idaho, 63-57.