Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 21, 1995 TAG: 9503210151
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PROVIDENCE, R.I. LENGTH: Medium
In its first ESPN appearance in more than five years, Tech came up with a prime-time performance Monday in second round of the National Invitation Tournament.
Playing as well as they have all season, the Hokies came into a building where highly ranked Connecticut and Villanova lost three weeks ago and stunned favored Providence 91-78.
The victory moved Tech (22-10) into the tournament's quarterfinal round. Tech will play New Mexico State, a 92-89 overtime winner over Texas-El Paso, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Blacksburg.
If Tech plays as well as it did Monday, the site may not matter. The Hokies shot 65.2 percent in the second half, hitting 15 of 23 shots from the floor, to bury the Friars.
``When we shoot the ball like that, we're pretty tough to beat,'' said Bill Foster, Tech's coach. ``If we'd shot like that all year, we'd still be playing in that other side [the NCAA Tournament].''
While the Hokies were on target, Pete Gillen's Friars couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Providence shot 26.2 percent from the floor (11-of-42) in the second half. The Friars hit 34.2 percent for the game (25 of 73).
``We just didn't play with a lot of energy, enthusiasm and desire,'' said Gillen, whose first Providence club closed its season with a 17-13 record. ``It appeared the game meant a lot more to Virginia Tech than us. We seemed to be emotionally spent. It's been a long season and, evidently, there's no more gas in our tank.''
The Hokies' tank appeared to be back on ``F''. After a late-season slump in which they lost five of their final eight games and squandered an NCAA bid, Tech definitely has refueled.
Especially guards Shawn Good and Damon Watlington.
Good, who had failed to reach double figures in his past four games, broke loose for a game-high 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
Watlington, who had 20 points in Tech's first-round victory over Clemson on Friday in Blacksburg, had 18 points - including four of Tech's eight 3-pointers.
``Our guards really stepped up,'' Foster said. ``They've been struggling the last four or five games. I told both of them, `There's no way we can match up inside with Providence, so we've got to have big games from you guys.'''
Good and Watlington had plenty of help from sophomore forwards Ace Custis and David Jackson, who scored 17 and 14 points, respectively.
``I knew I had to play well,'' Good said. ``We all did. We were all jacked up to play on ESPN. Now, the way I look at it, we're 40 minutes from the Big Apple.''
If the Hokies win Wednesday, they will head to New York's Madison Square Garden for the semifinals on March 27. The championship game is March 29.
``It would mean a lot to go to New York,'' Watlington said. ``Plus, I hear Michael Jordan is in town that week [the Chicago Bulls play the Knicks at the Garden on March 28]. It would be nice to be in town that week for the NIT, plus see him play. I'm from North Carolina, but I've never seen him play in person.''
Tech broke open this game early in the second half. The Hokies scored nine consecutive points on a Watlington jumper, a Good 3-pointer, a Shawn Smith jam and a Custis 15-footer to take a 55-46 lead with with 15:35 to play.
The Hokies built the lead to as many as 13, at 64-51, before the Friars made a belated run. Providence got as close as 71-65 when Austin Croshere hit a 3-pointer with 5:36 left.
But Tech, which has let a few games get away late, most notably Virginia, wasn't going to fold this time.
David Jackson quelled the Providence run and quieted a noisy crowd of 6,172 fans, scoring on a nifty, left-handed drive in the lane.
Smith, whose playing time was limited due to early foul trouble, hit two free throws and Custis drained a short jumper to push Tech back up 12 and out of harm's way with 3:15 left.
``The UVa game is still in the back of our minds,'' said Custis, who led Tech in rebounds (12) and assists (six). ``We weren't going to pull that one again.''
Custis outplayed Providence's 6-foot-8 senior Eric Williams, a unanimous first-team All-Big East Conference performer. Williams finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hokies, upset after being snubbed by the NCAA, now appear to be getting into this NIT gig.
``Right now, we're not disappointed at all to be in the NIT,'' Smith said. ``We've gotten to play on national TV, and that's big for us. We wanted a chance to show the country just how good this team is.
``Now, if we can just win one more game and go to the Garden. Now, that really would be something.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
by CNB