Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 4, 1990 TAG: 9003042082
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
"I've got reservations for Cancun [a resort in Mexico], but if we go to the NCAAs, that'll be on hold another year," said Coles, referring to - gasp! - the Hokies' grand notion that they can win the Metro Conference Tournament.
It's funny what three consecutive victories can do for a once-hapless college basketball team.
Tech's mini-resurgence continued Saturday with an 87-74 thumping of Memphis State in Coles' last game at Cassell Coliseum. Coles, the all-time leading scorer for Tech, the Metro and Virginia Division I schools, was presented with his retired jersey No. 12 in ceremonies before the game. He said about 40 family members and friends were present.
Two other seniors, Scott Davis and Greg Brink, also were honored.
"I thought he was going to just break down and cry," said Coles' mother, Darlene, who accompanied her son onto the floor.
Not quite. Coles had a team-high 24 points and added six rebounds and four assists, but the real trick was the one Tech (5-9 in the Metro, 13-17 overall) turned when Coles was sidelined with a sprained left foot.
Coles, who twisted the foot on a drive with 11:59 to go in the game, sat out six minutes. He scored one point after that, but the Hokies stretched a six-point lead to 17 (86-69) with 1:12 to go.
The lineup of Dirk Williams, Rod Wheeler, Ibraheem Oladotun, John Rivers and J.J. Burton trumped Elliot Perry, Cheyenne Gibson and their Memphis State teammates.
"Those guys can play like that," said Coles, who is expected to be ready when the Hokies play Southern Mississippi on Thursday in the first round of the tournament. "I sat down, and Rod came in and did a great job."
Williams, who sat out much of the first half after picking up three fouls, scored all 15 of his points after the 11 1/2-minute mark of the second half. Oladotun, who finished with a career-high 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds, scored eight points in the last 9 1/2 minutes.
Tech benefited from free throws, making 20 of 29 in the last eight minutes and 29 of 46 overall. Memphis State was 16-of-25 from the line.
"We had three freshmen, a sophomore and . . . a junior-college transfer [on the floor]," Tech coach Frankie Allen said of the time Coles missed. "They held their composure."
Tech's defense held Memphis State to 42 percent shooting from the field, the second-worst effort by a Metro team in Blacksburg this season. That's a switch, because until the Hokies beat Florida State on Feb. 24, Tech opponents had shot 58, 60 and 61 percent from the field in the past three games.
The Hokies wore their orange road jerseys, as they did last year in an upset of Memphis State in their regular-season finale.
"The last two ballgames, we played as well as anybody in America," coach Larry Finch said of the Tigers' victories over Louisville and South Carolina. "But we just got outplayed today.
"They just outran us at the other end of the floor."
Allen touted his team's intensity.
"It's a situation where the young kids found out you can't play in spurts," he said.
One of Tech's older players, junior Antony Moses, found out you can't play in a fog. Moses said he dispelled cloudy thoughts about his lack of playing time this season and contributed 10 rebounds, one short of his career high, and eight points. Four points and eight rebounds came in the first half, when he filled in for Williams.
"All through the year, I've been worrying about it," Moses said of his playing time. "That's one thing I've realized: When I get in the game, I'm just going to have to do the job.
"Me and John [Rivers], we were really trying to see who could get the most rebounds."
Rivers won that battle with a team-high 12, and Tech - usually at a decided disadvantage on rebounding - crushed Memphis State in that department 54-38. Such was the topsy-turvy state of things at Cassell Coliseum.
Gibson and Perry, the Tigers' stellar backcourt, bombed. Perry was 4-of-10 from the field and had eight points, half his average. Gibson had two points at halftime on 1-for-8 shooting and finished with 11 points.
Even Oladotun, a 6-foot-8 mystery man much of the season, caught the Cassell bug.
"It's just mental," he said. "I know I can play. [Assistant] Coach [Jim] Baker told me, `Don't worry about it, just go ahead and play your offense.' He told me to give myself more freedom."
Now, the Hokies - who had lost 10 of 11 games before beginning their current streak - are dreaming of shocking the rest of the conference at the tournament, which begins Thursday in Biloxi, Miss. Allen noted that this is the first time a Tech team has entered the tournament on a three-game winning streak since 1981, when the Hokies lost to Louisville in the second round.
MEMPHIS ST. MP FG FT R A F PT
Smith 253-51-37037Allen 254-91-27059Spiva 222-40-12024Gibson 375-161-334311Perry 284-100-04458Madlock 141-46-70218Young 173-45-730212Mundt 120-32-21312Burton 84-60-02058McClain 51-30-03023McLaughlin 31-20-00032Nash 40-00-01000.
Totals 200 28-66 16-25 38 13 32 74
VIRGINIA TECH MP FG FT R A F PT
Williams 164-67-1170415Rivers 391-95-812117Herbster 111-20-05042Davis 111-31-21023Coles 3310-223-764224Moses 204-90-010028Burton 181-42-21024Oladotun 254-76-1082214Wheeler 222-65-632310Elliott 30-00-00010Holland 10-00-00000Brink 10-00-00000
Totals 200 28-68 29-46 54 9 23 87
Rebounds include team rebounds Score by periods: Memphis State 28-46-74 Virginia Tech 36-51-87
Three-point goals - Memphis State: Gibson 0-5, Perry 0-1, Madlock 0-1, Young 1-2, McClain 1-2, McLaughlin 0-1, Totals 2-12. Virginia Tech: Williams 0-1, Davis 0-1, Coles 1-2, Burton 0-1, Wheeler 1-2, Totals 2-7.
Turnovers - Memphis State 17 (Perry 5); Virginia Tech 17 (Williams, Rivers, Oladotun 4). Blocked shots - Memphis State 5 (Allen 2); Virginia Tech 6 (Rivers, Oladotun 3). Steals - Memphis State 2 (Gibson, McClain); Virginia Tech 7 (Wheeler 3).
Technical fouls - Coles. Officials - Olah, Lowe, Falkner. Attendance - 9,971.
by CNB