ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 15, 1996 TAG: 9612160137
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-9 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: STATE
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
Chatney Howard scored a career-high 26 points, and James Madison erased a 12-point deficit Saturday to defeat Montana State 68-63 in Harrisonburg.
The Dukes (3-2) trailed 36-24 late in the first half and 36-28 at the break. But they opened the second half with an 18-9 run and took the lead for the first time, 46-45, on Ned Felton's layup with 11:17 remaining.
After trailing by as many as eight points, Montana State (3-5) regained the lead at 63-62 on a pair of free throws by Nat Holmstadt with 2:35 left.
But Howard, a junior forward, hit a layup a minute later to give the Dukes the lead for good. Howard made 10 of his 17 field-goal attempts as JMU shot 54 percent from the floor to the Bobcats' 47 percent.
Lamont Boozer had five of the Dukes' 17 steals as they forced 26 turnovers.
Charles Lott came off the bench to score 13 points for JMU. Mel Claxton scored 16 and Holmstadt 12.
In other games involving state teams and Timesland players:
Virginia Commonwealth 58, Pitt 55: Sherman Hamilton hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 53 seconds left, then made a pair of free throws in the final seconds as the Rams rallied in the second half to beat the Panthers in Pittsburgh.
VCU (3-2) fell behind by 15 points in the first half. The Rams opened the second half with a 13-2 run to take control.
Torrance Archie led VCU's comeback by scoring 15 of his 19 points in the second half. Vonteego Cummings led Pitt with 20 points.
Old Dominion 56, Pepperdine 47: Reggie Bassette scored 17 points and Odell Hodge (Laurel Park) added 10, leading the Monarchs past the cold-shooting Waves in the consolation game of the Carrier Classic in Syracuse, N.Y.
Pepperdine (1-6), which dropped a 77-64 decision to Syracuse in the opening round, fell behind by as many as 12 in the first half against ODU (7-1). Bryan Hill led Pepperdine with 14 points.
Ohio State 102, George Mason 72: Neshaun Coleman had 19 points and Damon Stringer scored 18, and each hit four shots as the Buckeyes made 13 consecutive field-goal attempts early in the second half to rout the Patriots in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State (4-1) set a school record with 12 3-pointers on 21 attempts.
Avery Carey scored 16 points for George Mason (4-2).
Emory & Henry 79, Guilford 67: Jason Light (Floyd County) scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Justin Porterfield (Northside) added 15 points and nine assists to lead the Wasps (2-4 overall 2-1 conference) past the Quakers (3-6, 0-4) in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference game in Emory.
Bridgewater 69, Randolph-Macon 68: Joe Goldin's 15-foot baseline jumper wouldn't fall as the Eagles (7-0, 2-0) held on for an ODAC victory over the Yellow Jackets (1-4, 1-1) in Bridgewater.
nStan Simmons scored 19 points and former Salem High School standout Mark Byington added 15 to lead North Carolina-Wilmington to its first victory of the season, a 63-61 decision over Campbell in Wilmington. The Seahawks are 1-6; Campbell is 2-2.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 linesby CNB