Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 27, 1995 TAG: 9501270083
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWIGHT FOXX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
William and Mary tied a Cameron Hall record with 10 blocks, and Tribe center David Cully set a Hall individual mark with seven rejections as the Tribe defeated VMI 95-86, the Keydets' 12th consecutive defeat.
The score was tied at 37 at intermission, thanks to a nifty, fast-break layup by Keydets point guard Bobby Prince with two seconds remaining. It was 49-49 when Bart Bellairs, the Keydets' coach, picked up a technical foul with 13 minutes, 58 seconds remaining. Bellairs thought B.J. Grinage had been fouled underneath and let the officials hear about it.
Tribe guard Kurt Small nailed both free throws to give his team a 51-49 lead.
Thirteen seconds later, VMI (2-12) would lose Bryan Taueg. The freshman guard received a technical after punching William and Mary's David Cox in the chest and was ejected from the game.
Taueg will be suspended for VMI's Southern Conference contest at Appalachian State on Saturday.
``I thought one of the big things was not just the technical foul but not having Bryan Taueg to play again for us,'' Bellairs said. ``Taueg has been like instant offense for us. Not having another shooter coming off the bench put us in a tight situation.''
In the end, all Taueg did was fire up Cox. The 5-foot-11 guard, who had not scored in the game, would drill a 3-pointer on his team's next trip down the floor to extend the Tribe's lead to 54-49 with 11:30 seconds left.
Cox would hit two more 3-point attempts as William and Mary (6-9), a winner of six of its past eight games, built its lead to 75-60 at the five-minute mark. Cox and fellow guard Kurt Small combined for 17 points during the key stretch.
``We've got to keep control and I've got to keep control,'' Bellairs said.
William and Mary was 16-for-22 from the free-throw line down the stretch, including a 6-for-6 effort from Small who was the game's high scorer with 24 points. The Tribe made 29 of 48 free throws compared to 11 of 12 for VMI.
Cully, who blocked nine shots in a victory over Richmond on Tuesday night, broke the record of six rejections set by VMI standouts Mike Hernedon and Louis Preston. The 6-foot-9, 235-pound senior also had 15 points and 16 rebounds.
William and Mary's 10 blocks tied the arena record VMI set at home against Bluefield on Jan.22, 1992.
Bellairs was pleased to see his team battle the Tribe to the end, despite falling behind by 15.
``I thought our guys played very, very hard,'' Bellairs said. ``The thing that keeps me going is that our kids play so hard every ballgame. Sooner or later, we'll get over the hump. Once we get that first win, we'll start clicking.''
by CNB