Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 7, 1994 TAG: 9401070167
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Tulane's defense wasn't giving Virginia Tech many clear views of the basket, so Purcell put things in reverse and hit three extra-long 3-pointers that helped the Hokies top Tulane 68-58 in the teams' Metro Conference men's basketball opener.
Purcell's first bomb finished a 7-0 Tech run to open the second half and make the score 30-29 Tulane. His second, from about 22 feet, gave Tech its second lead of the half, 42-40 with 10 minutes, 40 seconds left.
His third came from about 23 feet - more than three feet beyond the 3-point arc - and finished another 7-0 run that put Tech up 53-46 with 3:59 to go.
"I just let it go," said Purcell, a senior from Blacksburg whose off-season was dedicated to improving his jumper.
No second thoughts? With the Hokies in a tight game against a measuring-stick program, a team picked in the preseason to finish second in the Metro?
"Not really," Purcell said. "I'm just glad it went. They were really crowding us. Somebody just had to step up and take a shot."
Shortly thereafter, Tech had its fifth consecutive victory and a 9-1 start for the first time since 1984-85. It was the Hokies' first Metro season-opening victory since 1990-91.
The Hokies entertained a crowd of 6,934, the largest for a game at 9,971-seat Cassell since Bimbo Coles' last game in 1990 sold out.
Last season, the Hokies got their ninth victory on Feb. 10. Whether Thursday's victory turns heads isn't high on Tech coach Bill Foster's checklist.
"I'm not worried about what anybody else thinks," he said, adding that if Tech keeps playing well, "our due will come."
Perry Clark, Tulane's coach, could say the same thing. A talented nucleus of players returning and a raved-about freshman class has combined to go 6-4 and lose its Metro opener for the first time in the past three years.
"I did not think we had the mental toughness to stay with what we were trying to do," Clark said. "We don't have chemistry yet. Virginia Tech plays with a lot of chemistry."
It was simple math, however, that kept the Hokies from being embarrassed at the chalkboard.
Tulane battered Tech inside in the first half, scoring 14 points on offensive rebounds and 18 overall in the paint as the Green Wave took an eight-point lead.
The Hokies changed that in the second half with an equation cooked up at halftime.
"We said, `Five people on the glass!' We needed five people to rebound," said Tech's Ace Custis.
The Hokies' less-timid play turned the tide against Tulane, which had won five of the teams' past seven meetings.
With 9:56 left, Purcell hit a long 3-pointer to give Tech a 42-40 lead. The Green Wave came back to lead 44-42, but Shawn Smith's leaner with 7:08 to play and a Custis layup with 6:25 left gave Tech a 46-44 advantage.
Pointer Williams' back-door layup tied the score at 46, but the Hokies scored the next seven points - three on Purcell's long jumper with four minutes left.
By then, Tech was hot. Ahead 53-47, the Hokies threw over Tulane's press, Purcell looped a pass low to Custis who batted it to Smith for a layup and a 55-47 margin.
"They played harder," said the Green Wave's Carlin Hartman. "We've got a lot of growing up to do."
During a five-minute stretch in which Tech turned a two-point deficit into a 57-47 lead with 2:33 left, the Hokies were 5-for-6 from the field, 4-for-5 from the free-throw line and had no turnovers.
Tech made 13 of 14 free throws in the last 5:02; Tulane was 1-for-3 in that stretch and 5-for-16 overall.
Seeing Hokies at the free-throw line pleased Foster, who had watched Tech get pushed around in the first half, when the hosts didn't shoot a free throw.
"That tells you the difference in how we played in the second half," Foster said. "It's hard to imagine playing Tulane, as aggressive as they are, and never going to the line."
Tech's comeback, Foster said, sent a message about its backbone. The Hokies had won one game by fewer than 19 points, and several of those came against who's-that opposition.
"I think our last three or four wins have come too easily," Foster said. "We haven't been in a real grinder."
by CNB