ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 19, 1997 TAG: 9701200131
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: STATE
SOURCE: From Associated Press and staff reports
Jason Bishop scored 17 points to pace all five Maroons starters in double figures as league-leading Roanoke remained unbeaten in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference with a 73-65 victory over Virginia Wesleyan in Norfolk.
Roanoke (11-1, 6-0) held the Marlins to 37 percent shooting (13-of-35) and two of 11 from three point range in the first half as the Maroons grabbed a 36-28 lead at the break.
Bishop hit all seven of his free-throw attempts and had seven rebounds in the game. Jon Maher, who played at Blacksburg High School, had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Maroons, while Tim Braun added 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Percy Slight and Jason Nickerson each had 12 points for Virginia Wesleyan.
In other Division III games:
Randolph-Macon 87, Washington & Lee 76: Sophomore forward Matt Meehan scored a career-high 36 points to lead the Yellow Jackets past the Generals in an ODAC game in Lexington.
Meehan, who scored 24 of his points in the second half, was 10-of-14 from the floor and 16-of-19 from the free-throw line as Randolph-Macon (7-6, 5-2) won its fourth straight game. Mike LaGuardia scored all 19 of his points in the second half for the Yellow Jackets.
W&L, which shot 59.1 percent and led by as many as eight points in the first half, was led by Kelly Dyer's 20 points. Matt Jackson scored 13 points and Rich Peterson had 12 for the Generals (2-11, 1-6).
Randolph-Macon plays at Roanoke on Monday.
Methodist (N.C.) 72, Ferrum 62: Jason Childers had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead Methodist to a win over the Panthers in a Dixie Conference game in Ferrum.
Ferrum, which placed three players in double figures, was led by Pat Brooks' 12 points. Rodney Ponzo scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Alleghany High School graduate Michael Hunter also scored 13 points.
Methodist (4-7, 2-0) got 12 points from Montrell McNair.
In state Division I action Saturday:
VMI 86, The Citadel 76: VMI, a basketball team with no margin for error, played a virtually error-free game Saturday, downing The Citadel in Charleston, S.C.
In defeating their archrival, the Keydets won only their second road game of the season. VMI is 6-10 overall and 2-2 in the Southern Conference. The Bulldogs fell to 9-6, 2-2.
Martinsville's Maurice Spencer led VMI with 21 points and set the pace for the Keydets at the free throw line, making 11 of 13. It was his highest point total since he had 22 against Radford on Dec.22, 1996. Reserve senior center Mike Spinelli had the game of his life with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and nine rebounds in only 22 minutes.
``Whatever Mike Spineli ate for dinner tonight, I want the whole team to have the rest of the season,'' said VMI coach Bart Bellairs. ``Our execution was phenomenal and we won the battles for the loose balls.''
Old Dominion 82, Virginia Commonwealth 65: Former Laurel Park High School star Odell Hodge and Mark Poag combined for 52 points and the Monarchs overwhelmed the Rams with a smothering second-half defense in Richmond.
Hodge scored 10 of his 28 points during an 18-5 run early in the second half, when the Monarchs (14-4, 5-1 Colonial Athletic Association) went ahead to stay.
North Carolina-Wilmington 61, James Madison 54: Former Salem High School star Mark Byington scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half as N.C.-Wilmington beat JMU in Harrisonburg.
N.C.-Wilmington (8-10, 3-3 Colonial Athletic Association) trailed 30-25 at halftime and 37-35 with 14:35 left.
Byington got Wilmington started in the second half, hitting two early 3-pointers to tie the game at 32 and 35, and Stan Simmons put them ahead to stay when he followed Byington's second 3 with one of his own.
East Carolina 69, Richmond 64: Jonathan Kerner scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead a balanced offensive attack as East Carolina rallied from a first-half deficit and beat the Spiders in Greenville, N.C.
The Pirates (12-3, 5-1 Colonial Athletic Association) fell behind 18-11 with 7:54 left before intermission. East Carolina took the lead for the first time at 29-27 on two free throws by Alico Dunk.
Richmond center Rick Edwards led all scorers with 19 points, while Jarod Stevenson and Daryl Oliver each added 14.
American 84, George Mason 75: In Washington D.C., Nathan Smith tied a Colonial Athletic Association record by hitting nine 3-pointers as American won its second straight Colonial Athletic Association game.
Smith finished with a career-high 30 points for American (5-10, 2-4 CAA), which upset Old Dominion in overtime Wednesday.
Smith hit nine of his first 11 3-point attempts to break Frank Ross' school record of seven 3-pointers, set in 1987. Smith has now made a 3-pointer in 27 consecutive games.
Liberty 70, Winthrop 48: Peter Aluma scored 19 points and Marcus White added 14 as the Flames routed Winthrop in Lynchburg.
Liberty shot 57 percent in the second half compared to 30 percent for the Eagles (7-8 overall, 0-3 Big South). Aluma also had nine rebounds and seven blocks for the Flames (12-5, 2-1).
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines KEYWORDS: BASKETBALLby CNB