ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 24, 1996 TAG: 9611260041
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-8 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE BASKETBALL
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
Virginia Tech's starting frontcourt combined for 36 points as the Hokies tuned up for the Big Island Invitational with a 61-52 victory over Court Authority on Saturday in a men's exhibition game at Cassell Coliseum.
Jim Jackson scored 13 points, Ace Custis had 12 and Keefe Matthews added 11 for the Hokies, who pulled away from a halftime tie at 26. Custis grabbed 12 rebounds and Matthews had 11 as Tech controlled the boards 51-33.
Vince Wilson led Court Authority, a Virginia-based AAU team, with 16 points and Charlie Boyd had 10.
The Hokies leave today for Hilo, Hawaii, where they open their regular season Friday against Hawaii-Hilo.
In other games:
No.1 Cincinnati 99, Western Carolina 72: For the first six minutes, the Bearcats showed all their flaws. The rest of the game underscored all the reasons the Bearcats are at the top of the AP poll.
Playing as a No.1 team for the first time in 34 years, Cincinnati used its depth and the inside-outside combination of Danny Fortson and Darnell Burton to beat the visiting Catamounts in the opener for both teams.
Burton and Fortson, two of Cincinnati's three returning regulars, pulled the Bearcats out of an early six-point deficit while coach Bob Huggins looked for solutions at point guard and center, his two trouble spots.
Fortson scored 29 points and had a game-high 15 rebounds, while Burton, the Bearcats' 3-point specialist, added 19 points.
Scott Scholtz led Western Carolina with 16 points.
No.12 Clemson 70, Coastal Carolina 47: The Tigers showed they can beat teams other than Kentucky as Greg Buckner scored 21 points to lead Clemson past the visiting Chanticleers.
Clemson (2-0) broke from a sluggish first half and, behind Buckner's constant movement, led 64-36. Even when the Tigers went cold for the game's final seven minutes - when they scored two baskets - they did more than enough to hold off Coastal Carolina in its opener.
Clemson's Harold Jamison, who scored 20 points in a stunning 79-71 victory a week ago over Kentucky, had 11. Terrell McIntyre, Clemson's point guard, scored 11 points and did not have a turnover for the second consecutive game.
Lee Grant had 14 points to lead Coastal Carolina, which has won a total of 11 games during the past two seasons.
No.17 Texas 83, Nebraska 81, OT: Dennis Jordan scored the final four points of overtime, including a free throw with 3.3 seconds to play as the Longhorns held on for a victory over the Cornhuskers in the opener for both teams in Austin, Texas.
Texas led by as many as 16 points in the second half and held a 13-point advantage with 6:35 to play. But Nebraska got hot, and the Longhorns went flat as the Huskers ripped off an 18-5 run to close regulation and send the game into overtime with the score tied at 73.
No.23 Minnesota 101, Stephen F. Austin 55: Bobby Jackson had 23 points and was one of five scorers in double figures as the Golden Gophers cut down the Lumberjacks in Minneapolis.
Minnesota, with all five starters back from last season's 19-13 team, outscored Stephen F. Austin 28-0 during a five-minute stretch near the end of the game to go up 101-51.
The Golden Gophers held Stephen F. Austin to 22 percent field-goal shooting and outrebounded the Lumberjacks 64-38.
No.24 George Washington 73, Boston U. 68: Yegor Mescheriakov scored 24 points and 5-foot-4 Shawnta Rogers grabbed an improbable 11 rebounds to go with five assists as the Colonials (2-0) held off the Terriers (1-1) in the championship game of the Red Auerbach Colonial Classic in Washington.
Alexander Koul, GW's 7-1 center, played only 28 minutes because of foul trouble and scored 14 points. He missed his first seven free throws and finished 4-for-12 from the line.
Tunji Awojobi had 21 points and nine rebounds to lead BU, where coach Mike Jarvis worked for five years before coming to George Washington in 1990.
George Mason 97, Alabama State 66: Nate Langley scored 18 points to lead the Patriots past the Hornets in Fairfax in the opener for both teams.
After a full-court press gave George Mason a 15-point halftime advantage, the Patriots built their lead to 36 points with the help of double-digit scoring by George Redd with 14 points, Demetrius Somerville 12, Nick Mirich 11 and Kevin Ward 10.
Arteria Clifton led Alabama State with 14.
William and Mary 69, North Carolina-Greensboro 57: Shaka Arnold scored 15 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked three shots as the Tribe beat the Spartans in Williamsburg in the opener for both schools.
Randy Bracey came off the bench to score 16 points for William and Mary. Larry Gilbert led Greensboro with 19 points, all in the second half.
Miami (Ohio) 69, Virginia Commonwealth 66: Devin Davis hit a five-foot shot with barely a minute remaining and the Redskins held on to defeat the Rams in the opener for each team.
VCU took a 66-65 lead with 1:37 left. After Davis hit his jumper, Damon Frierson followed with a field goal with 41.7 left to make it a 69-66 Miami lead.
Sherman Hamilton's 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell short for the Rams.
Davis led the Redskins with 20 points and Frierson added 15.
Patrick Lee led VCU with 16 points.
Bowling Green 104, James Madison 92: Antonio Daniels scored 28 points and had eight assists as the Falcons outgunned the Dukes in Harrisonburg in the opener for both teams.
Daniels ran off seven points to put Bowling Green up 77-59 with 10:57 left in the game. JMU did not threaten again.
Anthony Stacey had 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Falcons. DeMar Moore added 16 points and Jay Larranaga 13.
Charles Lott led the Dukes with 17 points, while Chatney Howard and Ryan Culicerto scored 16 apiece. Lamont Boozer added 13 points and Ned Felton 11.
Bloomfield (N.J.) 68, Washington and Lee 64: Kirk Kassebaum hit a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left to break a 64-64 tie and help lift the Deacons over the Generals in the opening round of the Elmira College/Pepsi Cola Tip-Off Classic in Elmira, N.Y.
W&L forward Kelly Dyer led all scorers with a career-high 21 points and Brian Rickets added 14. Richard Sabosik scored 15 points to lead Bloomfield and Kassebaum finished with 11.
Xavier 98, Western Kentucky 73: Torraye Braggs was perfect from the field, scoring 22 points, and James Posey had 20 as the Musketeers romped to a season-opening victory over the Hilltoppers in Cincinnati.
Five Xavier players scored in double figures. Darnell Williams had 15 points, and Lumpkin and Lenny Brown had 13 apiece.
Joe Harney led Western Kentucky with 15 points. Tony Lovan had 14 and Rob Williams scored 12.
Rhode Island 91, Siena 57: The Rams got 16 points from Cuttino Mobley and 15 from Michael Anderson as they opened with a victory over the Saints in Albany, N.Y.
Tyson Wheeler added 10 points and a school record-tying 12 assists for Rhode Island Geoff Walker scored a team-high 18 points for Siena.
LENGTH: Long : 127 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Clemson's Greg Buckner draws a foul from Coastalby CNBCarolina's Rodney Dupre during the Tigers' 70-47 victory Saturday. KEYWORDS: 2DA