Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 6, 1992 TAG: 9202060242
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
MAROONS WIN 3RD STRAIGHT
Roanoke College has picked the right time to be on the upswing.With the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament approaching, the Maroons are playing some of their best basketball. And even when they aren't, as was the case several times during Wednesday night's game, they still are finding ways to win.
Down a bucket with minutes remaining, the Maroons closed with a flurry and posted their third straight victory by beating Bridgewater 67-61 in an ODAC men's game at the Bast Center.
Junior forward Rick Becker started an 11-1 run that turned a 53-51 Roanoke deficit into an eight-point lead. The Maroons (11-9 overall, 8-5 ODAC) made five of 10 free throws over the final three minutes, which was enough to hold off the Eagles (15-4, 9-4).
"The last three wins, two have been against two of the top teams in the league," said Roanoke coach Page Moir, whose squad beat Emory & Henry and Washington and Lee before Bridgewater. "The other was a rough win at our biggest rival. We've played consistent, especially on defense. Now our consistency is starting to pay off in victories."
With Roanoke trailing 53-51 with 5:36 remaining, Becker made a layup and was fouled by Todd Rush. Becker completed the three-point play to put Roanoke up by one.
After a Bridgewater turnover, Michael Thornton, who led the Maroons with 16 points, slipped into the lane and curled a layup over the front rim for another basket.
Hillary Scott made two free throws and, after Rush made a free throw for Bridgewater, Kevin Martin converted a layup off a pass from Becker. Scott scored a pull-up jumper to put Roanoke up 62-54 with 3:10 left.
The Maroons shot 48.1 percent in the second half after hitting 37.5 percent in the first half and trailing 32-27.
"The second half was a big turnaround," Moir said. "Bridgewater is an excellent team, and they're tough to play against because they have so much poise. We didn't feel like our defense could force enough turnovers to get our running game going that much. We felt we were going to have to beat them some at their game - a halfcourt game.
"In the second half, we didn't take too many bad shots. We had good movement on offense and got contributions from a lot of guys."
Martin scored 14 points, while Scott added 12 and Becker 10. Rush paced Bridgewater with 18 points, and Ashley Watson scored 14. \
see microfilm for box score