ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 5, 1996 TAG: 9601050073
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WORCESTER, MASS.
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
Talk about a tough one-game road trip.
After requiring all day Wednesday simply to find this place, Virginia Tech's men's basketball team was more than glad to be headed back south this morning after a less-than-pretty 76-60 victory over UNC Charlotte at The Centrum.
``I think we're going through six states and five airports on this one-game trip,'' said Bill Foster, Tech's coach. ``Five airports and six states to play one game, I don't know.''
All Foster knew for sure was his 18th-ranked Hokies (7-1) had won their fourth straight game, handling their former Metro Conference sidekicks with ease.
``It's a `W','' Foster said. ``It would have been a long trip with an `L.'''
It was long enough as it was. After flying out of Roanoke at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Hokies were held over in Charlotte, N.C., for about five hours after 13 inches of snow closed Boston's Logan Airport.
Finally, Tech hopped a plane out of Charlotte to Providence, R.I., from where they took a bus to Worcester, arriving just before midnight.
``It could have a been lot worse,'' Foster said. ``I was sitting the Charlotte airport just knowing we were going to spend the night in Charlotte.''
On this morning's return trip, the Hokies will bus to Hartford, Conn., from where they will fly to Pittsburgh, then catch a connector to Roanoke before busing home to Blacksburg.
The 49ers (5-4), whose trip north took about six hours, should have stayed home. Coach Jeff Mullins' club hit 1 of its first 10 field-goal attempts and committed five turnovers in the first 10 minutes to dig itself a hole it never could escape.
Tech, after hitting six of its first seven field-goal attempts to go up 13-2, proceeded to score only four points the next 7:39. But the Niners couldn't take advantage, scoring only eight points in that time frame.
Despite making just seven of 25 shots, UNCC was in the game, trailing 33-25 at halftime.
``Every point we gave up in the first half with the exception of two baskets was a hustle play by them, a loose ball, a putback or a free throw,'' Foster said. ``Because they weren't shooting well, we had a chance to keep [the lead] in the teens.''
After thawing out at halftime, the Hokies turned up the wick in the second half.
Sparked by Jim Jackson's 14 points off the bench - all in the final 20 minutes - Tech was never threatened. Trailing by 13 with 7 minutes left, UNCC threw a full-court press at Tech, but Jackson shook loose to score 11 consecutive points for the Hokies. All five Jackson hoops were of the high-percentage variety - two layups and three slam dunks.
Jackson, who also had seven rebounds in his 20 minutes, joined three other Hokies in double figures. Ace Custis had 15, Damon Watlington 13 and Travis Jackson 11, all in the first half.
Foster and the Tech players both admitted to being disappointed with the atmosphere at what was billed as the Conference USA/Atlantic 10 Challenge.
For the fans, the Tech-UNCC game was a mere appetizer for the main course - the nightcap between a pair of unbeatens, No. 1 Massachusetts and No. 3 Memphis. Of the sellout crowd of 13,557, maybe 3,000 were on hand for the first game.
``There were no fans ... it was quiet ... the atmosphere here stinks,'' Jim Jackson said.
Foster said he envisioned the ESPN twinbill to be similar in atmosphere to the Dec. 16 doubleheader at the Georgia Dome in which Tech played Georgia and Louisville met Georgia Tech.
``I had visions of this one being a little more upscale event,'' Foster said. ``My guys would buy a ticket to watch UMass.
``We've kind of gotten used to playing in front of some big crowds and with a little electricity in the air. There wasn't any in that first half ... it was like pulling eye teeth.''
Tech returns home to take on St. Joseph's on Sunday at 2 p.m. It will be the Hokies' A-10 debut.
``We better get used to all the stuff you've got to deal with in the north - cold, snow, travel problems,'' said Foster, ``because we've got plenty more trips back up this way.''
LENGTH: Medium: 83 linesby CNB