Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 2, 1990 TAG: 9003023129
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B8 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Tech, lacking any momentum from its upset at Florida State last Saturday, was offensively inept for 30 minutes against South Carolina and seemed headed for another late-season defeat. Then two Wheeler 3-pointers tied the score and sparked the Hokies, who held on for a 69-64 Metro Conference basketball victory over the short-handed Gamecocks.
Tech (4-9 in the conference, 12-17 overall) won its second straight game after breaking out of a 1-10 skid with a win over Florida State.
"That's all it takes, for somebody to do something great," said Wheeler, a 5-foot-10 freshman who missed his first three 3-point attempts but hit three of his last four. "I've got confidence in my shot. I can't just give up the 3-point shot. Maybe I'll get a turnover if I try to pass."
The Gamecocks (6-7, 13-12) aided Tech by going 6-of-12 from the free-throw line in the second half, and Tech's trapping defense helped force 13 South Carolina turnovers in the last 20 minutes. Several miscues were committed by the only two scholarship guards on the Gamecocks' roster, Jo Jo English and Bojan Popovic, each of whom was in foul trouble.
The Hokies, though, did not appear to be in the mood to capitalize until Wheeler fired up the 3-pointers - and the troops. Before he hit back-to-back bonus shots to tie it at 42 with 9:08 to go, the teams had combined for 78 points in 30 minutes. The teams combined to score 55 points in the last 10 minutes of the game; Tech had 33 of those.
For the Hokies, it was not exactly a textbook victory.
"That's like when you roll it down the fairway four times and chip it in," said Tech assistant coach Jim Baker, smiling and shrugging. "That's par."
Or, if you're the opponent, that's a nightmare.
"You could describe that one as, `We blew it,' " said coach George Felton, whose Gamecocks are without starters Barry Manning and Joe Rhett because of medical problems. "Our offense was our own worst enemy.
"They ran a jump [trapping defense], but it was nothing that should've rattled us. There were a lot of turnovers that were just unforced turnovers."
Wheeler covered for his high-rent teammate, Bimbo Coles, who had a discount night in making just six of 23 shots. Coles, however, broke the Division I state scoring record with his third point of the night, passing former VMI star Gay Elmore. Coles, who has 2,441 career points, also set a record for points in a season by a Hokie. He has 741 and counting - passing Dell Curry's 722 points in 1985-86.
Coles had seven points in the last 3:52, including two free throws with 18 seconds left, giving the Hokies a 67-64 lead.
"Rod really got us going," Coles said. "Once he did that, we just kept playing and playing. We just wanted it, and the shots started falling at the end."
Two big plays socked the Gamecocks. With Tech ahead 60-59, Coles - 0-for-8 from beyond the arc at the time - hit a top-of-the-key 3-pointer with two seconds left on the shot clock. Then, with 29 seconds left and Tech up 63-61, Dirk Williams broke free and took a court-length inbounds pass from John Rivers for a dunk.
Well before that, Tech took a 49-44 lead with 7:41 left on a Wheeler 3-pointer, but the Gamecocks came back and led 51-49 with 5:42 to go on Michael Glover's 3-pointer. A dunk by David Herbster tied it, but Glover's jumper gave the Gamecocks a 53-51 lead with 5:09 left.
Wheeler's free throw made it a one-point game, and Glover lost the rebound out of bounds to Tech. Rivers lobbed the inbounds pass to Williams, who dunked to give the Hokies a 54-53 lead with 4:34 left.
Glover's jumper put South Carolina ahead, but Coles' spinning layup gave Tech a 56-55 edge with 3:52 left. Tech didn't trail again, although Glover's 3-pointer cut the margin to 65-64 with 24 seconds left. Then, Coles was fouled and hit both free throws. English missed a 3-pointer and Coles was fouled again but missed the one-and-one.
English's desperation 3-pointer was partially blocked by Coles. J.J. Burton finished the scoring with two free throws.
"Once we got control of the game and got even," said Tech coach Frankie Allen, "I thought we executed the way we needed to down the stretch." \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB