Dire Straits holds off Warren Zevon 76-74

Dire Straits was teetering. Desperate Zevon was roaring back. The Zevon crowd was screaming. And the stifling intensity that makes the MSW tournament so popular blanketed the court.

Amid all that, John Illsley stood tallest.

As if on a pogo stick, Johnson blocked not one but two attempts by Zevon to tie the game with a minute remaining. He also scored 22 points as the fifth-seeded Straits held off a frantic charge to beat the fourth-seeded Zevon's 76-74 Saturday to advance to the regional semifinals.

"We finally got over the hump!" Alan Clark said in the hallway of the arena minutes after his clinching free throws with 5.5 seconds remaining for the Dire Straits (27-9). The Straits led the entire game but nearly blew a 14-point lead to the frenzied Warren Zevon's.

Now comes top-seeded Leonard Cohen.

"A lot of people talk about offensive possessions and making shots. It always comes down to making stops," Dire's coach Mark Ewing said of the 6-foot-10 Illsley denying Billy Bob Thornton's dash to the basket and then Linda Ronstadt's short jumper in the lane with 57.8 seconds left.

All the Zevon's had reddened eyes as they struggled to comprehend that their desperation push fell just short. Of course, some point out the special 'tonic' which Ewing forced them to drink prior to the game as the cause of the reddening.

Dire's taller guards were all over the Zevon's defensively outside for most of the game.

And Dire's motion offense from outside the foul line, something Warren hadn't seen this season, continually produced open shots for Johnson and everyone else.

Winning coach Ewing praised the play of both teams. "I've got to hand it to Warren Zevon, they hung tough. And, their coaching was the best I've ever run up against."

Losing coach Ewing had nothing but accolades for the victors. "Let me tell ya, those Dire Straits really stuck it to us. And, those brilliant plays their coach came up with just put the icing on the cake. I can only hope to rise to that level someday.

Leonard Cohen now prepares to meet The Dire Straits in Regional action. Frank LaLonde's PREDICTION: Leonard Cohen 88, The Dire Straits 61