ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602200098
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: ODAC TOURNAMENT
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
One of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference's best inside-outside tandems hit Virginia Wesleyan from all sides Saturday night in a first-round game of the men's basketball tournament at the Salem Civic Center.
Hampden-Sydney's Nate Schwab had 27 points and fellow senior Ryan Odom hit four of eight 3-pointers for 16 points as the Tigers drowned the Marlins 80-68.
Fourth-seeded Hampden-Sydney (17-8) advanced to today's semifinals where it faces top-seeded Roanoke at 2 p.m. The Tigers have won 9 of their past 10 games.
``This is their basketball team right now,'' Tigers coach Tony Shaver said of the pair. ``They grabbed them by the hair and pulled them along there tonight.''
Junior guard Elson Devan gave the Tigers a 14-13 lead with 12:36 left in the first half and they never trailed again. Schwab and Odom were each named to the All-ODAC second team on Friday.
Salem High School graduate Kevin Garst added seven points and a team-high four assists for the Tigers.
No.5 seed Virginia Wesleyan (14-10) was led by James MacLeod's 17 points.
The victory set up another meeting of what has become the ODAC's fiercest rivalry - Hampden-Sydney against Roanoke. The defending tournament champion Tigers have won three of the past four matchups with the Maroons.
``To win the championship, we figured we would have to go through them,'' Shaver said. ``One thing we've clearly got to do a better job of is rebounding. We were sort of manhandled tonight inside.''
Virginia Wesleyan blocked three Hampden-Sydney shots and had a 40-30 rebounding advantage.
No.2 Randolph-Macon 72, No.7 Lynchburg 65: Hornets coach Joe Davis told his players before the game to beware of the usual suspects: Kurt Axe, Nathan Davis and Brad Shanfelt. But he also added another name: freshman Mike LaGuardia.
LaGuardia scored a career-high 24 points (18 in the second half) on 6-of-9 3-point shooting as the Yellow Jackets (18-7) topped Lynchburg.
``The first time I saw him, I loved him,'' Randolph-Macon coach Hal Nunnally said of LaGuardia. ``In today's basketball, you've got to have shooters.''
Otis Tucker III shot bull's eyes for Lynchburg (10-15), scoring 37 points, the fourth-highest single-game total in tourney history. Tucker, a 26-year-old junior and Army veteran, will be the subject of an upcoming feature on ESPN's SportsCenter.
``My teammates were unselfish,'' Tucker said. ``It seems like the guys for Randolph-Macon had the same idea [for LaGuardia].''
Former Patrick Henry High School standout Turk Smith had five points and three rebounds in his final game for the Hornets. Randolph-Macon will face the winner of Bridgewater-Emory & Henry game in the second semifinal today at 4 p.m.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 linesby CNB