Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 4, 1993 TAG: 9301040088
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS BACHELDER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
MAROONS' BECKER DELIVERS
In the inaugural Domino's Classic basketball tournament Sunday night, Roanoke College did not deliver in 30 minutes or less.However, as Rick Becker drained an 18-footer after 39 minutes and 57 seconds of play, the Maroons proved that no opponents' lead is guaranteed.
Becker's late jumper and free throw gave Roanoke a 79-77 first-night victory over Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute (N.Y.) at the Bast Center.
The Maroons (5-2) will play in the championship game tonight at 7:30 against Millsaps (Tenn.), which edged Allentown (Pa.) 89-81 in the early game Sunday. Allentown and Renssalaer will play in the third-place game at 5:30.
Roanoke got clutch shooting and a fortunate break in the game's final minutes to put away the heady team of Engineers. With RPI ahead 76-74, the Maroons' shot-shy point guard Dustin Fonder made an off-balance 10-foot baseline jumper at 1:16 to force the sixth tie in nine minutes.
Erik Whalen put the Engineers ahead 77-76 with a free throw at 48 seconds. Roanoke's Kevin Martin a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left and RPI's John Astarita corralled a long rebound and raced downcourt for an uncontested breakaway layup. But Astarita missed the layup at 20 seconds and the
Maroons rebounded and called timeout. Roanoke killed some clock and Fonder passed to Becker on the right wing with time running out. Becker's 14th and 15th points swished through the net with three seconds left, giving Roanoke its first lead in almost eight minutes.
"We started off in a set play and then it broke down into a lot of motion and off-side screens," Becker said of the final seconds. "I got the ball once and passed it back to Dustin [Fonder]. I looked up then and saw nine seconds, so when I got it back, I knew I didn't have much time. I just let it fly."
Renssalaer (3-3) turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds pass, and Becker was fouled at the buzzer. He sank one of two free throws to provide the final margin.
Hillary Scott scored 13 of his game-high 22 points in the first half and Roanoke had five six-point leads, but couldn't pull away. In the second half, the Maroons led 50-40 with 17:32 remaining - but a 9-0 run got RPI back in the game.
The Engineers were physical, deliberate and accurate. They made 31 of 54 field-goal attempts (57.4 percent), including 16-of-25 in the second half. There were five lead changes in a four-minute span and RPI led 69-65 with seven minutes left.
"They are a team that executes their style of play very, very well," Roanoke coach Page Moir said. "I give them credit. They were surprisingly good.
"But I was disappointed with our defense. We didn't move our feet well. Our guys must have seen a bunch of big, strong-looking kids who weren't all that quick, and just didn't give them their due.
"This was a good win for us, though. We haven't had a close win all year and we needed a tough one."
Scott had 15 rebounds to go with his point total. Bryant Lee added 12 points and Mike Thornton 12, including nine in a span of 3:26 midway through the second half.
Roanoke shot well from the field (30-for-58), but continued to struggle at the free-throw line, missing 14 of 31.
In the opening game, Allentown rallied from 10 points down to force overtime, but Millsaps overwhelmed the Centaurs in the extra period. Phillip Robinson poured in 32 points for the Majors.