Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 4, 1994 TAG: 9412070087
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The plan was Bart ball: blazing offense and suffocating defense.
Unfortunately for Bellairs, the bliss only lasted for one half.
Cold shooting in the second half and a poor rebounding effort doomed VMI, which blew a 16-point lead and fell to Richmond 105-85 in a non-conference game.
``That was Bart ball in the first half and somebody else's ball in the second,'' said Bellairs, a former assistant at James Madison who is in his first season at the helm of the Keydets.
The Keydets (2-1) sizzled in the opening minutes, converting three quick 3-pointers, and it was 15-0 before the Spiders (1-2) knew what hit them.
Richmond cut its deficit to seven points with 11 minutes, 16 seconds left in the half on a jumper by senior guard Kass Weaver, but VMI opened it back up with a 16-7 run that included two 3-pointers by Lawrence Gullette, who had 15 of his 19 points in the first half.
The Keydets converted on eight of 16 3-point attempts and shot 54 percent from the field to take a 50-41 halftime lead. VMI's swarming defense, which included a full-court press, was responsible for most of Richmond's 21 first-half turnovers.
``It felt like in the first half everyone was open on every play,'' said Bobby Prince, a junior guard from Lord Botetourt High School who had 10 assists and four steals in the first half.
Prince finished with six steals for the Keydets, who set a school record with 20 thefts. The previous record was 18 against Western Carolina in 1991.
It didn't take long for Richmond to take charge in the second half. The Spiders scored five consecutive points and 16 of the first 23 to tie the score at 57 with 31/2 minutes gone.
``After absolute lunacy in the first half ... we settled down in the second half,'' said Bill Dooley, Richmond's coach. ``We used the game plan in the second half we wanted the whole game.''
One of the most prominent adjustments was allowing Weaver, the Spiders' leading scorer, to handle the ball more and direct the offense. Weaver had 12 points in the first half when he was the only Spider in double figures. He finished with a team-high 25, making him one of six Richmond scorers in double figures.
Senior forward Derrick Wall had 12 rebounds and Weaver added 10 for the Spiders, who held a 61-26 advantage on the boards. Richmond got 19 points in the second half from its post players, 6-foot-10 Jason McKinney and 6-8 Rick Edwards. Each finished with 14 points.
``I thought they did a great job of getting the ball inside, and we did a terrible job of defending the inside play,'' Bellairs said.
Sophomore guard Warren Johnson led VMI with 20 points. Prince added 12, including nine in the second half, when the Keydets went nearly 11 minutes without a field goal. Freshman Jason Bell added 11 points.
RICHMOND(105)
Wall 5-9 1-2 11, Stevenson 5-7 1-4 12, McKinney 4-5 6-12 14, Weaver 11-24 3-6 25, Cueto 3-7 6-8 12, Oliver 3-8 0-0 7, Ward 0-0 0-0 0, Mobley 0-0 1-2 1, Edwards 7-9 0-0 14, Poole 4-5 1-2 9. Totals 42-74 19-36 105.|
VMI(85)
W.Johnson 6-18 5-8 4-20, Gullette 8-13 0-0 19, Osborne 2-3 0-0 4, Prince 3-5 5-6 12, Spencer 2-9 0-0 4, Taueg 0-2 0-0 0, Bell 4-5 1-2 11, Byrd 0-1 0-0 0, Buss 2-6 0-0 6, Woolsey 0-2 0-0 0, Spinelli 0-0 1-2 1, L.Johnson 2-5 4-6 8, Grinage 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-70 16-24 85.
Halftime-VMI 50, Richmond 41. Three-point goals-Richmond 2-8 (Stevenson 1-1, Weaver 0-3, Cueto 0-2, Oliver 1-2), VMI 11-31 (Johnson 3-8, Gullette 3-7, Prince 1-1, Spencer 0-2, Taueg 0-2, Bell 2-3, Byrd 0-1, Buss 2-5, Woolsey 0-2). Fouled out-Osborne, Prince. Rebounds-Richmond 61 (Wall 12), VMI 26 (Gullette 6). Assists-Richmond 12 (Cueto 6), VMI 17 (Prince 11). Total fouls-Richmond 23, VMI 30. A-1,103.
by CNB