Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 21, 1994 TAG: 9401210194
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
It was Jimmy Carruth, and it wasn't soft and cuddly.
The 6-foot-10 center helped subtract 6-6 Salters from the Bulls' offense, a sprained right ankle subtracted South Florida's other main threat, guard Chucky Atkins, and the Hokies added a 67-55 Metro Conference victory to their file Thursday night before 6,194 spectators at Cassell Coliseum.
Tech (12-2 overall, 2-1 Metro) won for the seventh time in eight games and remained unbeaten in six home games. South Florida (8-7, 1-3) is winless in six road games.
The Hokies led by 19 at halftime and by as many as 25 in the second half, but South Florida outscored unfocused Tech 20-9 in the last 6 minutes, 6 seconds as Tech coach Bill Foster stomped on the sideline.
Afterward, however, Foster wasn't wound up about the method of Tech's 325th all-time victory at Cassell.
"For probably a good 30 minutes of the game, we probably defended as well as we have in three years," Foster said.
"You don't like to see that happen," he said of the Bulls' rally, "but they've got a good club. We're not going to beat 'em by 25 both halves."
Tech won the rebounding battle Foster had emphasized and got 18 points from Jim Jackson, 10 points and 10 rebounds from Ace Custis and 15 points and five assists from Jay Purcell.
Atkins, averaging 13 points and four assists, sprained his right ankle five minutes into the game when he landed on Shawn Good's foot. He played four more minutes, finishing scoreless for the first time in his 42-game college career.
Salters (13.7 ppg) was 1-for-7 from the field, and he was 0-for-6 until 1:35 remained.
That started with some Tech assistants suggesting to Foster that Carruth open the game defending Salters. Foster questioned their brains, then listened to his.
"Salters hasn't attempted a three [3-point goal] all year. Every shot is coming from inside the circle," Foster said. "We felt like he was the guy we had to stop, and Jimmy's our best post defender."
Carruth, who shared defensive responsibilities with Custis and Jackson, enjoyed it; Salters didn't. Of Carruth's six blocks, two were on shots by Salters.
"They wanted me in there because they thought I could contain him," Carruth said.
Salters, who transferred from Florida State three years ago, said he couldn't remember a game in which he was so ineffective.
"It was different. Really different," he said of Carruth. "It seemed like I couldn't get around him because he was so big. They threw it at me and tried to frustrate me. It didn't frustrate me, but it worked."
Tech sprinted to an 11-0 lead and built that to 25-9 with 7:38 left in the first half. Jim Jackson had seven points in a 9-2 run to end the half as the Hokies took a 36-17 lead.
Tech had 14 points in the paint in the first half, including four on hook shots by Carruth.
"I liked our focus going inside," Foster said. "Our emphasis was, `Hey, let's look inside and see if we can't find something in there before we start going outside.' "
The Bulls couldn't do much from anywhere. Their 17 points were the fewest in a half against Tech since James Madison had 15 in a 47-37 loss to the Hokies in December 1984.
South Florida coach Bobby Paschal wouldn't blame Atkins' injury.
"We were already playing kind of bad," he said.
"Every game, we've had periods like we did tonight where we just could not score points."
No worry there for Tech, which took a 25-point lead with 13:48 left in the second half on Jim Jackson's dunk and free throw. The Bulls' comeback prevented the Hokies, who had won seven games by 19 or more points, from recording another blowout.
Tech did, however, get one more Metro victory than it had all of last season.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB