Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 14, 1993 TAG: 9302140103
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: TAMPA, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE TECH'S LOSS TO BULLS
Virginia Tech's woofing earned it a tucked tail Saturday.South Florida's Chris Coleman and Chucky Atkins, freshmen who had been yapped at by Tech players, combined for 21 first-half points as the Bulls walloped the Hokies 77-50 in a Metro Conference basketball game in front of 5,737 spectators at the Sun Dome.
It was Tech's worst Metro loss since a 33-point rout at Tulane two years ago and was delivered by a team that entered the game winless in the league and having lost 10 of its past 11 games.
Tech (9-11 overall, 1-7 Metro) followed its 31-point trouncing of VMI on Wednesday with a listless effort. South Florida (5-14, 1-7) joined Tech in the Metro basement.
Coleman, from suburban Chicago, shredded Tech freshman Jim Jackson for 12 points and five offensive rebounds in the first half, helping the Bulls to a double-figure lead.
Tech put on a 2-3 zone with 6:21 left, which solved the Coleman problem. But his roommate, boyish-looking Atkins, followed three 3-point misses with three straight good ones, the first with 1:30 left, to boost South Florida's lead from 32-24 to 41-27 at the break.
Tech never raised its hackles after that, having discovered words didn't bother the Bulls.
"Jay Purcell, he kept saying, `We're going to let you have that shot, you can shoot all you want,' " Atkins said. "I said, `Oh, well, let me shoot, then. I accept that.' I made a few, and he didn't say nothing after that."
For Tech coach Bill Foster, it was like pouring vinegar on a paper cut. Right before Atkins' first connection, Corey Jackson missed a 3-pointer, and although Purcell made one, the Hokies missed two more before the end of the half.
"That's an 18-point swing on just six shots," Foster said, practically grinding his teeth. "This game's all about putting the ball in the hole."
Coleman's play settled a war of mouths with Jim Jackson that started after Tech beat South Florida 74-62 almost a month ago in Blacksburg. Jackson had 10 points, six rebounds and a verbal victory in that game.
"He got off to a nice start [in that game], and we talked a lot on the court - a little trash-talking, to see who could be the strongest mentally," Coleman said. "I wanted him to respect me."
Mission accomplished. "He was kicking everyone's butts," Foster said.
Meanwhile, Tech continued its errant shooting, was outrebounded badly and forced only nine South Florida turnovers.
Tech led once - 5-4 on Shawn Smith's layup - after which South Florida scored 14 of the next 17 points to lead by 10. Coleman's put-backs, lobs inside over Tech's fronting defense and at least two layups off inbounds plays broke the Hokies.
Tech hasn't won in four tries on an opponents' home floor this year and is 0-9 in Metro road games under Foster. Since upsetting a ranked Tulane team in Blacksburg last year, the Hokies are 2-11 in league play.
Tech plays three of its last four league games on the road, and Saturday was the first of four straight away games.
"You try to remain optimistic," said Steve Hall, one of the Tech upperclassmen whose playing time has been unpredictable. "I know we've got talent on the team. Sometimes you get your highs with your lows, and we're getting our lows now. It'd probably be safe to say I thought we'd be playing better [at this time of the year]."
Foster admitted Atkins' first-half 3-point streak spiked the thought of more second-half zone, but said Tech might play more zone and junk defenses from now on. That way, he said, he can play offensive-oriented freshmen - Travis Jackson, for example - without burdening them with man-to-man defensive assignments.
Tech finished a stretch of 10 games in 22 days with a 3-7 record. Foster welcomed a four-day break before the Hokies travel to East Carolina, a team they beat 76-67 in overtime Jan. 2 in Blacksburg. \
see microfilm for box score