Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 2, 1992 TAG: 9202020167
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
MAROONS CRUSH GENERALS 98-76
Roanoke College men's basketball coach Page Moir likes to talk about the strength of his team being in its depth.The Maroons' exhibition against Washington and Lee on Saturday night at the Warner Center did not to damage that assertion.
Moir went to his bench early and often and got production. Sparked by the reserves, Roanoke defeated W&L 98-76 in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference game.
Roanoke starter Hillary Scott shared the game high of 21 points, but more importantly the Maroons (10-9 overall, 7-5 in the league) got 61 points from their substitutes. The effort gave Roanoke back-to-back victories for the first time since Dec. 6.
"We're very deep," said Moir. "There's not a lot of difference [between the starters and the reserves]. They're all capable of doing good things."
With his starting unit struggling early, Moir went to his bench for the first time five minutes into the game.
The second unit of Michael Thornton, Rick Becker and freshmen Joe Schrantz, Bryant Lee and Mark Genthner outscored Washington and Lee 18-3 in a six-minute run that turned a six-point deficit into a 24-15 lead.
"I generally start subbing between the 16- and 15-minute mark," said Moir. "We got a little stagnant offensively. Those guys came in and gave us a lift."
Schrantz quickly scored inside, and Thornton, who also scored 21 points, followed with a 15-footer. Schrantz made two free throws to tie the score at 12, and, after a W&L turnover, Lee followed in a Thornton miss.
Another basket by Schrantz and a three-point play by Thornton put Roanoke up 19-12 before Bryan Brading made a 3-point field goal for the Generals (5-13, 2-10).
The momentum didn't shift, however, as Lee responded with a dunk for Roanoke. Genthner drove in for a layup and Schrantz made a free throw as the Maroons went up 24-15 before Moir put a starter back in with 9:13 remaining in the half.
The Maroons went on to lead 43-27 at halftime.
"When we put ourselves in a hole, it's hard to get out of it," said W&L coach Verne Canfield. "We don't have the quality of depth that I hope we would. They have some fine athletes, and we come up short in some positions.
"[Roanoke's] kids off the bench were definitely the difference. Two of his better players come of the bench. That's a nice gimmick. I envy him.
"[Roanoke] has as good a chance as anybody [to win the ODAC.] They've got all the tools - depth, quickness and good shooting."
Roanoke had its best shooting performance of the season, hitting for 73.3 percent (33-for-45).
Led by Becker with 10, the Maroons outrebounded the Generals 39-27.
After trailing by 21 points in the opening minutes of the second half, Washington and Lee scored seven consecutive points to pull to 51-37 with 15:47 remaining.
After a Roanoke timeout, Becker scored a layup and Thornton followed with a 3-pointer to start Roanoke on a 15-2 run that put the game away.
LEXINGTON _ Roanoke College men's ba
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