ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 5, 1997 TAG: 9702050115
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
This time Virginia Tech's Ace didn't play the joker.
Ace Custis, whose play in big games for Tech the past two seasons has been less than masterful, drained an 18-foot rainbow jumper as time expired Tuesday night to give the Hokies a pulsating 45-43 victory over George Washington.
"I told the guys when I left the bench after the timeout that this was game time,'' Custis said. "The play was designed for me. I got a good look at the the basket and luckily the shot went down.''
And Tech's chance at a possible postseason bid got a huge booster shot. The victory in the Atlantic 10 brawl moved the Hokies to 12-9 overall and 5-4 in the league.
GW, which surrendered second place in the A-10 West Division to Tech, fell to 10-9 overall and 5-5 in the league.
Tech won this one thanks to David Jackson and Custis. Jackson put Tech in position for the final shot by taking a charge from GW's J.J. Brade with 2.8 seconds left and the score tied at 43.
Brade, breaking the other way after Alexander Koul blocked Troy Manns' shot with four seconds left, collided with Jackson at midcourt. Jackson, who rarely gets a charge call, got this one.
"I saw Koul get the ball and I went back,'' Jackson said. "I saw Brade breaking the other way and I just got in position and took the charge.
"I looked at the ref. I hardly ever get a charge call. This time I did, thank God.''
Tech coach Bill Foster said it was about time.
"I told him and his brother [Jim] they'd get one [a charge call] before they left here,'' Foster said of the twins. "They've been taking 'em for four years. All I know is this one couldn't have come in a better or bigger situation.''
Tech took a pair of 20-second timeouts to set up the game-winner. Foster said Custis and Manns were the two options.
Manns inbounded the ball to Custis, who split two defenders with a dribble. Koul, the Colonials' 7-foot center, came out on Custis, who hoisted a high-arching jumper over the big guy. The ball found nothing but net.
Custis, the Hokies' star, was immediately tackled by his teammates in a mob scene on the floor.
"It was a perfect ending for us,'' Foster said. "The hero's role could not have gone to a more deserving guy.''
Custis led the Hokies with 17 points and eight rebounds. Manns was the only other Tech player scoring in double figures with 10 points.
GW coach Mike Jarvis didn't second-guess the official on Brade's charge.
"It was a good call,'' he said. "We used bad judgment. I can't fault our player. He was trying to win the game.
"It was fitting Ace Custis hit the last-second shot. He was mentally the toughest player on the court.''
The ending was great. The game was ugly, however.
Tech hit just 16 of 44 shots (36.4 percent), while GW was 13-of-59 (26 percent).
"That was one of the best soccer matches I've seen in years,'' Jarvis said.
The most notable highlight of the first half was the Hokie Bird climbing to the third story of a human pyramid formed by the Tech cheerleaders.
Needless to say, both teams appeared to be stuck in the fog that was outside Cassell. The two clubs combined to hit 11 of 43 field-goal attempts. When each wasn't firing up a brick, they were throwing the ball away 16 times - eight apiece.
It took 11 1/2 minutes for one team to reach double figures. GW made it to that milestone first, taking a 12-8 lead on Shawnta Rogers' 3-pointer with 8:31 left in the half.
If these two had been playing the old backyard game of "21'', neither would have won. The half closed with GW leading 20-16.
The Hokies had only five field goals in the half on 20 shots. Tech missed nine straight shots and scored just two points in one 8 1/2-minute stretch, but still managed to lose just four points on the scoreboard.
The 16 points - a season-low output for a half for Tech - continued a distressing trend for the Hokies. In their four previous games before Monday, Tech had scored 20, 20, 18 and 21 points in the first half.
The Hokies' postseason fate could be determined in the next three games - all on the road against A-10 rivals. Tech travels to Fordham on Saturday, then catches La Salle in Philadelphia on Monday. After coming home for three days, the Hokies play at Dayton on Feb.15.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM STAFF. Tech star Ace Custis (left) vies for aby CNBloose ball with Yegor Mescheriakov during first-half action. color.