ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 5, 1997 TAG: 9701060111
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CINCINNATI
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
Maybe Bill Foster should have pulled the goalie.
Never mind. That wouldn't have worked, either.
In an Atlantic 10 basketball contest that resembled a hockey game - there were two long intermissions - 17th-ranked Xavier worked a power play on Tech, pummeling the Hokies 102-67 Saturday night at Cincinnati Gardens.
"Some days it just doesn't pay to go to work, and this was one of 'em,'' Foster said after his worst loss in six seasons as Hokies coach.
Perhaps Tech's only chance at leaving town without a loss ended when officials decided to continue the game following a 30-minute delay at the 10:34 mark of the first half caused by a moist floor.
The condition was created when the ice surface beneath the basketball court - used by the International Hockey League's Cincinnati Cyclones - began to thaw because of the heat generated by the sellout crowd and unseasonably balmy temperatures.
After numerous slips by players, lead official John Moreau called a halt to the action and huddled with Xavier athletic director Jeff Fogelson as a bevy of workers took towels and mops to the floor.
"We all kind of talked it over,'' Foster said. "Nobody wants to have a kid hurt a knee or something. If there had been anymore slipping we'd probably decided to postpone the game.''
Tech (5-5 overall, 1-1 A-10), trailing just 29-23 when the delay occurred, wasn't the same when play resumed. The Hokies, who made nine of 10 shots before the break, didn't score another field goal for 8:16. By that time, the Musketeers (10-0, 1-0) were long gone, scoring 14 of the game's next 28 points to go up 43-27.
"I'm not going to use that as an excuse,'' Foster said. "But we were playing a whole lot better before the break than after it.''
Xavier's Sherwin Anderson said the Muskies tried to take advantage of the situation.
"Coach [Skip Prosser] said they were ready to give in,'' Anderson said. "We just jumped right at them after that.''
Things only got worse for Tech in the second half as the talented Musketeers rolled to the highest point total against the Hokies in Foster's six seasons at the helm. The previous high was 95 by Louisville in 1993-94.
The 35-point differential was the worst loss Tech has absorbed under Foster. The old mark was 33 points (twice).
Xavier simply had too many guns for Tech. The quick Musketeers darted their way through the Hokies' swiss-cheese defense for layup after layup.
"Our transition defense was awful,'' Foster said. "We knew we'd have to get back on defense against this crowd, but for some reason we didn't do it.''
Darnell Williams led the X-men with 25 points on 12-for-18 shooting. Gary Lumpkin and Torraye Braggs added 18 each for the Muskies, who shot 54.7 percent from the floor.
"I'm not surprised by what they're doing,'' Foster said. "I picked them to win it in preseason. They had everybody back. They were damn good last year. I said last year they were the best sub-.500 team in the country [at 13-15].''
Tech, which was hurt by 22 turnovers against the suffocating Xavier fullcourt pressure, was led by Jim Jackson's 15 points, 13 of which came in the first half. Ace Custis had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Tech hit only 12 of its final 45 shots to finish at 38 percent from the floor.
Entering Saturday, Xavier was one of just five unbeaten teams left among the 305 Division I schools. The others were top-ranked Kansas, Wake Forest, Oregon and Iowa State.
"I don't see any L's for them in this building this year,'' Foster said. "I don't think they'll be as hard to play on the road without this crowd.''
The contest was the front end of a two-game A-10 road swing for Tech. The Hokies conclude the trip Monday in Pittsburgh against Duquesne (4-6,0-0). It will be the league opener for the Dukes, who whipped Radford 102-92 on Saturday.
Foster, who is retiring after this season, said he's glad he's seen the last of Xavier in its home barn.
"Unfortunately, most of them [Xavier's players] will be back next year, but I won't be,'' Foster said.
LENGTH: Medium: 79 linesby CNB