Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 4, 1993 TAG: 9303040068
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
3 RADFORD SENIORS WANT TO GO OUT AS WINNERS
They seem to share nothing more than a love for Highlanders hoops, an apartment and an occasional propensity for peevishness.But in other ways both obvious and obscure, Brian Schmall, Tom Gallaher and Doug Day are closely bound. So too is Radford's basketball fortune fused to them.
They are the team's only seniors. Leadership, such as it's been in this strange season at Radford, has come almost exclusively from one of them.
Their career suns are setting rapidly. Nevertheless, it is their fondest hope to singe a few more foes before the end of the week.
Radford enters the Big South Conference Tournament tonight at the North Charleston (S.C.) Coliseum with a death-defying draw and a jutting jaw.
"Hey, you be sure to put in your story that we haven't given up," Day was saying recently. "We will be back."
Highlanders coach Ron Bradley was wondering about that last week after the Highlanders lost 81-70 to Towson State.
Radford then cast itself in a more favorable light by roaring back to clip Liberty 79-74 in the regular-season finale. The Flames, the preseason choice to win the conference, had beaten Radford 94-74 on Jan. 28.
The win earned the Highlanders (14-15) another shot at Liberty (16-13), which has become their biggest rival, in the opening round of the conference tournament at 9:15 p.m.
"We are going to come back and take what is ours," Liberty center Julius Nwosu said. "And it is ours."
In other first-round games, North Carolina-Asheville (4-22) played Winthrop (11-15) Wednesday night; Campbell (12-14) meets Maryland-Baltimore County (11-15) at 1 p.m. today followed by Coastal Carolina (19-9) vs. Charleston Southern (9-17) at 3:15. Towson State (18-8) plays the Winthrop-UNCA winner at 7 p.m.
Make no mistake, Radford's seniors still want to win. Some wonder if Schmall wants to win too much.
"I picture myself as the type who really wants to win," Gallaher said. "But there's a point I'll stop. But with Brian, if there's anybody who gets in his way on the way to trying to win, they won't be there long."
Schmall? Crew cut, freckle-faced, unfailingly quiet and polite. The guy comes across as somebody's favorite little brother. Until he walks onto the basketball court.
Then he becomes the team's conversationalist. Schmall never has had a basketball opinion that he didn't feel free to air, whether his views were solicited or not. Then, if there is an objection to his stance, the open-palmed, pained innocence he projects is piteous to behold.
Schmall is in his second year as a Radford player after transferring from Augusta (Ga.) College, which once was a Big South member.
"My first impression of Brian was `I don't like the guy,' " Gallaher said. "I remembered him as the guy who came up here from Augusta and beat us."
As far as his teammates are concerned, Schmall is your basic good guy. According to all accounts, life at the living quarters shared by Day, Gallaher, Schmall and former Highlander Shawn Blow is as harmonious as an a cappella quartet. Touring around the league, though, Schmall isn't likely to make many most-congenial lists.
"Brian's different," Day said. "Tom and I are more alike. We're quieter. Brian's more outspoken."
To a point. One of the most infamous dips in Radford's trampoline season was a celebrated nose-to-nose session between Day and Gallaher in the subterranean corridors of University Hall, where the Highlanders were losing to Virginia.
At halftime, Day and Gallaher came to blows over disagreements about technical aspects of each other's play. Order was eventually restored, but neither player commented publicly about it at the time.
"We shook hands and talked about it afterward," Gallaher said. "We decided that everybody on this team has trouble taking criticism and we were no different. The Virginia game was one of the big games of our careers and we wanted to play well. We thought we had a chance to win. We were frustrated."
Said Day: "It was bad judgment on our parts."
However, not everything has been so bleak this season.
Day, a physical education major, became the NCAA's all-time leader in 3-point field goals made and now has 395. He lacks three points reaching 2,000 for a career and holds 13 Radford records.
Schmall, who majors in elementary education, shattered the school's season assists mark with 205 and set a record with 15 assists in a game.
Gallaher, an operations management major, has improved steadily through his career. He has turned into a deadly shooter from the 12-foot range and has averaged 14.8 points per game over his past six games. He also went 10-for-10 in a victory over Maryland-Baltimore County on Feb. 10.