Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 17, 1991 TAG: 9102170137
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE: HUNTINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The victory gives VMI (10-14 overall, 5-7 in the Southern Conference) four road victories, their most on the road since 1980, and broke Marshall's three-game conference winning streak.
The Thundering Herd is 12-14 and 5-7.
Fittz also pulled down 17 rebounds, and Perry scored all his points after halftime.
"Fittz and Perry just had outstanding games, but Percy [Covington] was our floor general," VMI coach Joe Cantafio said.
With the score 94-89 with 38 seconds remaining, Jonathan Penn sank one of two free throws with 18 seconds remaining to make it 95-89.
Marshall then sank a 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining to close to 95-92, and Covington put in a free throw to put VMI ahead 96-92.
With five seconds to play, Marshall's Brett Vincent hit a 3-pointer, but Marshall had no timeouts remaining and VMI ran out the clock.
VMI shot 55.6 percent for the game, including 62.5 percent after the first half.
"It was a remarkable game after getting beaten badly on the road twice, our kids just never gave up," Cantafio said. "They showed tremendous resiliency."
The Keydets led 55-47 with 10:12 remaining. Marshall had a 14-4 run to take a 61-59 lead on a dunk by Tyrone Phillips at 6:50.
Tied 74-74 in regulation, VMI called timeout after a rebound, but Perry's 17-footer in the lane rolled off at the buzzer.
In the first overtime, VMI never got the lead and Marshall led by as many as three points. Perry tied the score by making one of two free throws with 15 seconds remaining. At the buzzer, Marshall's John Taft drove the lane and missed a 5-foot shot.
VMI MPFGFTRAFPT Perry 377-147-1353424Fittz 4315-232-2172433Preston 172-21-20035Covington 415-71-333314Johnson 240-12-21312Chadwick 271-20-00223Spriggs 231-40-03512Penn 384-104-621313Totals 20035-6317-2834192196 MARSHALL MPFGFTRAFPT Clay 403-46-1190512Cunningham 506-121-221113Brailsford 110-30-04100Vincent 504-100-035011Taft 355-128-1093419McCarty 10-00-00010Simmons 337-111-234417Phillips 248-127-842523Cornish 60-10-00020Totals 20033-6523-3337162295 Rebounds include team rebounds Score by periods: VMI 37-37-9-13-96 Marshall 32-42-9-12-95
Three-point goals - VMI: Perry 3-5, Fittz 1-3, Covington 3-3, Johnson 0-1, Chadwick 1-2, Spriggs 0-2, Penn 1-3, Totals 9-19. Marshall: Cunningham 0-2, Vincent 3-5, Taft 1-2, Simmons 2-3, Totals 6-12.
Turnovers - VMI 14 (Covington 5); Marshall 15 (Simmons 5). Blocked shots - VMI 4 (Preston 3); Marshall 2 (Phillips 2). Steals - VMI 3 (Perry 2); Marshall 3 (Phillips 2).
Technical fouls - Taft. Officials - McNeal, Yargo, Corbin. Attendance - 6,476.
by CNB