Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 19, 1995 TAG: 9502200061
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
In front of a season-high 7,613 fans Saturday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum, the Hokies kept their NCAA hopes alive with a 70-66 overtime victory over Tulane.
``Somebody had ordered the casket and said get the flowers ready,'' Tech coach Bill Foster said. ``Well, we're alive for another day, another game now.''
The victory ended Tech's two-game Metro Conference slip that put the Hokies' hopes of an NCAA at-large berth in jeopardy.
Tech, 18-7 overall and 4-5 in the Metro, has four games left - three league contests (at Virginia Commonwealth and home against South Florida and UNC Charlotte) and Virginia - before the Metro Tournament in Louisville.
``At least now we're in position to take care of our own business the next two weeks,'' said Foster, whose club likely needs to finish 7-5 in the Metro - 6-6 would be, at best, a longshot - to be in position for an at-large bid.
Had they lost Saturday, the Hokies would have needed a hearse, not a travel agent.
``It would have been real, real hard to come back if we had lost this one,'' said Shawn Smith, whose 17 points led the Hokies. ``This one was huge. Real huge.''
Those same words can be applied to David Jackson's contribution Saturday. Despite playing with a right ankle still swollen from a sprain in Tuesday's practice, the 6-foot-5 sophomore was instrumental as Tech wiped out a 48-40 second-half Tulane lead.
Jackson, who finished with 12 points in 22 minutes, saved his best for last and gave Tech the lead for good at 68-66 on a double-pump, offensive stickback that banked in with 2 minutes, 3 seconds left in overtime.
``I went up,'' said Jackson, ``and No. 50 [6-foot-9 Vershawn Ely] had his hands there. So I sort of dipped underneath him and got the ball off ... somehow.''
Jackson's innovative move amazed Smith.
``That kind of shot is not really in his repertoire,'' Smith said with a smile, ``but we'll take it.''
Jackson, sorely missed in Tech's 71-60 loss at UNC Charlotte on Thursday, provided the Hokies with a much-needed spark, Foster said.
``David gave us a real inspirational lift,'' Foster said. ``His foot is all black and blue ... it's ugly ... but we couldn't keep him out of the lineup.
``He was in the gym yesterday [Friday] trying to show me he could play. He's just an unbelievable kid. He drove to Charlotte [N.C.] in that bad weather to watch us play. That says a lot because we didn't take him with us on the trip.
``I think when a kid like him sucks it up and does what he did, if you've got anything in you and you're one of those other guys, you're not going to get anything but your best, and we did.(?)''
After Jackson's big play, Ace Custis secured the victory with 16.4 seconds left, taking a give-and-go feed from Smith and slamming home a resounding dunk.
Tulane, which led 66-63 with 3:12 left in overtime but didn't score again, was done when LeVeldro Simmons misfired on a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left and Custis claimed the rebound.
The Hokies played a rare zone defense the majority of the game, forcing the Green Wave (18-7, 5-4) to fire away from the perimeter when it couldn't find big men Jerald Honeycutt (24 points) and Rayshard Allen (16 points).
Tulane hit only four of 21 3-pointers and shot 37.9 percent (25-of-66) from the field.
``The zone helped us save our legs,'' Smith said, ``and we sure needed that.''
Smith, who played poorly in Tech's critical loss at South Florida last Saturday, kept Tech alive by hitting a turnaround 10-footer over Ely to tie the score at 62 with 5.2 seconds left in regulation.
``Boy, was I glad to see that one fall,'' he said. ``It's a relief to win this one and keep everything going. This win should really give us our confidence back. Now if we can steal one Thursday [at VCU] we should be in pretty good shape.''
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB