ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 1, 1996 TAG: 9603010081
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
In an attempt to work out its kinks, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team repeatedly has reached for the toolbox this season.
Thursday night, in front of a sellout crowd of 10,052 at Cassell Coliseum, the Hokies finally found the tool they needed - the sledge hammer.
Fueled by a 19-0 run bridging the first and second halves, 16th-ranked Tech finally dropped the hammer on somebody, running away from Xavier 70-61 in an Atlantic 10 Conference game.
With the victory, the Hokies improved their record to 21-4 overall and 12-3 in the A-10. Barring unforeseen developments, the Hokies figure to have a hammerlock on their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1986. Xavier, facing its first losing season in 13 years, dropped to 11-14 and 7-8.
Forget those numbers, though. All the Hokies cared to talk about was the 19-0 run that turned a six-point deficit into a 13-point Tech lead. Just like that, it was ballgame.
``We haven't really had a knockout punch like that in a long time,'' the Hokies' Shawn Smith said of the run that turned a 24-18 deficit into a 37-24 lead with 19:17 to play. ``It was really nice to have a cushion to play with coming down the stretch for a change.''
Tech led by as many as 16 in the second half before settling for the final nine-point margin. But after the run, there never was any doubt about which club would win.
Travis Jackson, one of four seniors closing their Tech careers at home, paced the Hokies by matching his career high with 17 points and six rebounds. Eleven of Jackson's points came in Tech's knockout run.
``This was my last chance to go out and have a good showing,'' Jackson said. ``It would have been terrible to go out without a good showing.
``This was a good, solid win for us and that's the main thing. We need some momentum for what's coming up. I think we really played well ... we played the way a club with four starting seniors should.''
Smith, another senior, had 14 points and seven rebounds. A third senior, guard Shawn Good, had 12 points. Junior Ace Custis rolled his usual numbers, coming up with 13 points and a club-high 12 rebounds.
For the first 13 minutes of Thursday's game, the Hokies appeared to still be caught in the Temple of doom. A 57-41 loser at Temple on Sunday, Tech hit only five of its first 24 shots - going 7:03 without a field goal in one stretch - and trailed the Musketeers by six.
Then, it turned. While Xavier would go the next 7:03 without a point, Tech scored 19. Jackson was a one-man highlight film in the spurt, hitting a 3-pointer, throwing in baby hooks and hitting his patented turnaround baseline jumper.
``Travis can hit that shot all night long,'' Smith said.
Tech coach Bill Foster had mixed emotions following the game. He was glad to see his seniors go out with a strong performance at home. He also was sad to see them go.
``It would be hard to draw up a script any better than this,'' Foster said. ``My goal tonight was to try not to cry. I'm really close to those seniors. I love them. I'm like a father to them. We are family. It was a celebration game, but it was really a sad day for me.
``These guys came in here and we were struggling to get any kind of identity. Now, we've created a monster. I think our guys are still kind of stunned when they look up at those rankings and see us at 16th in the country. They probably wondered if we really deserved it. I think now they know we do.''
After its poor start, Tech hit 17 of its final 28 shots to finish at 42 percent from the floor for the game. The Hokies hit 21 of 27 from the free-throw line in the foul-infested game.
Xavier, which shot 35 percent from the field, was led by Darnell Williams' 16 points.
Tech remained one game behind George Washington in the A-10's West Division. GW (20-5) improved to 13-2 in the league with a 76-72 victory over visiting Rhode Island on Thursday.
Tech closes the regular season Saturday at Dayton.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: GENE DALTON/Staff. Xavier's Pat Kelsey (left) hits theby CNBfloor after trying to steal the ball from Virginia Tech's Troy Manns
on Thursday at Cassell Coliseum. The No. 16 Hokies defeated the
Musketeers 70-61 in an Atlantic 10 Conference game. color.