ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 18, 1997 TAG: 9702180110
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: LEXINGTON
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
America's stout Thursday night television lineup just got some competition in the greater Rockbridge County area.
VMI fell to Davidson 97-77 in a Southern Conference basketball game Monday, and its descent landed it in the play-in round of the upcoming league tournament.
Instead of opening tournament play on Friday, Feb. 28, the Keydets will face the SC South's fifth-seeded team on at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27. It forces the Keydets to play an extra game to win the tournament.
``We knew we'd have to win five games in a row to go to the NCAAs, and we've still go to do that," said VMI coach Bart Bellairs.
While the Keydets will have to fight NBC for the public's entertainment dollars next week, the competition can't be any tougher than they faced against Davidson. The Wildcats shot nearly 60 percent in the first half, scoring more than half of their points on backdoor layups, and had a 21-point lead midway through the second half.
Davidson did it without starter Narcisse Ewodo, who had 17 points and 17 rebounds in the teams' first meeting this season. Ewodo stayed home in Davidson, N.C., trying to get over an impacted tooth.
The Keydets were not without their ills, either. Starting shooting guard Maurice Spencer spent the day in the hospital recovering from the flu that sidelined him Saturday at Marshall. By game time Monday, he had spread it to point guard Darryl Faulkner, who nevertheless scored a career-high 30 points on the Wildcats.
Then there was Bellairs, whom athletic director Davis Babb drove to the hospital four days ago with walking pneumonia.
``I've got kids playing sick, I can coach sick," said Bellairs.
Bellairs' condition worsened in the first half when he watched his team suffer through a pair of three-minute scoring droughts and shoot just 28 percent from the field. Davidson led 44-28 at halftime.
The Keydets tried to soothe Bellairs in the second half, and their chosen elixir was a 19-4 run that hacked Davidson's lead to three points. Faulkner made two free throws after a steal and six seconds later hit a 3-pointer to bring VMI within 74-71 with 6:22 to play.
But from that point on, the Wildcats outscored VMI 23-6.
``Maybe we shot too much of our energy," said Bellairs.
Davidson (16-9 overall, 9-3 SC) added to its recent success against VMI, claiming its 10th victory in the past 11 meetings with the Keydets (10-15, 6-7). VMI added to its schedule the only kind of postseason game that nobody wants to play.
No Southern Conference team has begun in the play-in round and ended as tournament champion.
``We're here to set trends," said Bellairs. ``Not follow them."
KEY NOTES: VMI quarterback Al Lester, who will represent his school in a 3-on-3 exhibition at the Southern Conference tournament, said he wants to play basketball once his football eligibility runs out after this fall. ... The Keydets have lost five of their past six games. ... UVa athletic director Terry Holland, a Davidson graduate and formerly the Wildcats' AD, was at the game. VMI's starting frontcourt combined for eight points, seven by Aaron Demory ... The Keydets lost despite the efforts of Roanoke resident Al Soltis (VMI class of '79), who served as guest coach.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 linesby CNB