Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 6, 1995 TAG: 9501060124
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS LENGTH: Medium
Riding high after finally getting some recognition on the national level, the Hokies were flung back to earth by Tulane in their Metro Conference opener.
Taking over the game in the final five minutes, Tulane outscored Tech 12-6 down the stretch to post a hard-earned 78-72 victory before a sellout crowd of 3,600 at Fogelman Arena.
The loss ended Tech's eight-game winning streak, its longest since 1985-86. Tech fell to 10-2, and Tulane, with its sixth straight win, improved to 11-2.
``We put ourselves in position to win, but we just couldn't make the plays we needed the last five minutes,'' said Tech coach Bill Foster, whose club was ranked 25th in this week's USA Today-CNN Coaches poll, the school's first ranking since '85-86.
``We had our chances. You can't ask for anything more when you come here. Believe me, a lot of people are going to be leaving with a headache after coming in this place.''
The Tulane guards - junior LeVeldro Simmons and senior Kim Lewis - were mainly responsible for Tech's migraine.
Beating Tech repeatedly from outside, Simmons hit 9 of 15 shots en route to a game-high 23 points, and Lewis canned 7 of 13 jumpers for 16 points. Simmons made three 3-pointers and Lewis two as the Green Wave outscored the Hokies 27-6 from beyond the arc.
``Their guards were great,'' Foster said. ``I'm really impressed with how they've improved their shooting. The biggest improvement I see in Tulane's offense is their guards' shooting.''
Meanwhile, Tech's outside bombers managed to hit only two of 10 shots from 3-point range. Tech, which entered the game with a streak of 240 straight games with at least one 3-pointer, didn't hit its first one Thursday until Damon Watlington connected with 14:14 to play.
``The 3s were the difference,'' Watlington said. ``They hit a bunch of 'em, and we didn't.''
Nevertheless, Tech was right where it wanted it to be with 5 minutes to go - tied at 66. As a 41/2 point underdog playing in a place where Tulane almost never loses - Thursday's win was the Wave's 14th in a row at home - the Hokies had the situation they had hoped for.
``That's what we wanted,'' said Tech's Shawn Smith. ``That's when we usually take over. But we didn't do it this time.''
Instead, it was Tulane that took control.
Sophomore forward Jerald Honeycutt banked in an 8-footer to make it 68-66 with 4:33 left.
After a Custis free throw made it 68-67, Tulane's other big sophomore frontliner, Rayshard Allen, scored in the lane and got fouled by Shawn Good. Allen converted the three-point play, putting the Wave up by four with 3:55 left.
Tech turned the ball over over on its next two trips. After David Jackson threw a pass away, he intentionally fouled Honeycutt, who made one of two free throws to make it 72-67.
After Tech failed on its end, Honeycutt hit one of two free throws to run the lead to six. Tulane then got the rebound on the Honeycutt's miss on the second free throw, and Lewis put the Hokies away for good, draining a 3-pointer to run the Wave's lead to 76-67.
Watlington hit a 3-pointer to cut it 76-70, but Simmons' 15-footer with 45 seconds left sealed Tech's fifth straight loss at Fogelman.
``We had the pressure on them with five minutes to go, and then we had a little slippage,'' said Ace Custis, who had 22 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Tech.
Smith, who finished with 21 points and almost single-handedly kept Tech close with 13 first-half points, said the Hokies cost themselves with mental mistakes.
``Lots of mental errors and key turnovers,'' Smith said. ``Tulane came ready to play, and we didn't. When they needed to step up, they did it. We didn't.
``Tulane was beatable tonight. We could have won this game. The coaching staff had a good plan prepared. But we, the players, just weren't ready mentally. Why? I can't answer that one. There's no reason for it, I do know that.''
Watlington added 17 points for Tech, which shot 51.7 percent from the field. Nobody else had more than six points for Tech, whose starters played all but 14 minutes.
Tech leaves New Orleans by bus today for Hattiesburg, Miss., where it faces Southern Miss on Saturday. Tech hasn't won there since '85-86 and has lost 11 straight games to the Golden Eagles.
``That one's a must win now,'' Custis said. ``We certainly don't want to come back from this trip empty. We have to steal one somewhere.''
by CNB