Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 5, 1995 TAG: 9503070031
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press and staff reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Matt Tchir scored 17 points and James Mazyck added 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Golden Panthers past Mercer 68-57 in the TAAC tournament championship game in Orlando, Fla.
Florida International is the losingest team in the NCAA Tournament since George Washington qualified in 1961 with a 9-16 record. The last team with a losing record in the tournament was East Carolina (13-16) in 1993.
By beating Mercer for the first time in three meetings this season, the Golden Panthers became the first eighth-seeded team to win the TAAC tournament in its 16-year history.
``Two years ago we won the TAAC outright and had a 20-10 record, and we didn't even get invited to the NIT, let alone the NCAAs,'' said Bob Weltlich, who has resigned as Florida International's coach, effective at the end of the season. ``So maybe there's a little bit of poetic justice in getting in this way this year.''
Florida International succeeded in slowing the pace and prevented Mercer (15-14) from gathering the second-half momentum that had carried the Bears to victories over Centenary and Georgia State in the tournament. In attempting to control the ball and the clock, the Golden Panthers had 16 assists and had only five turnovers. Centenary had 16 turnovers and managed just five assists.
``That's 10 extra possessions,'' Weltlich said. ``In a game where everything else is fairly equal, that's the ballgame right there.''
Big South
Charleston Southern 60, Liberty 58: In Lynchburg, the unspoken nightmare came true for the conference.
The Flames and their army of mega-decibel basketball followers, won't be in today's championship game at the Vines Center.
The Bucs held Liberty to 30.6 percent shooting and got a winning jump shot from Brett Larrick with four seconds left to win the second game of a semifinal doubleheader. North Carolina-Greensboro beat Radford 71-59 in the opener and will meet Charleston Southern in the title game.
A Big South tournament-record crowd of 7,914 hollered its lungs out, but that wasn't good enough to keep Liberty from flaming out with a 12-16 record.
``I feel sick about how this game just ended,'' said Jeff Meyer, the Flames' coach.
Imagine how the ruling elders of the conference feel as they try to drum up box-office support for today's 1 p.m. matchup.
Larrick made it happen after Liberty's Larry Jackson had tied the score at 58 with a jumper with 1:22 left. The Bucs had wanted to get the ball to their star, guard Eric Burks, but as had been the case the whole second half, he was covered.
``I spun to the top when they sent two men after Eric,'' Larrick said. ``I wasn't wide-open when I made the shot, but it wasn't the most covered I've been this year, either.''
Larrick finished with six points on 3-for-10 shooting. Burks, the conference's player of the year, had 23 - 18 in the first half - and T.L. Latson added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Jackson had 15 for Liberty, but the man the Flames sought with their last play was 6-foot-10 center Peter Aluma.
A full-court baseball pass from Mark Reed to the big Nigerian was off the mark and the Flames never managed a last shot.
``It takes two to make a good pass,'' Aluma said. ``I had a chance to get there. It was my fault as much as it was the passer's.''
by CNB