Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 3, 1990 TAG: 9003032833
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STEPHEN WHITE SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: ROCK LENGTH: Medium
The Bulldogs bolted to an 11-4 lead and came away with a 78-72 victory.
UNC-Asheville never really was able to shake a determined Highlanders team that fell behind by 12 points in the first half but was down only 59-57 with 8:23 left in the game.
Radford made it particularly tough on the Bulldogs by sinking 19 of 22 free throws in the second half.
UNC-Asheville coach Don Doucette picked up his 13th consecutive postseason victory as the Bulldogs capitalized on a technical foul on the Radford bench to push the spread to 73-64 with 2:54 left.
"You've got to give Radford credit," Doucette said. "We felt better prepared for them than any team here, but they changed up some things and then came at us with a lot of the same things they had done previously. They made it very hard for us.
"There were a couple of times where it looked like we could put them away, but they kept chipping away. It was very frustrating."
Doucette, who guided Lowell to the NCAA Division II championship two years ago and took UNC-Asheville to the Big South crown last year, now must prepare his Bulldogs for a showdown against regular-season champion Coastal Carolina in tonight's championship game.
The Chanticleers (22-6) shook a tournament jinx Friday with a 62-49 victory over Winthrop in the other semifinal. Coastal Carolina has won the last three regular-season championship but had never won a game in the history of the 5-year-old tournament.
Radford was seeking its second appearance in the title game in three years, and freshman forward Tyrone Travis almost made it possible with a game-high 20 points. Freshman center Tom Gallaher added 13 points and Ron Shelburne put in 10.
"I told the kids I'm proud of the way they came back tonight, and all season," said Oliver Purnell, who guided Radford (7-22) through its worst season ever.
"I think 99 percent of the teams in America would have quit under the circumstances we faced this year."
The Highlanders, who advanced with a 68-44 win over Campbell on Thursday night, will lose only two seniors - Tim Blassingame and Phil Young.
Purnell pointed to the start of the game as the key.
"Like we did to Campbell last night [Thursday], they got out first and we were trying to fight back all night," he said.
Milton Moore, the 1989 tournament's most valuable player, led UNC-Asheville with 16 points. Juniors Brent Keck and Darryl Sanders added 11 each. RADFORD MPFGFTRAFPT Blassingame 131-50-01122Travis 297-133-351020Shelburne 274-62-230510Barber 273-83-45059Young 202-40-03254Reece 191-34-69136Hawkins 191-40-01422Day 232-100-02024Gallaher 213-77-970113Joy 20-02-20002Totals 20024-6021-264192572 UNCA MPFGFTRAFPT Samuels 251-65-73027Watson 281-32-32034Keck 305-111-341411Moore 357-121-3101416Caldwell 192-44-63358Mitchell 243-42-21118Sanders 164-81-110411Shropshire 92-20-02004Preston 142-55-51129Totals 20027-5521-303172578 Rebounds include team rebounds Score by periods: Radford34-38-72 North Carolina-Asheville38-40-78
Three-point goals - Radford: Travis 3-4, Day 0-5, Blassingame 0-1. Totals 3-10. UNC-Asheville: Sanders 2-5, Moore 1-2, Samuels 0-2. Totals 3-9.
Turnovers - Radford 18 (Barber 4, Young 4); UNC-Asheville 17 (Watson 4, Moore 4). Blocked shots - Radford 0; UNC-Asheville 2 (Mitchell, Moore). Steals - Radford 4 (Travis 3); UNC-Asheville 7 (Caldwell 2, Mitchell 2, Preston 2).
Technical foul - Radford bench. Officials - Paparo, Grogan, Taylor. Attendance - NA.
by CNB