Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9502280027
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
No matter what other honors come his way at the end of the basketball season, Chad McClendon is assured a spot on VMI's all-opponent team.
He might be the MVP.
McClendon, a 6-foot-7 senior, had 31 points and 19 rebounds Saturday, and his biggest play might have come at the defensive end.
McClendon blocked a game-tying layup attempt by Lawrence Gullette with 1:06 remaining as Appalachian State held on for a 92-89 victory at Cameron Hall.
``It was a perfectly executed play [by VMI] and McClendon left his man to make the block,'' said Keydets coach Bart Bellairs. ``If I find out where he lives, he's in trouble.''
McClendon had 33 points and 12 rebounds in the teams' first meeting, an 89-85 VMI victory Jan.28 in Boone, N.C., but the Keydets could not duplicate their 11-of-22 shooting from 3-point range in that game.
Gullette swished VMI's first 3-point attempt Saturday, but the Keydets did not make another 3-pointer in the first half and missed 11 in a row before finding their range late.
A 3-point basket by Bobby Prince pulled VMI to 90-89 with nine seconds remaining, but Bryan Woolsey's 3-point try did not come close at the buzzer. In between, McClendon hit two free throws to complete a 15-for-16 afternoon at the line.
``All I could think about in the last two or three minutes was the last-second shot that beat us against Marshall and the last-second shot that beat us against Davidson,'' McClendon said. ``I didn't want it to happen a third time.''
The Mountaineers had lost four games in a row, including back-to-back one-point losses to Davidson and Marshall, and were 0-9 before Saturday in games decided by six points or fewer.
``There was a time when I was thinking - literally - of defecting to the South,'' said Appalachian State coach Tom Apke, whose team was 0-7 before Saturday against teams from the Southern Conference's North Division.
Appalachian State seemingly was in command, with an 80-70 lead, when the Keydets started their comeback with 51/2 minutes left. Leading the way was Prince, whose three second-half steals enabled him to move into a tie with Percy Covington for the VMI season record with 65.
The Mountaineers led 86-84 when, during a timeout with 1:23 left, Bellairs set up a play for Gullette, who easily left Appalachian freshman Tige Darner on a drive from the left side of the key.
``I really didn't see him until the last second,'' Gullette said. ``It was too late to pump-fake. I was already up in the air.''
McClendon could have swatted the ball into the fifth row, but he had the presence to direct the ball to teammate William Cook. There was little McClendon didn't do on an afternoon when he also had four assists.
``I've been telling people that if Frankie King [of Western Carolina] is still the No.1 player in the conference, then Chad is No.1-A,'' Apke said.
Appalachian State (7-18 overall, 4-9 Southern) also got a big game from Cook, an Oak Hill Academy alumnus who had 19 points, including four 3-pointers. Cook's drive and dish to Darner put the Mountaineers ahead 90-86 with 18 seconds left.
Gullette had a team-high 23 points for VMI (9-16, 5-8). The Keydets had won seven of their previous 10 games, including five in a row at Cameron Hall, graced by a season-high turnout of 3,221.
``That may have been the best 6-18 team in the country, but we weren't in sync and I blame myself for that,'' said Bellairs, whose team was playing its seventh game in 14 days.
``We shouldn't have played mid-week [against Army]. We weren't as fired up. Appalachian didn't play mid-week, but if people were expecting us to win today, maybe that's a good sign.''
APPALACHIAN STATE (92) McClendon 8-13 15-16 31, Livingston 3-8 1-4 11, Darner 2-6 1-4 5, Braswell 3-7 7-8 13, Hege 4-5 0-0 10, Cook 7-13 1-2 19, Arnold 0-0 0-0 0, Crosston 0-1 1-4 1, Blocker 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 30-54 26-38 | VMI (89) Gullette 8-21 6-6 23, L.Johnson 5-8 1-4 11, Grinage 1-1 0-0 2, Prince 3-8 7-8 15, Woolsey 1-4 0-0 3, Spencer 2-6 2-4 7, W.Johnson 5-11 2-3 12, Taueg 1-6 0-0 2, Byrd 0-0 2-4 2, Buss 0-0 2-3 2, Spinelli 4-5 0-0 8, Osborne 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 30-70 24-34 89.
Halftime-Appalachian State 39, VMI 36. Three-point goals-Appalachian State 6-14 (Darner 0-2, Braswell 0-3, Hege 2-3, Cook 4-6), VMI 5-24 (Gullette 1-7, Prince 2-5, Woolsey 1-4, Spencer 1-2, W.Johnson 0-1, Taueg 0-5). Fouled out-L.Johnson. Rebounds-Appalachian State 36 (McClendon 19), VMI 36 (L.Johnson 5). Assists-Appalachian State 21 (Braswell, Cook 5), VMI 13 (Prince 7). Total fouls-Appalachian State 24, VMI 26. A-3,221.
by CNB