Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 6, 1994 TAG: 9402060152
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HATTIESBURG, MISS. LENGTH: Medium
Tech held Southern Mississippi to 20 points below its scoring average and grabbed a season-high 51 rebounds, but the Hokies made only one-third of their field-goal attempts as the Golden Eagles won a Metro Conference game 59-55 before a crowd of 4,276 at Green Coliseum.
"We're trying to put it all together, instead of bits and pieces," said Tech's Corey Jackson, who had eight points and six rebounds off the bench.
Tech (13-6 overall, 2-5 in the Metro) should have known this wasn't the place to end what is a four-game losing streak. Southern Miss (10-8, 3-3) beat Tech for the 11th consecutive time overall and the ninth time in a row in Hattiesburg.
Last season, a Golden Eagles 3-pointer forced overtime and a tip-in with one second left in the second extra period won for Southern Miss. This time, Tech cut a 14-point second-half deficit to three with 1:11 left and to two with seven seconds left.
Two Maurice Morris free throws bumped the Golden Eagles' lead back to five with 20 seconds to go. After Jay Purcell's three-point play made it 57-55 with seven seconds on the clock, Bernard Haslett was fouled and made both shots to give Southern Miss a three-game winning streak.
Tech has lost 15 consecutive Metro road games under third-year coach Bill Foster, but he saw some good signs in Saturday's defeat.
The Hokies outrebounded the Golden Eagles, and Southern Miss shot 32.8 percent from the field - the same as Tech - and was 4-for-19 from 3-point range. The Hokies had at least 10 blocks; Jimmy Carruth, the league's top shot-blocker, was credited with one but had at least three and maybe four.
"I told our kids I was proud of 'em after the game," Foster said. "We just need to get a little more offensive rhythm."
Foster said he got worse vibes from the officiating crew of Danny Hooker, Gary Marcum and Martin Whitehead. For the second consecutive game, Tech had more fouls than field goals. On Saturdays, Foster indicated, other leagues get the better officiating crews.
"We weren't the worst team on the floor," Foster said. "The worst team had three players."
Foster said he wasn't blaming the loss on the officials. Southern Miss made only 13 of 23 free throws - missing six of seven in a two-minute stretch during Tech's second-half rally.
The Golden Eagles led 48-34 before Tech scored eight consecutive points to make it 48-42. A Glen Whisby free throw pushed Southern Miss' lead to seven, but Tech's Damon Watlington hit a 3-pointer to make it 49-45 with five minutes left.
Haslett tossed in a 16-footer, and Tech's Shawn Smith followed at 3:30 with an inside bucket to make it 51-47. Again Haslett scored, this time on a driving leaner in the lane.
Haslett had a season-low eight points Jan. 29 at Tech, and had four at halftime in this game before scoring 17 in the second half. Haslett, the Metro's most accurate 3-point shooter, had gone 0-for-10 from long range against Tech before making three of five 3-pointers in the last 20 minutes.
"Some people we play make tougher shots than we miss," Foster said.
Southern Miss stretched the lead to 55-47 with 2:27 left before a basket by Smith, an Ace Custis free throw and a Jim Jackson-to-Custis fast-break score made it 55-52 with 29 seconds left.
But for the fourth consecutive game, the Hokies got no reward for their efforts. Saturday's game featured another offensive drought, this one coming in the first 8 1/2 minutes of the second half, when the Golden Eagles went on an 11-4 run to build a 13-point lead.
"You want a basket every time you go downcourt," Custis said. "Not getting a basket, and not working hard enough on the defensive end to make up for [it] . . . it's frustrating."
At least as frustrating as Tech's losing streak to Southern Miss, which brought shrugs from the Golden Eagles and Hokies alike.
"If I did know what allowed us to have that kind of dominance, I would try it on some other opponents," said M.K. Turk, Southern Miss' coach.
Purcell put it simply.
"Somebody on their team always steps up and makes a shot," he said. "We're doing pretty much the same things we were doing earlier in the year. Other teams are shooting better."
by CNB