Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 10, 1993 TAG: 9301100123
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS LENGTH: Medium
TULANE REPELS HOKIES' RALLY
Virginia Tech didn't come that close to beating Tulane on Saturday, but the Hokies were close enough to rationalize about their 84-72 Metro Conference basketball loss.Tech had lost its last two in New Orleans by a combined total of 53 points, including a 33-point loss in 1991.
"All things have got to come to an end," Hokies forward Corey Jackson said. "It's about time we played good here."
Not good enough, however. Tulane (10-3 overall, 1-0 Metro) outscored the Hokies 16-2 in a six-minute stretch late in the second half to dump the Hokies in a Metro Conference game before 3,600 at sold-out at Fogelman Arena.
The Hokies (4-3, 0-2) overcame a 15-point first-half deficit to lead 56-55 with 12 minutes to go, and trailed just 63-62 with 6:42 left.
However, Tulane's offensive rebounds and Tech's errors helped the Green Wave win the first game in defense of its 1991-92 Metro regular season championship.
"To come from 15 down to get the lead in this environment with a loosely called game, our kids really played well," Tech coach Bill Foster said. "The upperclassmen have got to step up a little bit underneath."
Although freshman Shawn Smith had 16 rebounds, Tulane outrebounded Tech 50-37 and got 22 offensive rebounds, several after missed free throws. The Green Wave's late run saved them from what would have been their second straight loss to Tech.
Tech, whose season-high for turnovers the past two years has come at Tulane, had a season-high 21 on Saturday, including 12 in the first half. It was the 11th straight game Tulane has forced 20 or more turnovers.
"I thought we played with a lot of guts," Tulane coach Perry Clark said. "You're not going to keep control of a good basketball team like that forever."
Last year, the Hokies upset then-14th-ranked Tulane in Blacksburg. The Green Wave couldn't snap out of it that night, but it did on Saturday.
"We were thinking, `We'd better get our butts moving. We have to lock up for the next six minutes,' " Tulane forward Carlin Hartman said. "It wasn't really said; we knew."
Tulane led 47-32 with 1:15 left in the first half, but the Hokies scored the game's next nine points to trail 47-41 with 18:58 left in the second half. Tulane led 53-42 with 16:53 to go before Tech went on a 14-2 run, getting five points from Don Corker and four from Damon Watlington, to lead 56-55 with 12 minutes left.
There were two tie scores in the next five minutes before two open jump shots by Anthony Reed - who had missed nine minutes of the second half because of foul trouble - gave Tulane a 67-62 with 5:41 to go.
Purcell made two free throws to make it 67-64. Then Tech dropped into a 2-3 zone.
"Everything they did was to stick it inside to Hartman or Reed and they were schooling our guys inside," Foster said. "We had to stop it some way."
Hartman stole a pass in Tech's frontcourt, then tipped in Matt Greene's miss for a 69-64 Tulane lead.
Carruth barreled over Hartman at the other end for an offensive foul. The officials sent Reed (60 percent free-throw shooter) to the line instead of Hartman (55.6), and Foster screamed over what he said was a correctable error.
Reed missed the free throw, but Greene rebounded and was fouled. He made one and missed the second, but Thomas Elliott was called for a lane violation and Greene made his second try for a 71-64 lead.
Foster, meanwhile, noted Tech's two top rebounders were freshmen. Elliott, who had led Tech in the past four games, had two rebounds, at least one lane violation and fell asleep once on the baseline of the 2-3 zone.
Foster said he started Texas native Corey Jackson because some of Jackson's family was at the game. Elliott, whose starting spot was taken by Jackson, wouldn't talk after the game. \
see microfilm for box score
Memo: different version ran in the State edition.