Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 28, 1991 TAG: 9102280200
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Not Frankie Allen. At least not Wednesday.
"I told them at the half, `You're playing well,' " said the Hokies' coach.
With that rating scale, then, it's little wonder Allen was all smiles after Tech's brutal 50-41 Metro Conference victory over offensively inept South Carolina at Cassell Coliseum.
Tech (11-15 overall, 5-8 Metro Conference) tied South Carolina (19-10, 5-8) for sixth place in the Metro. If the teams finish in a tie for sixth when the regular season ends next week, Tech would get the sixth seeding in the conference tournament in Roanoke because it would win a tie-breaker against South Carolina.
Tech shot 41 percent, missed eight of 21 free throws and scored its fewest points in a game since losing 65-48 to West Virginia in the 1986-87 season.
But Allen praised the Hokies for sticking to their patience-first game plan and not becoming trigger-happy in the second half.
"You can shoot 41 percent with good shots and not feel bad," Allen said.
The Gamecocks were worse. South Carolina, which had beaten Tech five of the past six meetings but had lost four of its past five games this season, scored 18 second-half points as it shot 24 percent from the field en route to 30 percent shooting for the game.
It was South Carolina's lowest points total since a Frank McGuire-coached team lost 31-30 in overtime to Maryland on Jan. 9, 1971.
"We tried to take too much time off the clock," Manning said. "We've just been out of sync offensively."
The Gamecocks, who haven't shot better than 46 percent in seven games, led 29-23 with 16:35 left in the game. They scored three points in the next 12 minutes while falling behind 43-32.
Part of that was thanks to Tech's switching defenses, which included man-to-man, a 2-3 zone, and a triangle-and-two with Hokies guarding Barry Manning and Jo Jo English. Allen said Tech had 6-5 forward Antony Moses spend much time guarding 6-4 Manning instead of 5-10 Rod Wheeler because Manning posted up on Wheeler several times in the teams' first game.
"When coach came in at the half, the first thing he said was that the game was going to be ugly," Wheeler said. "But the only thing that counts is who wins. We wanted to win it with our defense."
Wheeler made just one of five field-goal attempts, but spent most of his time chasing English. South Carolina's leading scorer had 11 first-half points but just two in the second half.
"Maybe the reason my shot wasn't falling is I was paying too much attention to Jo Jo," Wheeler said.
After South Carolina took a 29-23 lead, Tech went on an 20-3 run - over 12 minutes. John Rivers' dunk, Moses' three-point play and Thomas Elliott's turnaround gave Tech a 30-29 lead.
Meanwhile, South Carolina produced creative errors. Once, Manning tried to pass but snagged his hand on his pants leg and threw away the ball; Jeff Roulston walked three times in 11 minutes; and Michael Glover tried a 5-foot, double-pump one-handed scoop shot that missed the backboard by a foot.
Then, with Tech up 44-34, South Carolina's Joe Rhett picked up a loose ball and threw upcourt to Manning - who let the ball sail past him out of bounds, apparently thinking it was meant for a teammate.
The Gamecocks' performance may have sacked their NCAA Tournament hopes. South Carolina, once 18-5 and ranked 12th in The Associated Press Top 25, has lost five of its last six.
"It might be difficult at this point in time," South Carolina coach George Felton said of getting an at-large bid. "We have to look strongly at the [Metro] tournament."
Only 4,961 spectators attended, the fourth-smallest crowd at Cassell Coliseum this year. Tech drew 70,658 to Cassell in 12 games this year, the lowest total attendance since 1986-87 and the second-lowest total since 1971-72.
"I would probably like to see more people at the games," Allen said. "[But] they weren't cheering dunks [Wednesday]. They had to cheer a guy getting a rebound or getting down on the floor. Fans were yelling, `Defense, defense.' Maybe it's a little bit different from what they've seen here in past years, shooting [3-pointers]."
\ see microfilm for box score\
by CNB