Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 9, 1993 TAG: 9312090173
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
That's how it was Wednesday, when the only pothole in the Hokies' 86-59 rout of North Carolina-Greensboro was a 10-2 Spartans run to close the first half that trimmed a 20-point Hokies lead to 12.
"That's terrible," said Tech's Jim Jackson. "They get pumped up at halftime."
And blown away in the second half.
Tech, which has had back-to-back 10-victory seasons, outscored the Spartans 24-5 in the first 7 1/2 minutes of the second half, and followed that with a 15-2 run that made it 75-33 lead with 8:55 left.
"This team is hungry," Jackson said.
Wednesday's meal will have to last awhile. Because of final exams, Tech doesn't play again until a Dec. 18 date at Xavier, Ohio. Until then, the Hokies can chew on their first four-game winning streak since Frankie Allen's 1987-88 team went 19-10.
The Hokies did it before 6,649 at Cassell Coliseum, the largest home crowd since 6,738 showed up to see Tech-Louisville on Jan. 28, 1992.
Bill Foster had nine 20-victory seasons when he took over as the Hokies' coach before the 1991-92 season, and it took him two years to reach 20 victories at Tech - and two years to start seeing consistent results.
"It's getting closer," Foster said. "There are a lot more things out there recognizable to us as a staff, and to the players."
Start with the defense. When 6-foot-3, 182-pound senior point guard Jay Purcell greeted 6-foot, 170-pound UNC-G sophomore Scott Hartzell with skin-to-skin defense, the Spartans' armor flaked away.
Hartzell averaged 12.3 points, almost eight assists and almost four turnovers per game during UNC-G's 3-1 start. By halftime he had six points, five turnovers and one assist; he finished with eight, six and three, respectively.
"I tried to push him to one side of the floor and keep him there," Purcell said. "I felt I was running them out of their offense."
Correct, Hartzell said. The Big South Conference Spartans, who had beaten three Ohio Valley Conference teams and lost by 10 at North Carolina State, missed 38 field-goal attempts (making 17) and committed 23 turnovers.
"It's hard to even explain," Hartzell said. "They put pressure on us early, and we didn't really respond very well."
The crowd - including most of Tech's bowl-bound football team, on hand for a postgame pep rally - lusted for UNC-G's demise.
The Spartans, in their third year of Division I competition, got what coach Mike Dement called a taste of Division I atmosphere.
"They were great. They were really great," Dement said of the fans.
Great for Tech, Jackson said.
by CNB