Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 24, 1993 TAG: 9301240117
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium
ODU TOSSES TECH WITH FREE THROWS
Virginia Tech sprouted warts at the worst times Saturday.A six-point Old Dominion possession after a Hokies technical foul and Tech's failure to take advantage in a similar situation less than two minutes later helped the Monarchs beat the Hokies 71-61 in a non-conference basketball game before 6,661 at Scope.
The Monarchs made only four second-half field goals, shooting 18 percent, but they went 25-for-30 on free throws - at one point making 16 straight. ODU also got 15 more rebounds than Tech; freshman Mario Mullen had a career-high 19, and former Laurel Park High School star Odell Hodge, also a rookie, had 10.
"If you'd tell me we would hold anybody to 18 percent in the second half and lose, I'd almost take bets on that," Tech coach Bill Foster said. "The big swing was the fluctuation in the two technical situations."
ODU (9-5) won for the fourth time in 15 meetings between the schools; all four wins have come in this 10,253-capacity building. The teams have played every year since the 1981-82 season, but Tech has declined to renew the series until 1995-96 at the earliest.
Saturday's two-plus-hour game was played mostly with a blank scoreboard and a courtside official keeping time.
In a sluggish second half, Tech (6-4) erased a seven-point deficit and tied the score at 42 on Corey Jackson's 3-pointer with 11:25 left. With 10:43 to go, Jackson committed his fourth foul against ODU's Petey Sessoms, then drew a technical foul for arguing.
Because of a new rule counting technicals as personal fouls, Jackson was disqualified - the second time this year he has fouled out because of a technical.
Sessoms made three of four free throws. On ODU's possession, Tech's Shawn Smith stole the ball from Hodge, but Hodge got it back, scored and was fouled by Smith. His free throw made it 48-42 ODU with 10:07 left.
Smith said Hodge got a lucky bounce; Hodge said he ripped the ball away from Smith.
Jackson's words had given ODU an opening. Sessoms said Jackson was talking to official Larry Rose even after Rose "said he didn't want to hear it." Jackson said he was only talking to teammate Jay Purcell.
"It was kind of a weak call," Jackson said, then referred to his earlier disqualification against East Carolina. "The first one was legit; I did say something out of context. I was totally shocked by this one."
Asked what Jackson said, Foster said: "You'd need a little soap and water, if the official's right. You just don't do that. Once, you think you'd learn. Twice, you have to wonder."
ODU led 50-42 when Keith Jackson missed a jumper. Mullen rebounded and was hammered on the follow shot by Smith, but Mullen was called for walking before the foul.
An angry fan threw an object onto the court - the crowd had been warned to refrain from such earlier in the game - and Rose called a technical foul. As Jim Jackson made the first shot, somebody else tossed something onto the court, causing a brief delay as Lennie Wirtz called another technical.
Jackson missed the next three shots, to vigorous approval from the crowd.
"I don't know how many minutes went by when they were trying to decide what they were going to do," Jackson said. "People can say I [got rattled], but it's my fault for missing the free throws. If I'd have made the free throws, that would've been a big turnaround."
Jay Purcell hit a jumper after Jackson's misses, but the Hokies trailed by five instead of two.
ODU built a 57-47 lead that was cut to 57-54 when Steve Hall hit back-to-back 3-pointers. Two free throws by Hodge, a too-long pass by Shawn Good and a three-point play by Mullen with three minutes left gave ODU a 62-54 lead.
Tech pulled to 62-58 with 2:13 to go, but ODU hit the last six of its 16 straight free throws to stay ahead.
"They made a little run, and it could have gone back and forth," Hodge said. "When Mario got his three-point play, I knew it was over then."
It almost was over in the first half, when ODU took a 13-0 lead in the first 3:07 by making five of seven field-goal attempts and all three 3-point attempts. Foster countered with an all-upperclassman lineup to settle things down. Tech followed with a 20-5 run to lead 20-18.
The score was tied twice more before ODU took a seven-point halftime lead.
Then came the marathon second half that included three television time outs, 28 fouls, 47 free-throws, the two technical fouls and a fix-the-scoreboard delay.
"It seemed like the game took forever," ODU coach Oliver Purnell said. "You feel like you're swimming in an ocean in the dark."
He was smiling, though. His team survived. \
see microfilm for box score