ROANOKE TIMES 

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

DATE: MONDAY, March 4, 1991                   TAG: 9103040025
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: MOBILE, ALA.                                LENGTH: Medium

MONARCHS REACH FINAL

Chris Gatling scored 26 points and Ricardo Leonard 21 as seventh-seeded Old Dominion upset third-seeded South Florida 72-69 in the Sun Belt Conference basketball tournament Sunday.

The Monarchs (14-17) broke a 33-33 halftime tie and led by seven before the Bulls (19-10) missed two free throws and a 3-pointer in the final 16 seconds that could have tied or won the game.

ODU, which stunned No. 2 Alabama-Birmingham 94-88 Saturday, plays regular-season champion South Alabama (21-8) for the title tonight. The Jaguars rolled to a 105-78 victory against Virginia Commonwealth (14-17). OLD DOMINION (72)

Jackson 2-7 2-2 7, Lonard 9-10 3-4 21, Gatling 11-16 4-5 26, Anderson 1-2 0-0 2, Robinson 3-9 1-2 7, Grant 3-8 2-2 8, Leake 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 29-53 13-17 72. SOUTH FLORIDA (69)

Lewis 5-11 5-6 15, Russell 0-3 0-0 0, Alexander 8-18 6-9 22, Armstrong 3-8 4-4 10, Dobras 5-14 0-0 12, D. Williams 4-6 0-0 8, Webster 0-1 0-0 0, Dollar 1-2 0-0 2, Roczey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-63 15-19 69.

Halftime-33-33. Three-point goals-Old Dominion 1-4 (Jackson 1-3, Leake 0-1), South Florida 2-5 (Dobras 2-5). Fouled out-Grant. Rebounds-Old Dominion 29 (Gatling 8), South Florida 37 (Alexander 13). Assists-Old Dominion 14 (Anderson 6), South Florida 10 (Armstrong 3). Total fouls-Old Dominion 16, South Florida 16. A-10,000. VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH (78)

Warren 4-10 3-4 11, Atkins 4-18 4-7 12, Mills 1-3 1-2 3, Thompkins 6-12 8-8 22, Ladd 3-7 3-4 11, Garner 1-4 2-2 5, Brower 0-2 0-0 0, Whitley 2-5 3-4 7, Bonato 1-1 0-0 2, Uhle 0-6 1-2 1, Reddish 1-2 0-2 2, Pepeliaev 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-71 25-35 78. SOUTH ALABAMA (105)

Eackles 3-7 0-2 6, Curtis 3-4 1-2 7, Portillo 5-10 6-8 16, Yelding 4-7 1-2 9, McDaniels 7-11 1-1 16, Alvin 0-0 2-2 2, James 5-8 0-0 12, Turner 6-10 1-3 16, Washington 3-5 0-0 6, Hines 2-6 0-0 4, Hatch 1-1 0-0 2, Mitchell 3-6 1-3 7, Adams 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 42-76 15-25 105.

Halftime-43-38, South Alabama. Three-point goals-VCU 5-16 (Thompkins 2-2, Ladd 2-6, Garner 1-3, Brower 0-1, Whitley 0-1, Atkins 0-3), South Alabama 6-13 (Turner 3-5, James 2-4, McDaniels 1-2, Yelding 0-2). Fouled out-Warren, Mills, Adams. Rebounds-VCU 42 (Thompkins 8), South Alabama 54 (Eackles 8). Assists-VCU 16 (Ladd 6), South Alabama 26 (Yelding 7). Total fouls-VCU 26, South Alabama 28. A-NA. - Associated Press 


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