ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603180070
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DALLAS
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
TWO PLAYERS FIGHT through injuries and a third provides a spark off the bench.
The most effective players on the court for Virginia Tech on Saturday were two guys hurt and another who came off the bench.
Seniors Shawn Smith and Damon Watlington, despite being hobbled by injuries, and reserve guard Troy Manns provided most of the production as Tech's basketball season ended with an 84-60 loss to Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament.
Smith, who has been hampered by a mild separation of his left shoulder, was Tech's leading scorer with 13 points.
Watlington, who has missed practice the past week because of a sprained right ankle, was Tech's only other double-figure scorer with 11.
Manns, the former Patrick Henry High standout, had eight points and a game-high eight assists in 28 minutes off the bench.
``Smitty and Damon were both hurt, but they sucked it up and played hard,'' said Bill Foster, Tech's coach.
``Smitty got hit a couple of times, but kept playing. Damon was limping so bad at practice yesterday it was ridiculous. It's a shame because he could have been at his best in a game like this.''
Smith said he and Watlington couldn't offer anything less in their final Tech game.
``I took a whole lot of knocks and it hurt,'' said Smith. ``But Damon sucked it up and I did, too.''
Manns wasn't hurting, obviously. The junior point guard knifed his way to the basket numerous times to either score or find a teammate with a pass.
Kentucky's breakneck pace was nothing new to Manns, who played his first two college seasons at George Mason for the king of up-tempo basketball - Paul Westhead.
``I was really impressed with Troy,'' said Foster, talking about the likely starting point guard for Tech next season. ``He wasn't intimidated in this type of game at all, and that's what you want.''
Manns comes back, but seniors Smith, Watlington, center Travis Jackson and point guard Shawn Good don't.
In the locker room after the game, Smith and Watlington had trouble holding back tears.
``It's hard to talk about that right now,'' Smith said. ``Certainly, we've got nothing to be ashamed of. We played as hard as we could against a great team and came up short. I think we showed a lot of heart.
"All I know is we came from nothing to win the NIT last year and get to the second round of the NCAA against Kentucky this year. There's a lot of other people who can't ever say that.
"That's something I'm going to be able to sit back one day and talk about with my grandkids. I can show them my NIT and NCAA rings and be proud of it. I'm never going to be disappointed with what we've done.''
LENGTH: Medium: 58 linesby CNB