Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 4, 1994 TAG: 9402040148
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS LENGTH: Medium
Tech was supposed to back off the Green Wave, not known for its outside shooting, and let Tulane fire from long range. But the Green Wave's penetration broke down the Hokies' defense and carried Tulane to a 69-61 Metro Conference victory before a crowd of 3,533 at Fogelman Arena.
Tech lost its third consecutive game - its fourth in a row at Fogelman - as the Hokies' record fell to 13-5 overall and 2-4 in the Metro.
Tulane (11-7, 3-3) avenged a 10-point loss to Tech earlier this season. The Green Wave is 9-1 at home this season, and Tech is 6-3 away from Blacksburg.
Tech had lost on its past three visits here by 12, 20 and 33 points. But the Hokies were only three points down twice late in the second half Thursday.
Once, Damon Watlington - whose fast-break dunk pulled Tech to 54-51 with 7 minutes, 2 seconds left - airballed a transition 3-pointer. After a Tulane miss, freshman Jerald Honeycutt stole a Hokies outlet pass and scored to restore his team's five-point lead.
Tech trailed 59-56 with 2:18 left after Jim Jackson's layup, but Tulane's LeVeldro Simmons hit a pull-up 14-foot jumper after a dribble-drive to the free-throw line to make it 61-56 with 2:04 to go. The Green Wave's lead grew from there.
"We just never could pull all the way back," said Tech guard Jay Purcell, whose 2-for-10 shooting contributed to Tech's 34.4 field-goal percentage. "We just couldn't take another step forward."
The Hokies will try again Saturday at Southern Mississippi, which loves the 3-point arc. That wasn't Tech's worry Thursday.
"We were going to give 'em the perimeter shots," said Bill Foster, the Hokies' coach. "[We said], `If they shoot over you, fine.' "
Instead, Tulane's collection of versatile players spent most of the night attacking the basket. Honeycutt, at 6-9, again proved a difficult matchup for the Hokies, who used 6-5 Jackson and 6-7 Ace Custis on him. Honeycutt had 20 points.
During an 8-0 run to start the second half, three of the Green Wave's baskets came inside or after a guard penetrated.
"We knew we could take them off the dribble or do whatever we wanted to do offensively," Tulane's Carlin Hartman said.
While the Green Wave built its 41-30 lead, Tech went 0-for-6 from the field and committed six turnovers.
"We were awful," Foster said. "That kind of cost us the ballgame."
The Green Wave pushed its lead up to 48-37 with 11:35 left and settled into a 2-3 zone. Back-to-back open 3-pointers by Jackson got Tech to 48-43, and a Shawn Smith free throw made it 48-44. Two-and-a-half minutes later, the Hokes closed to 54-51, but they couldn't do anything more.
Simmons said Tulane remembered Tech's resiliency from the teams' last meeting, Jan. 6 in Blacksburg, a 68-58 Tech victory.
With that in mind, he repelled Tech's last run with a one-on-one move with 2:04 left.
"I felt like we needed to get something going," he said. "I didn't want them to get any momentum."
The Hokies have stalled after winning 13 of their first 15 games. After the game, a sullen Tech locker room featured Jackson with a towel draped over his head.
"We're still growing up," Foster said. "They're having a hard time dealing with not winning. We won so much early. We've got to suck it up and get after it."
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB