Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 20, 1995 TAG: 9501210001
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Page Moir and Bryant Lee exchanged huge grins and a congratulatory handshake Thursday night after the Maroons hosted Bridgewater in a men's basketball game.
The Roanoke coach and his star player both reached personal milestones in the game, but it was junior guard Akil Stewart who stole the show at the Bast Center.
After missing seven consecutive 3-point attempts, Stewart knocked in two crucial 3-pointers in the game's waning minutes, lifting Roanoke to a 60-55 Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory over the Eagles, ranked No.2 in the NCAA Division III South Region.
It was the 100th victory for Moir, who is 100-47 in his sixth season. Lee, a senior forward, reached 1,000 points for his career with a 10-point performance and now stands at 1,006.
Stewart's first 3-pointer broke a 49-49 tie with 1 minute, 51 seconds remaining and ignited the crowd of 1,402.
Sophomore guard Jason Bishop added two free throws after being fouled by Bridgewater's Mike Dayton to make it 54-49. But Bishop turned around and fouled Dayton, who made two shots to pull the Eagles to within three.
That's when Stewart, often an erratic shooter, stepped up with another 3-pointer to make it 57-51 with 43 seconds left.
``I felt like I had to step it up. It's my job to shoot if I'm open,'' said Stewart, who finished with eight points. ``I'm just glad it went in.''
``That was tremendously crucial,'' Moir said. ``I guarantee Akil has never missed eight in a row, so I knew he was going to make it. He's the guy that we want taking that shot.''
An ugly first half for both teams ended with Bridgewater (11-5 overall, 6-4 ODAC) taking a 23-21 lead. Lee, who entered the game with 996 career points, reached his 1,000-point milestone with a dramatic baseline spin move off transition six minutes into the game that made it 4-4.
But the Bena native was held scoreless the rest of the half, missing on three field-goal attempts. Roanoke was 9-of-29 on field-goal attempts and 1-of-12 from 3-point range in the half.
Roanoke (11-3, 6-2) regained the lead at the 11:37 mark of the second when Lee dunked off an assist by freshman Nathan Hungate. The former Northside standout played 25 minutes off the bench, finishing with eight points and six assists.
The Eagles, however, used a 10-0 run midway through the half to take a 46-41 lead with five minutes remaining. After a Roanoke timeout, Hungate found Lee on an alley-oop that got the momentum swinging back in the Maroons' favor. Hungate then converted two free throws to give Roanoke a 49-48 lead.
``[Hungate] is so good against zone defense,'' Moir said. ``He's got a lot of confidence, he's a playmaker and a shooter and that's why we wanted him in there.''
The Maroons also got strong guard play from Bishop, who finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. Reserve center Tim Braun added 10 points and four rebounds, and Lee grabbed seven rebounds and had two blocked shots.
Lee needs 41 points to take over the No. 22 spot on Roanoke's all-time scoring list, held by Steve Baker (1960-64).
Roanoke, which has had shooting problems of late, was 22-of-59 (37 percent) for the game, but held Dan Rush, the ODAC's leading scorer (25.3 average), to 14 points, which was Bridgewater's top performance.
``We're going to have some inconsistent nights,'' said Moir, who is 66-10 at the Bast Center. ``We've always told the guys that if you play great defense, you'll work through the shooting slumps.
``It was a little bit ugly, but I'd rather have an ugly win than a pretty loss.``
Roanoke 70, Randolph-Macon Woman's 58: Lexington native Lori Boyd scored 21 points and the Maroons struggled past the Wildcats in an ODAC women's game.
Roanoke, which beat RMWC by an average of 50 points in two meetings last season, led just 33-30 at halftime. But the Maroons (9-3, 8-1) turned up the defensive pressure in the second half and got 13 points from Boyd to pull away. Senior center Crystal Wilson added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Roanoke, which ranks first in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (43.3), was 0-of-9 Thursday. The Maroons shot 40 percent from the floor, and the Wildcats were 27-of-54 (47 percent).
The Wildcats (1-12, 0-11) were led by sophomore forward Adrienne Wharton with 20 points. Kiersten Schnacke added a team-high 12 rebounds and six assists.
Bridgewater (55)
Dayton 4-9 3-4 12, Tutt 2-8 0-0 5, Weigle 1-1 0-0 2, Sowers 3-8 0-0 6, Rush 7-14 0-1 14, Wilson 1-1 0-0 2, Powers 3-6 1-2 8, Hoover 2-3 0-0 6, Orrock 0-3 0-0 0, Garber 0-0 0-0 0, Atwell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 4-7 55.
Roanoke (60)
Stewart 3-11 0-0 8, Bishop 4-6 4-4 14, Lee 5-12 0-0 10, Schrantz 2-5 2-3 6, Camara 1-3 0-0 2, Hamlin 1-8 0-0 2, Braun 4-5 2-2 10, Hungate 2-8 4-5 8, Genthner 0-0 0-0 0, Boykin 0-0 0-0 0, Sigafoes 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 12-14 60.
Halftime-Bridgewater, 23-21. Three-point goals - Bridgewater 5-9 (Dayton 1-3, Tutt 1-2, Powers 1-2, Hoover 2-2), Roanoke 4-27 (Stewart 2-9, Bishop 2-4, Lee 0-5, Schrantz 0-2, Hamlin 0-2, Hungate 0-5). Fouled out - Braun. Rebounds - Bridgewater 37 (Tutt 10), Roanoke 35 (Bishop 8). Assists - Bridgewater 13 (Powers 4), Roanoke 16 (Hungate 6). Total fouls - Bridgewater 15, Roanoke 13. A - 1,402.
Randolph-Macon Woman's (58)
Floyd 10, Baptist 8, Wharton 20, Dowdy 10, Fryer 6, Schnacke 4.
Roanoke (70)
Malkin 11, Brown 5, Moore 6, Wilson 16, Boyd 21, Athey 2, McCallum 1, Kennedy 5, Dickinson 2, Bowles 1.
Halftime-Roanoke, 35-30. Three-point goals: Wharton 2.
by CNB