Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 18, 1990 TAG: 9003182525
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: KNOXVILLE, TENN. LENGTH: Long
Georgia Tech and Louisiana State smacked each other silly for 39 minutes Saturday, trading 3-point baskets and trading the lead 13 times in the second half. The Yellow Jackets, though, ended up smacking the high-fives.
Freshman Kenny Anderson's leaner from the left baseline gave Tech the lead for good, and Dennis Scott's two free throws with seven seconds left sealed the Yellow Jackets' 94-91 college basketball victory over LSU in an NCAA Tournament Southeast Regional game at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Cremins, who spent a harrowing time hopping, stomping and screaming on the sidelines, had to endure watching LSU guard Maurice Williamson's potential go-ahead layup dance on the back rim before falling off with seven seconds left. LSU's Vernel Singleton, who made several crucial follow shots in the second half, climbed over Scott's back and was called for the foul.
After a timeout, Scott sank both free throws. Then, Williamson's leaning shot at the buzzer fell short.
"I'm kind of spaced out," Cremins said, trying to recall LSU's last play.
"Williamson drove and . . . what happened? He dribbled . . . and shot it, and you got the rebound, right?" Cremins said, looking at Scott, who accompanied him to the interview room. "All I heard was a whistle, and I saw us walking down here, and I said, `Who's shooting?' "
Scott's free throws put fourth-seeded Tech (26-6) into a regional semifinal against top-seeded Michigan State on Friday in New Orleans. LSU finished 23-9.
"I'm not going to hang my chin down," said Dale Brown, LSU's coach. "There'll be another time and another place."
Brown rued LSU's foul trouble. By the 6:29 mark of the second half, sophomore Chris Jackson, freshman Stanley Roberts, freshman Shaquille O'Neal and sophomore Maurice Williamson had four fouls each. The Southeastern Conference played with the six-foul rule this year, and Brown said it was difficult for LSU to adjust.
Cremins was amazed that Tech won despite Scott, Anderson and Oliver shooting a combined 24-of-69 from the floor. And the Yellow Jackets had to overcome a 22-5 first-half deficit as LSU made eight of its first 13 field-goal attempts and Tech made one of its first 10.
Predictably, Tech recovered. The Yellow Jackets haven't lost a game by more than five points all year. Five of their six losses have been by two points or fewer.
"We just hung tough," Scott said. "Down the stretch, we wanted it bad."
Scott led Tech with 30 points and 11 rebounds, and Anderson had 26 points and eight rebounds. Brian Oliver, playing with a stress fracture in his left ankle, had 18 points and seven rebounds. Not to be overlooked was Malcolm Mackey. The 6-foot-10 freshman had 14 rebounds against LSU's massive inside duo of 7-2 O'Neal and 7-1 Roberts.
O'Neal and Roberts combined for 40 points and 29 rebounds, and Singleton had 20 points and seven offensive rebounds. Jackson, who finished with 13 points, almost was an offensive afterthought until late in the game. Jackson went to Knoxville with a bad cold, and Brown said afterward that Jackson was so congested he could barely breathe on Thursday.
Nevertheless, it was Jackson's 3-pointer that cut Georgia Tech's lead to 85-83 with 4:30 left, seconds after Scott made an extra-long 3-pointer. After Jackson's shot, Scott had layups blocked by O'Neal and Roberts, but Mackey rebounded and scored for an 87-83 Tech lead with 4:05 left.
Singleton made two free throws with 3:51 to go, and Oliver missed a 3-pointer for Tech. After an LSU timeout, Williamson nailed a 3-pointer to put LSU up 88-87 with 3:05 left. Then, Jackson fouled out after reaching around a driving Oliver.
Oliver made two free throws to put Tech ahead 89-88. At the other end, O'Neal made one of two free throws to tie the score with 2:18 left.
Scott then made one of two free throws, and Williamson drove for a layup that put LSU back up 91-90. Anderson followed with a left-side drive and put up a leaning, 12-foot jumper that gave Tech a 92-91 lead with 1:35 remaining.
Anderson then stole a Roberts pass, but Oliver left a layup short with just under a minute left. Then came Scott's free throws and Williamson's missed leaner.
Shortly after the horn sounded, Cremins walked over to Anderson, who was removed from his teammates' celebration because he was waiting to be interviewed on television. The two collapsed into each other's arms, and the hug was long.
To Cremins, the win was more than most suspected. He had privately dedicated the St. Patrick's Day game to his father, a native of Ireland who died Dec. 27.
"I wouldn't be here without my father," Cremins said. "This was his favorite day. I had my shamrock on. . . . This game is for him, as far as I'm concerned. I think these guys had a little Irish in them."
\ LSU MPFGFTRAFPT Singleton379-132-781520Roberts3510-171-4152421O'Neal385-109-12142419Williamson 276-152-235416Jackson365-150-033513Boudreaux50-20-04020Devall171-30-01312Sims5 0-20-02000Totals20036-7714-2551162591\ GA. TECH MPFGFTRAFPT Scott4010-325-8114330Mackey333-63-514149McNeil192-43-45057Anderson4010-213-484 126Oliver374-168-1072018Brown301-22-20344Munlyn10-00-00000Totals20030-8124-335 2141794LSU 41-50-91 Ga. Tech 40-54-94
Three-point goals-Louisiana State 5-19 (Singleton 0-1, Williamson 2-6, Jackson 3-9, Devall 0-2, Sims 0-1), Georgia Tech 10-25 (Scott 5-12, Anderson 3-6, Oliver 2-7).
Turnovers-Louisiana State 7, Georgia Tech 4. Technical fouls-None. Officials-Hillary, Valentine, Clark.
A-14,155.
by CNB