ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 5, 1997 TAG: 9701060117
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-8 EDITION: METRO
Mike Byers scored all the points in a decisive 8-0 run that carried Old Dominion to a 76-69 victory over Richmond in a Colonial Athletic Association game Saturday night in Richmond.
Byers' spurt came after Richmond cut a 12-point deficit to one, at 60-59 with 7:09 left. It lifted ODU (10-3, 1-0) to its sixth consecutive victory over the Spiders (4-5, 1-1).
Richmond committed four turnovers and missed four field-goal attempts after Daryl Oliver's 3-pointer cut the deficit to one. Byers, who finished with 11 points, capped his spree with a 3-pointer to make it 68-58 with 2:47 left.
The Spiders got no closer than six points the rest of the way.
Odell Hodge (Laurel Park) led the Monarchs with 18 points and Mark Poag had 17.
Eric Poole was the leader for Richmond, with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Oliver added 14 points and Marseilles Brown had 13.
The Spiders hit eight of their first 14 shots to open an 18-7 lead, but ODU responded by making 13 of its next 19 shots to lead 37-26.
In other games involving teams from Virginia:
Virginia Wesleyan 88, Washington and Lee 68: Tim Petrillo scored a game-high 14 points and thwarted a Generals rally in the second half with a pair of 3-point baskets as the Marlins pulled away for an Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory in Norfolk.
Virginia Wesleyan (5-4, 3-2) scored the first 11 points of the second half to grab a 48-33 lead with 17:15 remaining. After the Marlins had built the margin to 16, the Generals closed to 60-53 following a three-point play by Scott Hudson with 9:07 left. Petrillo, who led five Marlins scorers in double figures, nailed back to back 3-pointers to stretch the lead to 13.
Virginia Wesleyan shot 72 percent (18-of-25) from the field in the second half, including 71 percent (5-of-7) from 3-point range. W&L (2-7, 1-3) hit only 11 of 28 field-goal attempts (39 percent) in the final period, and was outrebounded 42-24 for the game.
Kelly Dyer led the Generals with 12 points and Mike Faber added 11.
William and Mary 64, James Madison 61: Shaka Arnold and Terence Jennings each scored 10 points in the second half, and the Tribe came back to beat the Dukes in a Colonial game in Williamsburg after being shut out for the first eight minutes.
William and Mary (4-6, 1-1) trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half and by 11 at halftime in Williamsburg. The Tribe took a 47-46 lead with 11:20 left, and Arnold's basket with 3:53 left put the Tribe ahead for good.
Arnold and Jennings led William and Mary with 17 points each. David Grabuloff added 14 points and Bobby Fitzgibbons 10. Arnold also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Charles Lott led JMU (7-3, 0-1) with 16 points. Lamont Boozer added 12 points and 12 rebounds.
George Mason 63, North Carolina-Wilmington 59: Nate Langley scored 24 points and Contrel Scott came off the bench to score all of his eight points late in the game to lift the Patriots over the Seahawks in a Colonial game in Wilmington, N.C.
Billy Donlon nailed a 3-pointer for UNC Wilmington (5-8, 0-1) with 1:58 left to tie the score at 54. But Langley, the conference's leading scorer, hit a baseline jumper 12 seconds later to give George Mason (7-4, 1-1) the lead for good.
The Patriots converted four of six free throws in the last 30 seconds to seal the victory.
Keith Spencer scored 16 points to lead the Seahawks.
Hampton 81, Florida A&M 79, OT: Al Bell scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Pirates rallied to keep the visiting Rattlers winless.
Hampton (2-9) trailed by 35-26 at the half. Bell hit three consecutive 3-pointers to pull the Pirates to 57-49 with 8:53 remaining, and Efrem Carter's 3-pointer with 6:33 remaining closed the gap to 58-55.
Hampton tied the score with 25 seconds left in regulation on Carter's 3-pointer. Carter's free throw with seven seconds left in overtime sealed the victory.
Jerome James led Florida A&M with 23 points and 17 rebounds. Sean Black added 18 points and 11 rebounds.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines KEYWORDS: BASKETBALLby CNB