ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702250057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
Coach Tom Baker was asked the other day what it would take for his Eastern Mennonite men's basketball team to beat Roanoke in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament.
``If you give me last year's game with a minute to go, I'll take my chances,'' he said.
Baker added that his team couldn't let the Maroons shoot 60 percent from the field, as they had in their most recent meeting.
On Saturday at the Salem Civic Center, in a rematch of last season's tense tournament opener, Roanoke shot 60.6 percent in the first half. The Maroons went on to win 88-63 in a first-round game that wasn't anything like last year's contest.
``I thought last year, at the end of the year, it looked like we had closed the gap a little bit,'' Baker said. ``Now, it doesn't look like we did.''
The Maroons, seeded first, won their 13th in a row over the Royals. The victory propelled them into a semifinal game at 2 p.m. today against fifth-seeded Hampden-Sydney, which swept Roanoke in the regular season.
Eastern Mennonite's hopes to get a victory over the Maroons in 1997 were dashed quickly, as Roanoke dashed to a 9-0 lead in the game's first two minutes. The Maroons hit eight of their first 10 shots. The Royals, seeded eighth, made two of their first seven.
``We panicked once we got behind,'' Baker said.
The numbers support Baker's assessment. Beginning at the 11:29 mark of the first half, the Maroons went on a 7 1/2-minute, 18-0 run. They led 44-15 with 4:11 to play and pushed their lead to 30 by halftime.
Roanoke limited the Royals to 23 points and 32 percent shooting on their 35 first-half possessions. ``Before the game, we talked more about defense than offense,'' said Page Moir, Roanoke's coach.
On offense, the Maroons showed the form that led them to 14 victories in their first 15 games. Running an offense that made its end of the court more like a ballroom dance floor, Roanoke in the first half broke the 60 percent barrier with its shooting and broke the 50-point barrier for the fifth time this season. It was the first time they broke 50 in the first half, however, since their Jan.29 loss at Emory & Henry.
``Defensively we were horrible,'' Baker said.
Once halftime arrived, Baker and his assistants sat on the bench for a minute rubbing their temples.
``Contrary to form,'' Baker said, ``I didn't raise my voice. I challenged [the players] and asked, `How do you want your season to end?'''
Certainly not like this. But there are very few NCAA Division III teams that could be 30 points down at halftime and come back on the Maroons. That's especially true when Roanoke is playing not just for the ODAC tournament title, but a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
``It's really good to put it together at the right time,'' Moir said.
The best sign for the Maroons was that their inside players, Jon Maher and Tim Braun, continued to assert themselves after a mid-season lull. Maher had his seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Braun had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Eastern Mennonite forward Matt Yoder led all scorers with 27 points, almost half his team's total. There was one good sign for the Royals, however, in the second half. They outscored Roanoke 40-35 as the Maroons shot 27.6 percent from the field.
``I've never seen a team go hot and cold that quickly,'' Moir said.
Roanoke could afford the lull partly because of its advantage on the scoreboard and partly because of its advantage on the backboards. The Maroons outrebounded Eastern Mennonite 48-33 overall and 22-11 in the first half.
``We got every single rebound we needed to,'' Moir said.
The Maroons need to keep their rebound proficiency at a high level today against Hampden-Sydney. In their second loss to the Tigers, the Maroons were outrebounded 41-32.
``We have to win the rebound battle against Roanoke,'' said Tigers coach Tony Shaver.
NOTE: please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY STAFF. 1. Roanoke's Courtney Fitch getsby CNBfouled by Eastern Mennonite's Jay Taylor in the first half. color.
2. Roanoke's Kevin Sigafoes (24) pressures Eastern Mennonite's Carey
Keyes in the first round of the ODAC tournament.