ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 5, 1996 TAG: 9612050058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
ROANOKE COLLEGE'S bench upstages the starters in a rout of Emory & Henry.
Some people, looking at Emory & Henry's youthful men's basketball roster, believed Roanoke College's bench could give the Wasps a courtful of trouble when the teams met Wednesday night.
The Maroons' bench gave Emory & Henry much more trouble than the Roanoke starters did. The Maroons' subs outscored the starters for the game and helped push Roanoke past the Wasps 98-63 at the Bast Center in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
``I definitely think we're one of the deepest teams in the ODAC and in the nation,'' said senior guard Courtney Fitch, a non-starter who was the Maroons' second leading scorer, with 14 points in 12 minutes.
Fitch's signature baseline jump shots were falling and were part of the reason Roanoke (4-0) was able to keep Emory & Henry (0-4) at bay. Aggressive play by backup point guard Dewayne Bullock, a nice shooting touch by freshman Tom Dettloff and more 3-pointers by Derek Bryant helped, too. By halftime the Maroons' bench had outscored the starters 29-21 and the Wasps 29-27. In the end, Roanoke got 58 of its 98 points from reserves.
``They hit some nice shots and their experience showed,'' Roanoke coach Page Moir said of his non-starting five, six, seven, etc. ``We're going to the bench with guys who have been there before.''
The Wasps don't have that luxury. There was more experience in the stands, with former E&H stars Kevin Alexander and Dytanyon Norman looking on, than there was on the floor for the Wasps. Eleven of Emory & Henry's 16 players are freshmen or sophomores and coach Bob Johnson has no seniors. Five senior starters graduated from Emory & Henry in the spring.
``This team can be OK and it will be,'' Johnson said. ``It's going to take some time. But we've got to make shots to stay in the game, too.''
The Wasps were shooting 43.9 percent from the field coming into the game and shot 40 percent against Roanoke. Center Jason Light is the scorer they count on, and rightfully so. Last season the Floyd County High School graduate was an NCAA All-South Region selection and he hung 31 points on King (Tenn.) College in his last game. He led the Wasps with 12 points against the Maroons.
Emory & Henry's second leading scorer, not surprisingly, was a freshman - Northside graduate Justin Porterfield. Playing against a high school teammate, Roanoke point guard Nathan Hungate, Porterfield scored 11 points. He also committed four fouls and had seven turnovers in 20 minutes. That will happen to a freshman who has only four college games under his waistband.
``We have to rely on him,'' Johnson said. ``It's unfortunate for him, but we have to. In the long run, it will pay off for him.''
EMORY & HENRY (0-4)
Porterfield 3-7 3-5 11, Noegel 0-2 2-2 2, Childress 3-10 0-0 7, Light 5-8 2-4 12, Barbour 3-5 1-5 7, Johnson 1-3 0-0 3, Spelsberg 1-2 0-0 2, D.Thurston 4-7 0-0 8, Monroe 0-1 0-0 0, R.Thurston 2-6 1-2 5, Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Bailey 0-1 0-0 0, Fickes 2-7 0-0 4, Bachman 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 25-63 9-18 63.
ROANOKE (4-0)
Hungate 2-5 3-4 7, Bishop 8-12 0-0 17, Sigafoes 4-9 1-1 11, Maher 1-3 0-0 2, Braun 3-6 0-2 6, Bullock 3-6 2-3 8, Ball 1-2 1-2 3, Fitch 5-7 4-6 14, Bryant 3-4 1-1 10, Hathaway 1-3 2-2 4, Dettloff 2-5 2-2 6, Murphy 0-1 2-3 2, Riley 1-2 2-6 4, Henrich 0-1 0-0 0, Butler 0-0 4-4 4. Totals 34-66 24-36 98.
Halftime-Roanoke, 50-37. Three-point goals-Emory & Henry 4-20 (Porterfield 2-5, Noegel 0-1, Childress 1-4, Johnson 1-2, Monroe 0-1, R.Thurston 0-1, Bailey 0-1, Fickes 0-5), Roanoke 6-13 (Hungate 0-2, Bishop 1-4, Sigafoes 2-3, Bryant 3-3). Rebounds-Emory & Henry 30 (Light 7), Roanoke 49 (Maher 15). Assists-Emory & Henry 14 (Light 4), Roanoke 21 (Hungate 8). Total fouls-Emory & Henry 25, Roanoke 19. A-537.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 linesby CNB