Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 9, 1992 TAG: 9201090445
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RAY COX SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
SCRAPPY RADFORD LOSES 81-78 THRILLER
The knowledge that one can play with those who run with the basketball big boys is not much of a salve for the pain of a narrow defeat.After looking to be well on the way to being overwhelmed by superior forces, Radford scrapped back from 19 points down to Western Kentucky but couldn't quite complete the job Wednesday night.
The Highlanders' Stephen Barber and Don Burgess missed shots that would have put Radford ahead with seconds left, and the Hilltoppers went on to win an 81-78 non-conference cliffhanger at the Dedmon Center.
"[The basketball] was in, and it kept coming out," Burgess said of his layin attempt and subsequent stickback attempt with fewer than 10 seconds to go and Radford trailing 79-78. "I should have made the shots. No excuses."
Barber had gotten a better look at the hoop just before that but failed to make the layup. He believed he had been fouled.
"Any Division I player in America can make that kind of shot if he doesn't get fouled," he said. "I kind of stopped because I was sure I was going to get the call."
Once Burgess missed, Mark Bell of the Hilltoppers grabbed the ball and bolted downcourt, only to be tagged from behind by Burgess. Bell calmly sank two free throws to put his team up by three.
Radford's Doug Day followed a timeout with a 3-point attempt to tie but failed.
"I got a good look at the basket, but it just came up short," he said.
Radford (5-6) had one more chance when Darrin Horn walked with the rebound with two seconds left. Day couldn't connect and was sent sprawling as the game ended.
"If Stevie [Barber] wasn't going to get the call, I knew I wouldn't," Day said.
Western Kentucky (9-2), which had come in fresh from a Chaminade Aloha Invitational tournament-clinching 84-82 victory over North Carolina State on Dec. 30, won its sixth straight game. That's the team's longest winning streak since 1987. Western Kentucky had four players in double figures, led by Harold Thompkins with 26 points.
"We knew Radford was a tough team to play at home, and now we know why," Hilltoppers coach Ralph Willard said.
Radford held Western Kentucky to 38.5 percent shooting in the second half and outrebounded it 35-33 despite having one big man, Pete Reece, foul out and another, Tom Gallaher, not play because of a sprained ankle.
"We came in here knowing that they'd beaten N.C. State, and we probably thought we couldn't play with them," Radford point guard Chris Hawkins said. "Once we found out we could, we made a little run at them. If you have opportunities in Division I, you better grab them. We didn't."
Not so for Hawkins, who was splendid with a career-high 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals despite playing with a deep thigh bruise that left him listed as highly questionable right on up to game time.
"It never hurt, so I just kept playing," he said. "I hate to say this, but when I have the kind of scoring game I had tonight [he averages 6.5 points per game], we usually don't do that well. We need to be more balanced."
Burgess hit 10 of 15 shots and had a career-high 26 points to go with nine rebounds. Brian Schmall came off the bench with 11 points.
Day, however, continued to struggle.
Day went 3-for-15, including 2-for-10 from 3-point range, for eight points. In the past four games, he is 16-for-65 on field-goal attempts.
"Doug doesn't need to hang his head," Barber said. "That's a lot of pressure to put on him to ask him to tie the score with a 3-pointer at the buzzer. He's already done that once this year [to beat Virginia Commonwealth].
"I congratulate the guys for hanging in there, but all of us are disappointed." \
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