ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 29, 1995 TAG: 9512290090
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
SHAWN SMITH ATONES for last year's mistakes in helping the Hokies beat Virginia.
At first, Virginia Tech players didn't want to think about blowing a seven-point lead and losing to Virginia. That was last season, in Richmond.
Shawn Smith, who missed two free throws with just over a minute left in that game, wanted to forget it more than most of the Hokies.
So it was redemption when Smith hit a short jump shot, a 3-point goal and two free throws in the final three minutes Thursday night to seal the Hokies' 72-64 victory over the Cavaliers at the Roanoke Civic Center.
``I'll be honest. I have thought about it,'' Smith said. ``Junior Burrough [UVa's center last year] and I come from the same area. He reminds me of it every week.
``I had to come out tonight, relax and not think about it.''
Smith had been on the Tech bench more than 12 minutes after picking up his fourth personal foul with 17:15 remaining. When the senior forward came back in, he wasn't afraid to shoot.
``On the 3-point shot, I was coming off a double pick. I knew what I was going to do. It was a matter of catching the ball,'' said Smith.
He added it was uncharacteristic to take a shot after being out of the game for that long a period, but ``it felt good. And Coach [Bill] Foster doesn't mind me shooting from out there.''
Actually, Foster said Smith's foul problems forced a switch, moving Ace Custis to a three position (shooting forward) while moving Smith to four (power forward).
``Usually, your guards are the team's better passers,'' said Foster. ``But we have two forwards [Custis and Smith] who are great passers and it presents a lot of interesting opportunities.
``Smitty and Ace made the switch. I don't do that. Smitty took a big guy outside [on defense] who didn't want to be there. This is something we're going to look at doing more of in the future.''
Custis, who led Tech with 18 points, liked the switch. ``It gave me a chance to go inside on a much smaller guy.''
This particular switch was not lost on UVa coach Jeff Jones.
``Tech plays well with one another,'' he said. ``They won't step outside their roles. They know Ace Custis is their go-to guy.
``Custis didn't have a great game statistically. Clearly, he was the guy our defense had to concentrate on, and when his other teammates struggled, such as when Smith got in foul trouble, he took it in on our defense.''
NO COMEBACK: While Smith's finish was far different than a year ago, it went the other way for Virginia guard Harold Deane, who paced last year's rally.
``We tried to come back, get back into the game,`` said Deane, who made only five of 17 shots, including 1-of-7 from 3-point range.
GOOD GAME: Shawn Good averaged 12.9 points and more than three assists a game last season.
In Good's first four gamesTech's first five games for the four contests he played.
Against UVa., Good connected on two 3-point shots to start the game. His second 3-pointer put the Hokies ahead 6-3 and the Cavaliers came as close as two points only once after that when Roanoker Curtis Staples' 3-point shot made it 43-41.
Meanwhile, Good finished with 12 points and seven assists before fouling out late in the game.
``I just haven't been hitting. It's something in the back of my mind. I was in a little slump,'' said Good. ``I had a couple of open jump shots. It felt good to hit the first two shots and after you do that, everything comes a little bit easier.''
NCAA ON THE MIND: The victory over Virginia is causing Tech to think more and more about the NCAA Tournament.
``This is the first time we've beaten a ranked opponent since I was a sophomore when we beat Tulane. Once we get down to the tournament and the NCAA looks at us, this has to work in our favor,'' said Smith.
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS/Staff. Tech's Shawn Smith (42) andby CNBUVa's Norman Nolan battle for possession during Thursday's game at
the Roanoke Civic Center. The Hokies won 72-64.