ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 16, 1996 TAG: 9601160075
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
Play anywhere. Play anytime. It doesn't make much difference to Virginia Tech these days.
In a Monday late night act at the Roanoke Civic Center, where Tech was forced to play because of problems with the roof of Cassell Coliseum, the Hokies extended their winning streak to seven games with a 79-71 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball victory over George Washington.
Celebrating its highest national ranking in history - it was 11th in Monday's Associated Press poll - Tech squandered a 15-point second-half lead, only to storm back to run its record to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the A-10.
Junior Ace Custis, whose 18 points led four Hokies scorers in double figures, scored on a left-handed tip with 45 seconds left to give Tech a 75-71 lead.
After a GW miss, Shawn Smith's free throw with 26 seconds made it a five-point game. A Jim Jackson free throw with 12 seconds left and Smith's jam at the buzzer provided the final margin.
``It wasn't pretty - it was pretty ugly, really - but it's a win,'' said Bill Foster, Tech's coach.
``Ace came up with a couple of monster plays when we really needed 'em - a 3-pointer [that put Tech ahead 61-59 with 8:10 left] and the tip-in.''
GW (8-4, 2-1) used a 24-8 run in a seven-minute stretch early in the second half to wipe out Tech's big lead. Kwame Evans, who finished with a game-high 21 points, and 7-foot-1 sophomore center Alexander Koul, who also had 21, helped bring GW back from the dead.
``It's either make a run or you get blasted on national TV,'' said Mike Jarvis, the Colonials' coach. ``We finally came out and played with a little bit of gusto.''
Tech, slow starting in its first two A-10 victories, didn't need any jumper cables this night. Facing the team figured to give it the most trouble this season in the A-10's West Division, the Hokies threw one of their best halves of the season at GW in the first 20 minutes.
Shooting 64.3 percent (18-of-28) from the floor, Tech outscored the Colonials 33-19 in the final 161/2 minutes of the half to take what appeared to be a comfortable 41-28 lead to the locker room.
GW, averaging nearly 81 points in its first 11 games, struggled against the Hokies' suffocating man-to-man defense, making only nine of 29 shots (31 percent).
The defining moments of the half came in a 53-second span in which Tech took a a 27-20 lead to a 13-point margin. After Custis scored on a reverse baseline move, Jim Jackson blocked a shot that Shawn Good transformed into a breakaway slam. Following another GW miss, Custis took Good's lob on the run and threw down another resounding jam to make it 33-20.
Travis Jackson did his job in the half, playing Koul to a virtual standoff. Jackson had eight points and two rebounds, while Koul had seven points and six boards.
Jackson matched his career high with 17 points.
``I knew I had to step it up tonight,'' the 6-8 senior said. ``They made that big run at us, but we were able to withstand it. That's what a mature, experienced club like we have is supposed to do.''
Damon Watlington, after scoring only five points in Tech's past two games, pitched in 14. Smith finished with 13.
Tech shot 55.4 percent from the floor, marking the sixth time in 11 games its has topped 50 percent.
The victory improved the Hokies' neutral-court record to 6-1.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. Virginia Tech's Travis Jacksonby CNB(right) fakes George Washington's Alexander Koul off his feet as
Jackson looks to score Monday in Roanoke. Jackson matched his career
high with 17 points. color.