
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, December 8, 1994                   TAG: 9502040001
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS, KNIGHT-RIDDER AND STAFF REPORTS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HODGE'S SEASON ENDS WITH TORN KNEE LIGAMENT

A thin strand of ligament has done what most teams haven't been able to do for two seasons: stop Odell Hodge.

Old Dominion's junior center, the 1994 Colonial Athletic Association player of the year, will miss the rest of the 1994-95 season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Hodge suffered the injury Saturday night, midway through the first half of the Monarchs' 88-74 loss at Southern Illinois. After an ODU steal, he was going to the basket when he and the Salukis' Chris Carr became entangled and fell to the floor. Tests Wednesday revealed the tear, which will require corrective surgery after Christmas.

``I looked at this year as a special year for Old Dominion basketball,'' said Hodge, a former All-Timesland star at Laurel Park High School. ``You don't look for these injuries to happen, but you have to look at them in a positive way. God has a reason for everything, and I think it will work out for the best for me and my future.''

Hodge, 6-foot-9 and 267 pounds, led the CAA in scoring and rebounding as a sophomore and was voted the league's player of the year. He was the CAA's rookie of the year in 1993.

Hodge was the Monarchs' third-leading scorer this season, averaging 13 points per game, and the No.2 rebounder at 7.3 per game.

Recovery time from the type of knee surgery Hodge will have typically is nine months, said Scott Johnson, ODU's trainer. Hodge's knee won't be in a cast following the surgery, and he should be walking normally within a few weeks. Rehabilitation will begin immediately following the surgery.

Wednesday's games

Emory & Henry 84, Washington and Lee 83: In Lexington, Dytanyon Norman scored 23 points as the Wasps edged the Generals in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference matchup.

W&L (3-4 overall, 1-2 ODAC) closed to 84-83 on a 3-pointer by Jonathan Coffman with 11 seconds left, then fouled Norman. He missed both free throws, but the Generals were unable to get off another shot against Emory & Henry (2-3, 1-1).

Coffman led W&L with 20 points and former Floyd County High School standout Jason Light added 16 points - eight of them in the final five minutes.

Hampden-Sydney 70, Bridgewater 64: In Hampden-Sydney, Todd Kerr scored 20 points to lead the Tigers (7-0, 3-0) past the Eagles (5-1, 1-1) in a matchup of ODAC contenders.

Hampden-Sydney led 65-62 with 33 seconds left when Tee Jennings, a former William Fleming High School point guard, hit a 3-pointer to seal the victory.

Women

Roanoke 74, Guilford 62: Crystal Wilson scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Maroons past the Quakers in an ODAC game at the Bast Center in Salem..

Wilson scored the game's first six points as Roanoke (5-2 overall, 4-0 ODAC) took a 13-0 lead.

Guilford (6-1, 3-1) got on the board with 14 minutes to go in the first half on a basket by Bari Nixon, who scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds. The Quakers missed 14 of their first 16 field-goal attempts.

Keywords:
BASKETBALL

by CNB