MAROONS COME UP SHORT

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 17, 1993                   TAG: 9301170092
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: D8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                                LENGTH: Medium
MAROONS COME UP SHORT
Virginia Wesleyan's first game as a member of Division III's top 20 Saturday nearly ended in the kind of loss that can scar a team for the rest of the season.
The Marlins, rated 19th in the latest poll, had a 23-point halftime lead against Old Dominion Athletic Conference rival Roanoke. In the end, however, free throws by Walt Lassiter, Corey Lakey and Marshawn Love enabled them to breathe a sigh of relief and post a 91-87 basketball victory at Cunningham Gymnasium.
"We seem to have problems playing with a lead," Wesleyan coach Terry Butterfield said. "We talked at halftime about forgetting the first half, about starting the second half 0-0."
Told what Butterfield had said to his team, Roanoke coach Page Moir said: "I told my guys the exact same thing."
The difference was that the Moir's Maroons (10-3 overall, 5-2 ODAC) forced Wesleyan (10-2, 6-0) into 14 second-half turnovers. Roanoke ran off the first six points of the second half and 20 of the first 28. The Maroons trimmed their deficit to 62-52 with 13:39 to play.
They also got help when Wesleyan's Lassiter, the team's second-leading scorer at 20.7 points per game, was banished to the bench with 15:40 to play after picking up a personal and technical foul on the same play.
By the time he came back, only 6:29 remained and Wesleyan's lead was down to 72-63. Roanoke's Michael Thornton, who earlier had to leave the game when his nose was bloodied in a collision with Wesleyan's Rick Chalk, then scored two of his 18 points to cut the deficit to seven.
However, Lassiter made two free throws after rebounding Shannon Sweeney's missed shot.
Roanoke's Hillary Scott sank two free throws before Wesleyan built its lead safely back to double figures, primarily because of three heady plays by reserve guard John DeCandido.
\ see microfilm for box score

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB