Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 5, 1995 TAG: 9503060074
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
In their bid to distance themselves from the heavy pack of teams still jockeying for an NCAA Tournament at-large spot, the Hokies made a major advance Saturday, whipping UNC Charlotte 86-72 in their regular-season finale at Cassell Coliseum.
The victory, before a season-high home crowd of 9,081, gave Tech 20 regular-season victories for the first time since 1985-86.
More importantly, the triumph enabled Tech (20-9) to finish 6-6 in the Metro Conference. The Hokies had to win to finish .500 in the league, considered crucial to their postseason hopes.
The victory provided yet another important perk for Tech. Now, the Hokies will be the fourth seed for this week's Metro tournament in Louisville, Ky. Tech will face fifth-seeded Southern Miss (15-11), a team it has beaten by 15 points twice this season, in the first round at noon Friday.
If Tech had lost Saturday, its Metro assignment would have been troublesome. In that scenario, Tech would have been the No.6 seed and been forced to play host Louisville in the first round. The Cardinals own the Hokies, with nine consecutive victories in the series.
Are the Hokies in the NCAA field already? Do they need to win one or two games or run the entire rack in Louisville? Coach Bill Foster has no idea.
``This gives us 20 wins, and we've played a lot of good clubs outside the league hoping that our schedule would be tough enough if we got to 20 it would get us in,'' Foster said.
``We played at North Carolina, at Virginia [neutral site in Richmond], at Marquette [and] Illinois and Nebraska on the road [in Puerto Rico]. Go on the road and play Carolina, Virginia and Illinois like we did ... they ought to be worth something.
``Hopefully, 20-9 is good enough. I don't know. I've told our guys, `Don't worry about it. Just take care of business in Louisville.'''
Tech took care of business at Cassell on Saturday. Paced by a career-high 25 points from sixth man David Jackson, the Hokies did a number on the Metro's regular-season champion.
Jackson came off the bench with 121/2 minutes left in the first half and Tech trailing 17-13. The 6-foot-5 sophomore forward provided an instant spark, scoring 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, as Tech went to halftime with a 40-34 lead.
``My job is to come in and spark 'em,'' Jackson said. ``I try to get in there if things aren't going like the team wants and try to get things moving.''
Jackson's first-half contribution - 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting (2-of-2 from 3-point range) - helped Tech overcome the early foul troubles of Ace Custis. Tech's leading scorer and rebounder was forced to the sit the last 7:18 of the half after picking up his second personal foul.
``It was amazing we increased our leading without him,'' Foster said. ``Jackson, wow! He was just phenomenal.''
The 49ers (19-7, 8-4) didn't have much chance at a second-half run. UNCC played the second half without its best player, 6-foot-7 Jarvis Lang. The senior forward sprained his left ankle for the third time in 10 days when he stepped on one of Tech guard Shawn Good's feet in the waning seconds of the first half.
Lang, the leading contender for Metro player of the year, is expected to be back for the conference tournament. If Tech beats Southern Miss, it will catch UNCC in a semifinal.
``I'm sorry Lang got hurt,'' Foster said. ``I'm sure it would have been a dogfight to the end with him in there.''
After Roderick Howard's 3-pointer to the start the second half cut Tech's lead to 40-37, the 49ers never got closer than four. Tech extended the lead to 17 before settling for the final margin.
The Hokies shot 52.9 percent (27-of-51) from the field, including a sizzling 62.5 performance (15-of-24) in the first half. They also hit a season-high seven 3-pointers. Tech had failed to shoot 50 percent in its past seven games, four of which were losses.
``We seem to have our confidence back,'' said Jackson, who missed only four of his 20 shots, including free throws. ``This is a great time for that to be happening.''
These Hokies have been a resilient bunch all season. They continue to respond when adversity slaps them in the face.
``Coming off the Virginia loss [63-62 on Tuesday], this one was huge,'' Jackson said. ``But our motto today was `refuse to lose.' We had to win today to still have a shot [at the NCAA].''
Besides Jackson, Custis and Damon Watlington had 16 points each. Shawn Smith added 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Jermain Parker and freshman DeMarco Johnson led the 49ers with 14 points each.
by CNB