
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 26, 1990                   TAG: 9006260298
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.                                LENGTH: Medium

KIMBLE TOUGHEST BY HIMSELF

Bo Kimble of Loyola Marymount outmuscled Gary Payton of Oregon State in the One-On-One Challenge on Monday night, defeating him 30-23 in the final of the inaugural event that also included former Virginia Tech basketball star Bimbo Coles.

Coles sank eight three-point field goals in his opening-round match against Payton but still lost 40-36.

"He backed me down," Coles said of Payton. "I was hitting good from the outside, but then I missed three shots in a row. He was banging my elbow and it threw my shot off. I was ahead in the first half [of the eight-minute, one-on-one game] and those three shots killed me.

"He's good. He's tougher than I thought. He really didn't beat me one-on-one, he just backed me in."

Both finalists played two previous games, but Payton had an advantage with an extra few minutes of rest while the 6-foot-5 Kimble battled 6-7 Lionel Simmons of LaSalle in the semifinals.

Kimble, though, showed no signs of fatigue, making four 3-pointers early for a 14-5 lead, then muscling inside to draw fouls. He made 12 of 12 free throws in the final 4:31 and had only one field goal in that span.

Kimble, the nation's leading collegiate scorer last season with a 35.3 average, is a certain first-round pick in Wednesday night's NBA draft.

He earned $100,000, his first pro paycheck, and Payton got $50,000. The other six entrants were guaranteed $10,000 each.

The 6-3 Payton advanced to the final by going inside on two 6-1 players - Coles and Chris Jackson of Louisiana State. Payton made only one outside shot in defeating Jackson 23-19 in the semifinals.

Kimble reached the final with a 34-30 win over Simmons, scoring the last four points of the game on free throws in the final 19 seconds.

In other first-round matches, Jackson made 16 of 25 3-point attempts, accounting for all but four of his points in a 52-39 victory over Minnesota's Willie Burton; Kimble defeated Travis Mays of Texas 31-18; and Simmons came back from an eight-point deficit to edge Sean Higgins of Michigan 30-29.

Earlier, Joey Johnson, the younger brother of the Boston Celtics' Dennis Johnson, won the national Vertical Dunk contest with a slam of 11 feet, 7 inches.

Johnson, 23, who played at Arizona State, outdueled Antonio Davis, an at-large entry from Texas-El Paso, who dunked 11-6 on a basket raised hydraulically. Johnson won $50,000.

by CNB