Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 17, 1993 TAG: 9301170088
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
HOKIES LOOK DOWN TO HALL FOR HELP IN WIN
Steve Hall would like you to know something.He's no scrub.
So what if he had played as many minutes as he has fingers in Tech's past four games? So what if he hadn't scored a point since Dec. 30?
On Saturday, the Detroit native was Virginia Tech's ignition in a 74-62 Metro Conference basketball victory over South Florida in front of 5,078 at Cassell Coliseum.
"Personally, I hope there's not a whole lot of fanfare made out of it," the senior guard said. "It shouldn't be a big surprise."
The 6-foot-4 Hall's strengths - 3-point range and transition-game ability - featured a new dimension against South Florida: defense. First thing Hall did upon entering in the first half was force the Bulls' Chris Coleman to walk on the perimeter.
Next thing Hall did was poke a 3-pointer on the break for a 19-14 Tech lead. He also scored seven of his season-high 11 points in the second half. One basket gave Tech its biggest lead (48-30); the next, with 12:03 left, broke an 8-0 Bulls run to put Tech ahead 50-38.
Ninety seconds later, South Florida had cut Tech's lead to 52-45. However, Shawn Good beat two Bulls defenders in the backcourt and Hall was left open on the right wing. His 3-pointer made it 55-45, Hokies, with 10:21 left.
"It really shows leadership in him," Tech freshman Jim Jackson said. "There's nothing wrong with his game."
However, there were a couple of wrong turns left in Tech's game. South Florida got to five points behind four times after that - 57-52 with 8:15 left, 59-54 at 7:19, 62-57 at 5:43 and 64-59 at 4:29.
Jay Purcell answered with deuces three times and Good scored once to keep the sweat off Tech. The Hokies also didn't have to fret about South Florida's leading scorer, Jesse Salters, who had fouled out - after shooting 2-for-11 from the field - with 12:49 left in the game and the Bulls trailing 48-36.
"We knew he had four and made the decision to leave him in," Bulls coach Bobby Paschal said. "We definitely felt like we needed to do everything we could at that point to cut the deficit [or] we were going to be out of the ballgame."
And, Tech handled South Florida's Derrick Sharp (17 points per game), who had 16 Saturday but was scoreless in the last 11:45.
The Hokies (5-4 overall, 1-3 Metro) avoided slipping under .500 for the first time this season and got out of the Metro's basement, now the lair of the Bulls (3-8, 0-3).
Tech beat South Florida, which started three freshmen, for the first time ever (in three tries).
"We needed this, had to have it," Purcell said.
Jim Jackson, for the second straight game, scored 10 first-half points and went scoreless in the second. However, the victory relieved him.
"If we'd lost this one, we could have had a lot of letdowns," he said.
Hall, who started 17 games and averaged 12.4 points in his last 11 games of 1991-92, apparently avoided mental free fall during his estrangement from the playing floor.
Foster said "effort" points in practice convert to minutes in a game and, because Hall practiced better, he played more.
"I try to play hard every time I go out there," said Hall, who had 11 points in 16 minutes Saturday. "Naturally, somebody who is sure of their abilities, regardless of the situation you [think you] can contribute."
Hall came in during a 4 1/2-minute Tech run in the first half that turned a 12-6 deficit into a 21-14 lead. The surge featured back-to-back 3-pointers by Jim and Corey Jackson, a Corey Jackson fast-break layup, Hall's 3-pointer and, finally, Corey Jackson's touch pass to Shawn Smith for a layup.
In nine possessions during that stretch, South Florida committed seven of its 15 first-half turnovers and went 1-for-2 from the field.
"To me, that was the biggest stat of the first half," Foster said of South Florida's turnovers.
Tech never trailed again, building a nine-point halftime lead and beginning the second half with a 14-5 run before South Florida chipped away.
Tech survived foul trouble to Purcell and Jim Jackson, shot 56 percent in the second half and paid back South Florida, which last year became the 14th team to win its first game in Cassell Coliseum.
"Our kids really came back after a disappointing game Thursday," Foster said of Tech's loss to UNC Charlotte, "and gave us a good, concentrated effort." \
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