ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 7, 1997 TAG: 9701070107
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PITTSBURGH
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
Virginia Tech coach Bill Foster chose to walk the five blocks back to the Hokies' hotel late Monday night.
It would have been more apropos if his team had done the walking instead.
For the second consecutive game on what turned out to be an Atlantic 10 road trip from hell, the Hokies laid down in the second half and got smoked.
On Saturday it was Xavier. This time it was Duquesne, 76-63.
``I told the guys after the game it was a good thing this game wasn't on TV and nobody could see it,'' said Foster, visibly upset at his club's latest bomb. ``This was a late-night horror show for us.''
After leading 34-23 with 2:53 left in the first half, the Hokies made only six of 26 field-goal attempts the rest of the way and were outscored 53-29.
``I don't know what's wrong,'' Foster said. ``Let's face it. Maybe we're just playing some teams that are a little better than we are.''
That obviously was the case Saturday at unbeaten Xavier, which outscored Tech 46-23 in the second half in racing to 102-67 romp. But this was Duquesne. This was a team Tech figured it would beat.
``I'm concerned about a lot of things right now,'' said Foster, whose club is 5-6 overall and 1-2 in the league.
``We're not shooting the ball well from the perimeter and we're not playing defense. Again, a team shot 50 percent on us. I bet we've given up more 50 percent shooting games this year than the last two years combined.''
As at Xavier, things started well enough for the Hokies. Tech hit 15 of its first 27 shots, opening an 11-point lead on the Dukes (5-6 overall, 1-0 Atlantic 10).
But Duquesne, which hadn't scored consecutive baskets to that point, closed with a 9-0 run to trim Tech's lead to 34-32 at halftime.
``From the last three minutes of the half to the finish, it was just like were another team,'' Foster said. ``We weren't a very good team from that point. In fact, we were a bad team.''
Other than Ace Custis becoming the third player in Tech history to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, the Hokies took nothing positive from this one.
``We're going to have to get tougher,'' Foster said. ``If we don't, it's going to be a long year.''
The Hokies missed one easy shot after another on the offensive end and played defense like their feet were mired in quicksand.
``I don't know if we're getting tired or what,'' Foster said. ``We seem to play well for about 15 minutes, then just go away.''
The pressing Dukes took advantage of the Hokies' sleepwalking act to score what second-year coach Scott Edgar called ``the biggest win since I've been here.''
Kevin Price, who buried Radford on Saturday with 24 points in 10 minutes, led five Dukes scoring in double figures with 18 points in 22 minutes.
Custis, who joins Bill Matthews and Chris Smith as the only players in Tech history in the 1,000-1,000 club, paced the Hokies with 19 points and 15 rebounds. But reaching the milestone in a losing effort meant little to Custis.
``I'd rather have had a win,'' he said. ``We had 'em on the ropes and let 'em off.
``Our shots just stopped falling. We really wanted this game. We're just going to have to suck it up now and get things turned around. We can still have a good season.''
Jim Jackson and Keefe Matthews had 11 points each for the Hokies, who shot 39 percent from the floor against the A-10's worst field-goal percentage defense.
Tech's two starting guards, Troy Manns and Myron Guillory, offered no help, combining to hit two of 12 shots for seven points.
``On defense, Myron looked like he was running in concrete,'' Foster said. ``I don't know if it's the four days on the road or what. But we've got to get some things fixed, and fixed in a hurry.''
After playing three conference games in five days, the Hokies go back outside the league Thursday when William and Mary comes calling at Cassell Coliseum.
``This wasn't a good trip at all,'' Custis said. ``We've got to put it behind us and get ready for William and Mary. We need to get back on a winning streak.''
Tech's six losses already matches its total from last season, when the Hokies finished 23-6.
``I knew it wasn't going to be easy,'' Foster said. ``Right now we're not having a lot of fun.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines KEYWORDS: BASKETBALLby CNB