Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 14, 1994 TAG: 9401140249
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LOUISVILLE, KY. LENGTH: Medium
Lacking a pin to bring the Cardinals down to earth, the Hokies walked out of Freedom Hall with a 95-76 Metro Conference defeat Thursday night.
Fifteenth-ranked Louisville responded brusquely to every Hokies challenge, the last of which cut a 15-point deficit to nine with 7 minutes, 59 seconds left. A Dwayne Morton jumper, two free throws after a steal by DeJuan Wheat, a Jason Osborne tip-in and a Wheat 3-pointer gave Louisville an 18-point lead 91 seconds later.
"It was frustrating," said Tech's Jim Jackson. "You feel like you're getting somewhere, then you look up again and you're down where you started."
The Hokies didn't get anywhere on the boards as their six-game winning streak ended. Louisville, still smarting after being outrebounded 43-30 by Virginia Commonwealth in an overtime loss Saturday, got 16 rebounds from center Clifford Rozier and bashed Tech 46-29 on the glass. The Cardinals got 21 points after offensive rebounds.
The Hokies entered this week as one of three teams (with DePaul and New Mexico State) who were 10-1 but unranked in The Associated Press Top 25. Now, Tech is 10-2 overall and 1-1 in the Metro.
The Cardinals, whose 10-game winning streak was snapped Saturday by VCU, ran their record to 11-2 overall and 2-1 in the Metro before 19,327 spectators.
Louisville did so by performing a ritual dance: the kick-out. Most teams double- or triple-team 6-foot-9 Rozier when he gets the ball inside, and Tech tried both only to be seared by perimeter passing that regularly beat the Hokies' defensive rotation.
The Cardinals made six consecutive 3-point attempts during one stretch in the first quarter to push an 18-16 lead to 45-28. Included in that span were bonus shots by Osborne, Morton and Brian Kiser during a 12-0 Louisville spurt that took only 2:21.
The last two of those came on crisp ball reversal by the Cardinals. Tech's Jay Purcell, whose offense disappeared with a 2-for-12 field-goal shooting night, said the Hokies worried that Rozier would pass through the double-teams across the lane to a cutter.
Instead, he threw to perimeter floaters.
"We were giving Rozier a little too much credit," Purcell said. "We got too low on that [double- and triple-teaming] couldn't get out in time."
Louisville made eight of 14 3-point attempts in the first half, some drawing admiration from Tech.
"A couple of 'em were in our faces," Jackson said.
One example, although it wasn't a 3-pointer, was Morton's 15-foot driving jumper that made it 58-47 after the Hokies' rotation snuffed a 3-point attempt.
Yet Tech didn't waver from its defensive plan, except to vary the timing of a couple of the dive-downs on Rozier.
"I guess they thought, `Hey, they can't keep shooting that well from outside,' " Rozier said. "I don't blame 'em. Everybody's doing it."
Louisville still had work to do, however. The Hokies ended the first half on a 12-5 run, nourished by Ace Custis' eight points, and trailed 50-40 at halftime.
Pretty soon, Tech trailed 60-47, then cut it to 62-52 before the Cardinals scurried back to a 67-52 edge.
Jackson's 15-footer, a couple of Louisville misses, Custis' jumper, Morton's miss and Jackson's cherry-picking dunk made it 67-58 and Louisville called time out with 7:52 left before embarking on the 9-0 spurt that effectively ended matters.
Cardinal coach Denny Crum, whose team faces No. 17 Georgia Tech here Saturday, said Louisville had three days of practice to prepare for the Hokies.
"I think it really helped our kids," he said. "We were able to take some of the things away they like to do."
Tech's best team in six years lost for the 16th time in the past 18 meetings with Louisville. Tech, 3-13 at Freedom Hall, failed to match the road win streak of five by the 1985-86 team, but the Hokies didn't write it off as worthless.
"We needed to prove to ourselves that we can play with anybody," Shawn Smith said. "I think we did that tonight."
Tech, which had been in Louisville since Monday after winning at Texas Christian on Sunday, has the weekend off before meeting Liberty at Cassell Coliseum on Tuesday.
"We're like nomads," said Bill Foster, Tech's coach. "It'll be nice to get home." \
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Keywords:
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by CNB