ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 22, 1996 TAG: 9612230156
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ROCK HILL, S. C.
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
It was a dreamy kind of game for VMI. No classes to worry about. Eighteen steals, 15 other forced turnovers and innumerable deflections, one of the Keydets' most prized statistics.
Oh, and a 96-78 final score over Winthrop helped, too.
Sophomore forward Brent Conley scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds. He was one of five Keydets who scored in double figures.
VMI evened its record at 4-4 and remained perfect (4-0) in its brief series with the Eagles.
``We simply didn't take care of the basketball and that's the story of the game,'' said Dan Kenney, Winthrop's coach. ``Their press rattled us and we didn't execute, and that's why we lost.''
Winthrop (4-4) opened the game with a 6-0 run, but VMI turned up its pressure and went on a quick 13-5 run. Martinsville High School graduate Maurice Spencer's 3-pointer at the 12:30 mark of the first half gave the Keydets their first lead, 13-11. An 11-0 run that pushed the VMI lead to 27-20 and the Keydets led 44-37 at halftime.
Twenty of Winthrop's turnovers came in the first half, 11 from the hands of point guard Tyson Waterman. It wasn't all Waterman's fault, however. All 10 Eagles who played had at least one turnover, contributing to their team's season-high total of 33.
``When we're playing well, our defense creates opportunities for our offense and that's what happened here today,'' said Bart Bellairs, VMI's coach. ``We didn't shoot the ball well, but we still scored over 90 points.''
VMI shot 38.2 percent in the first half, but rallied for 53.1 percent in the second. Spencer scored 17, guard Darryl Faulkner had 17 points, Mike Spinelli scored 12 and Bryan Taueg added 11.
Junior guard Jason Bell, in his first action of the season after regaining his academic eligibility, scored nine points and had two assists in 18 minutes of action. Freshman forward Eric Mann, a 1996 graduate of Rock Hill High School, played 22 minutes and had four rebounds in his homecoming game. Mann had missed VMI's previous three games nursing a stress fracture in his left foot.
``We felt it was our tempo the whole game and I'm proud of the kids for the way they were able to execute,'' Bellairs said. ``We had to go to our bench early and often, but that's what we wanted to do.''
see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines KEYWORDS: BASKETBALLby CNB