Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 10, 1991 TAG: 9102100171
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D1 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: RAY COX SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
The Highlanders were exposed as league championship pretenders early in an 84-66 wipeout at the hands of the Chanticleers on Saturday night.
The best that could be said for the Highlanders, beaten for the first time in 13 home games was that they scrambled back from a 31-point deficit and got to within 15 a couple of times.
"Embarrassed? No, I wouldn't say that's too strong a word," Radford point guard Chris Hawkins said. "This was ridiculous."
A packed house estimated at 4,700 was there to bear agonized witness.
"We've played a lot of good teams on the road," said Coastal Carolina coach Russ Bergman, whose team has won eight straight and 10 of its last 11. "The more people our players have on their backs, the better they play."
Not so for Radford.
"One of the lowlights of my career," Radford senior Ron Shelburne said.
Were these really the same two teams that played a 78-76 overtime thriller won by Coastal Carolina a few weeks back?
"I'm afraid for the rest of the league that they're hitting their stride right now," Radford coach Oliver Purnell said. "They're a much better team now than they were when we played them the first time."
Coastal Carolina shot 27.9 percent for the second half Saturday while being outscored 44-39, but it hardly mattered. Radford was shooting 35 percent in the last 20 minutes and was 33.3 percent (24-of-72) for the game while being outrebounded 57-37.
"We have trouble shooting and rebounding," said Purnell, whose team was outrebounded 53-20 in a 87-54 loss to Virginia on Monday. "Coastal exploited that."
The Chanticleers (16-6 overall, 9-0 in the league) had four double-figure scorers, led by point guard Robert Dowdell, who scored half his 20 points from the free-throw line. Brian Penny had 12 of his 18 points in the first half, and Tony Dunkin had 17 points to go with nine rebounds and two blocks. Eddie Lesaine scored 10.
Stephen Barber came off the bench to score 20 points for Radford (16-6, 8-2). Doug Day, the league's leading scorer with more than 20 per game, had 14, only six of that coming in the second half.
"It's mental," said Hawkins, who fouled out with five points and four assists. "We have 16 wins and our heads got big. We got those 16 wins because we played hard. Tonight, we didn't play hard. In the first half, we were just out there on the court."
Now, the question is will the Highlanders bounce back from back-to-back shellings. They play host to Winthrop on Monday in the season's home finale before hitting the road for four games, three of them in the conference.
"If this doesn't open our eyes, nothing will," said Shelburne, a four-year starter. "This isn't the way I want to play my last two home games."
C. CAROLINA MPFGFTRAFPT Dunkin 346-145-790017Poll 232-30-06245Cheatam 174-71-15159Dowdell 354-1110-1273320Penny 325-97-881218Foster 221-43-87235Lesaine 192-65-640110Williams 140-30-01330Grissett 30-00-01000Estes 10-20-01000Totals 20024-5931-4257122184 RADFORD MPFGFTRAFPT Travis 154-60-12038Burgess 242-82-22046Shelburne 252-70-15014Day 345-172-262414Hawkins 242-51-13455Barber 277-195-771320Reece 100-20-01020Gallaher 131-30-02002Ortiz 130-21-21021Joy 121-23-64246Horton 10-10-01000Noussis 10-00-00000Blow 10-00-01000Totals 20024-7214-223792866 Rebounds include team rebounds Score by periods: Coastal Carolina 45-39-84 Radford 22-44-66
Three-point goals - Coastal Carolina: Dunkin 0-1, Poll 1-2, Dowdell 2-3, Penny 1-1, Lesaine 1-1, Totals 5-8. Radford: Burgess 0-3, Day 2-10, Barber 1-5, Joy 1-1, Horton 0-1, Totals 4-20.
Turnovers - Coastal Carolina 24 (Dowdell 8); Radford 20 (Barber 6). Blocked shots - Coastal Carolina 3 (Dunkin 2); Radford 5 (Day 2). Steals - Coastal Carolina 2 (Lesaine, Dunkin); Radford 4 (four with 1).
Technical fouls - None. Officials - Hardwick, Styons, Harrison. Attendance - 4,700.
by CNB