Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 26, 1992 TAG: 9202260177
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium
MARLINS SQUEAK BY ROANOKE
Virginia Wesleyan basketball coach Terry Butterfield hates it when his Marlins wait until the last minute or two to secure memorable wins. But that's what they did Tuesday night in a 61-59 victory over Roanoke College.He can talk to them about correcting that little flaw en route to the Salem Civic Center and Saturday's 1 p.m. Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal game against Hampden-Sydney, which beat Randolph-Macon 69-53 Tuesday night.
The Marlins' 18th win in 26 games this season wasn't secure until Roanoke's Kevin Martin banged a 3-point attempt off the glass and into Scott Spruill's hands with two seconds left to play. That completed Wesleyan's comeback from five points down with 4:32 to play.
Wesleyan shot 39 percent on field-goal attempts.
"The key for us when we don't shoot well is to `D' people up," said Butterfield. "When we had to have it, we got it, and I thought that showed a lot of character."
Spruill's rebound sent Butterfield toward the stands at Cunningham Gym to slap high-10s with some of the more vocal Wesleyan supporters. But the best hands in the gym belonged to Marlins - Spruill, Walt Lassiter and David Alston.
The most critical of Spruill's 11 rebounds was his acrobatic save of Marshawn Love's desperation jumper with 1:34 to play and the score 54-54. Spruill threw himself at Love's miss, tapping it over his shoulder to Lassiter, surrounded by three Roanoke players under the Wesleyan basket.
Lassiter, who led both teams with 18 points, controlled the ball, then had the strength to muscle it through traffic and into the basket for the Marlins' first lead since the final second of the first half.
Alston, a sophomore, then cut in front of Martin to steal a pass and raced three-fourths of the court for a layup that gave the Marlins a 58-54 lead, their largest.
"I knew they were going to get it to Martin," Alston said. "He telegraphed the pass and I just anticipated it."
After a 3-pointer by Roanoke's Mike Murphy, Alston took the inbounds pass and was fouled. He sank two free throws, sending each skimming over the front of the rim with 26.4 seconds.
Eighteen seconds later, after a basket by Roanoke's Rick Becker, Love faced a free throw in a bonus situation. He swished the first, but the second bounced in and out, setting up Martin's dash downcourt and a 3-point attempt from 21 feet when two points would have sent the game into overtime.
"I saw him go down there and I said to myself, `If that goes, I'll just pass dead away right here,' " Butterfield said. "The last time we played Roanoke, we were down eight or nine the whole game but came back. I wish our guys wouldn't do that to me."