50 years ago Friday night, it was James White who supplied the spark with some strong defensive play as the Imperial Valley College basketball team opened the Desert Conference season with a 67-65 win over MiraCosta.

Saturday night, it was James Watsons turn. Watson, in perhaps his finest all-around game of the year, tossed in 28 points and contributed some fine defensive plays as the Arabs made it 2-0 in league play with an 86-63 decision over the Saddleback Gauchos.

Coach Jim Walkers charges will get back into action at 8 Tuesday night, hosting the University of Hawaii, Hilo campus, in a non-conference contest.

Then Friday night, the Arabs make their first road trip of the league campaign, traveling to Mt. San Jacinto. Saturday, the defending champions get their first look at College of the Canyons in Newhall.

Wilson divided his scoring evenly, getting 15 points in the first half and 13 in the second half. He missed the 30-point mark when, after he had stolen the ball and was driving toward the basketball all alone, the Arabs called time out with two minutes and 10 seconds left to play.

At that point, with IVC on top, 84-59, Walker turned the game over to the reserves, benching all the regulars except James Speed.

Saddleback, a team with an offense very similar to that of MiraCosta, gave the Arabs some problems during the first half, due primarily to the outside shooting of Cameron Smith and Eric Christensen.

After IVC had moved out to an 8-3 lead with 17 minutes to go in the opening frame, the Gauchos came back to take the lead at 9-8 on field goals by Marv Lawrence, Smith and Christensen.

Ernie Adams and Smith traded two-pointers before Watson put the Arabs back on top 12-11, with 13:49 left. Then Rick Edward dropped in a field goal for Saddleback to give the Mission Vielo club its final lead of the night.

40 years ago CALEXICO Police here today are investigating the brutal murder of an unidentified man whose body was discovered late Wednesday behind a restroom building at Border Park.

Police Commander John Hignight today said the man had been stabbed about 20 times with a sharp instrument. The body reportedly has not been identified. There was absolutely nothing found in the victims pockets to help with the identification, Hignight said.

The man, aged about 25, was found after police responded to a reported disturbance at the park at First and Paulin.

Police said the victims throat had been cut, a portion of his chin was missing and numerous stab wounds were found in the chest area near the heart.

What appeared to be defensive wounds were located on the victims left hand.

Apparently someone heard a cry for help come from inside the restroom shortly before 9 p.m. By the time our officers arrived, the man was already down and appeared to be dead, Hignight said.

The victim was taken to Calexico Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The man was the second person murdered in Imperial County in the past two days.

30 years ago Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-45th District, suggested sending the Navy, Air Force and National Guard to help Customs and the Border Patrol shore up the border with Mexico to keep drugs out.

During a news conference at Otay Mesa Wednesday, Hunter proposed using Air Force and Navy base commanders to direct the interdiction of aircraft suspected of smuggling drugs and inspecting cargo imported into the county. Hunters statement, which was released to this newspaper, said the U.S. needs to reinforce its fences and install lights to keep drug smugglers out. However, Hunters proposal does not indicate the cost of the plan or how it would be funded.

But such a plan is unlikely to help the United States flagging image with Mexico and the Latin American countries and wont stop the flow of drugs into this country, according to Dr. Alfredo Cuellar, a research fellow for the Institute of Border Studies at San Diego State University, Calexico campus.

The war on drugs is distracting attention from other ills, like housing and unemployment, Cuellar said.

The USSR is more peaceful now, its no longer the villain and drugs are taking is place as the villain with the Bush administration.

In December, Hunter proposed permanently assigning guardsmen to assist in searching vehicles and cargo at international border crossings and harbors during an interview with this newspaper.

Wednesday Hunter suggested pairing guard units with the Border Patrol to let the guardsmen take over some duties like transportation and clerical work. That would free Border Patrol agents to patrol the fence.

Hunter pinpointed 12 border areas covering 120 miles where the vast majority of the drug smuggling takes place from the San Diego-Tijuana corridor, where 45 percent of the smuggling occurs, to Brownsville-Matamoros in Texas. Calexico was one of the areas he noted as a crossing that could use assistance.

Here is the original post:

Stories of the Past-Jan. 12: Watson provides spark as Arabs tip Gauchos - Imperial Valley Press