ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 3, 1996 TAG: 9603040110
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DAYTON, OHIO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
It appears Virginia Tech's men's basketball team has gotten its act together at just the right time.
In a head-turning performance that left it primed for this week's Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament, Tech hit Dayton with its best game of the season Saturday, ripping the Flyers 73-54 in front of 13,258 fans at Dayton Arena.
``I'm not sure we can play any better,'' said Bill Foster, Tech coach. ``Our kids are really focused and playing well. It worries me 'cause I don't know if we can play a lot better than that.''
What a difference six days makes. Since bottoming out in a 57-41 loss at Temple last Sunday, the 16th-ranked Hokies finished the regular season with back-to-back strong efforts against Xavier (a 70-61 victory in Blacksburg on Thursday) and Dayton.
Tech finished the regular season 22-4 overall and 13-3 in the A-10. Just minutes after Saturday's victory, the Hokies learned that George Washington had lost 86-82 at St. Joseph's, giving Tech the No.1 West Division seed for the league tournament. Both Tech and GW finished 13-3 in league play, but Tech won the tiebreaker on best division record.
The Hokies will open A-10 Tournament play at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Philadelphia Civic Center, facing the winner of Wednesday's first-round game between East No.4 Rhode Island and West No.5, either Duquesne or La Salle.
``I don't care who we play,'' said Foster, whose club, if tournament form holds true, would get Temple again in the semifinals.
If the Hokies play like they did Saturday, it may not make any difference who they see in Philly. Tech shot well (28-for-52) from the floor, rebounded well and defended even better.
``There's no such thing as a perfect basketball game, for sure,'' Foster said, ``but we really played well in the three areas as coaches you drill in.''
The Flyers (15-13, 6-10), the A-10's best shooting club (47 percent) before Saturday, were suffocated by Tech's swarming defense. Dayton hit only 21 of 62 shots (33.9 percent), including a dismal 14.3 percent (3-of-21) from 3-point range.
Senior guard Damon Watlington, bagging four 3-pointers, led Tech with 18 points. Senior forward Shawn Smith, looking better than he has all season, had 16 points and nine rebounds. Junior Ace Custis had 14 points and seven rebounds, while guards Troy Manns and Shawn Good added nine and eight points, respectively.
The Hokies, whose play most of the season hasn't matched their lofty spot in the national rankings, looked like a No. 16 team in the nation Saturday.
``We're out there having fun, playing defense, we're talking ... we're like the old Hokies playing defense and getting rebounds and dunking and doing all the things we do,'' Smith said.
``I really do think it was our best game of the season. I wish I could answer why it took us so long to do it, but at least it's coming at the right time.''
At first, Saturday figured to be a tough time for Tech. Dayton, coached by ex-Radford University boss Oliver Purnell, had won four of its last five league games. Plus, the Flyers figured to get a huge emotional jolt from a pregame ceremony honoring their six seniors, one of which was the late Chris Daniels, the Dayton center who died on Feb.8 from cardiac arrhythmia.
``We knew this was going to be an emotional deal for their players and fans,'' Foster said. ``The key for us was to get out of the blocks and play well early.''
The Hokies did just that. Tech hit four of its first five shots and led 8-0 before Dayton finally scored on Ryan Perryman's stickback 5:32 into the game.
``We were hoping to ride our emotion early and it ended up working just the opposite,'' Purnell said.
Tech stretched its lead to as many as 11 before Dayton closed to 27-18 at halftime. The Flyers, who made only seven of 32 shots and were 0-for-12 from 3-point range, would have been down more if Tech hadn't blown two layups and missed five of six free throws.
``We could have been up 16 or 17,'' Foster noted.
It made no difference, however. In the second half, Tech quickly quelled any Dayton comeback hopes with its finest 20 minutes of ball of the season.
``I think on both ends - that's the best we've played in a long time,'' Good said. ``We defended well, shot the ball and rebounded. If we do those things, it's going to be difficult for people to beat us.''
Purnell, whose club was paced by Andy Meyer's 18 points, agreed with that that assessment.
``They showed me once again why they're a highly ranked team,'' Purnell said. ``To me, it looks like Tech has really got it going. Hey, don't worry about that team.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Andy Metzler (right) of Dayton reaches in to knockby CNBthe ball away from Tech's Jim Jackson.