Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 23, 1995 TAG: 9503230109
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
In an NIT quarterfinal in which ESPN got two basketball games in one, it appropriately took the Hokies only about as long to build a convincing lead as it takes an elevator to get to the top of the Empire State Building.
It wasn't that much longer that New Mexico State had Tech right where King Kong once had Fay Wray. Tech, after owning a 19-point lead at halftime, wasn't going to the Big Apple.
It was trying to swallow it.
What eventually went down was Travis Jackson's 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left, sending the Hokies to a 64-61 victory and to Madison Square Garden for Monday's NIT semifinals.
On a night when Cassell Coliseum was even louder than Tech assistant coach Dean Keener's tie, the finish somehow was wilder than the largest crowd of the season, only the second sellout in the past 66 home games.
The first tie of the game didn't occur until 13 seconds remained, when the Aggies' Troy Brewer drove for a bucket. Tech had a timeout. It was swallowing that, too.
``There's no way we were going to try and pass the ball inbounds against them then,'' Tech coach Bill Foster said.
And that's where the coaching ended. Foster figured Shawn Good or Damon Watlington or David Jackson would get a last shot in regulation. That's because Ace Custis spent the second half surrounded like Gen. Custer.
So, Custis passed the ball to the wrong Jackson, who was the right man in the right place. The 6-foot-8 junior was in the left corner, across the floor from the bench where he had started the game for only the third time this season.
Foster wanted a quicker lineup against the little Aggies from the Big West, so he started David Jackson. The hero played only 15 minutes. How improbable was his shot?
It wasn't just his eighth 3-pointer of the year. He wouldn't even have been on the floor had not Shawn Smith fouled out three minutes earlier.
New Mexico State, bidding to return to the hallowed hardwood where the Aggies (25-10) lost the Preseason NIT final in overtime to Ohio University, went through the Hokies in the second half like the jubilant Tech fans stormed past Cassell security in a New York minute at the finish.
The Hokies (23-10) tied their 1982-83 school record for victories in a season and advanced to the NIT semifinals for the third time in school history.
Maybe the Hokies were the last team that didn't get to the NCAA big dance. Considering where Tech hasn't been for eight seasons, a Garden party is a welcome trip.
Foster has played a short hand all season. The Virginia Tech coach hasn't been able to shuffle often. He's also playing in spades with a Good hand, a big Ace, a lot of hearts and a pair of Jacksons. And don't forget a trey that wasn't wild.
Time to fold? Not just yet.
by CNB