THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 7, 1994 TAG: 9408070252
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Greg Ford and Sean Bell combined for 11 points in overtime to lead Team Asics over Service Masters, 152-145, in the finals of the Hampton Roads Pro-Am Basketball League at Lake Taylor Saturday night.
Ford scored six of the first eight overtime points and Bell added a five-point spurt mid-way through the period to lead Asics.
Ford, a former star at Hampton University, had 22 of his 35 points after halftime. Teammate Joe Smith, from the University of Maryland, had 25 of his 38 after the intermission.
``I had a mismatch all night,'' said Ford, a 6-6 forward.
Asics overcame a near-record performance by Service Master's Damon Bacote, who scored 54, 31 in the first half. The record is 56.
Bacote, a 6-3 guard who is transferring from the University of Richmond to the University of Alabama, scored 12 straight points in a second-quarter spurt.
But Asics came back, as Ford, the 6-9 Smith and 6-4 Curley Young began controlling the backboards.
``We came out kind of flat,'' said Young, who just finished his career at East Carolina. ``They had a little run, but we just cut the lead slowly. I think they got a little tired.''
A little fatigue was understandable. A crowd of 1,500 came to see a wide-open game, and wasn't disappointed. During one spurt in the second quarter, several monstrous dunks by Smith and ballhandling wizardry by Service Master's Michael Evans had some of the more exciteable fans dancing on the fringes of the court.
Evans, a 6-2 guard from Booker T. Washington High, brought the crowd to its feet several times with passes and quick dribble moves. He finished with 31 points.
In the women's championship, former ODU players Pam Huntley and Stephanie Gilmore combined for 41 points as Hot Shots defeated M.I. Express, 77-73. Michelle Sessoms of Norfolk State led M.I. Express with 17 points. Norfolk State's Lisa Rice had 14 assists for Hot Shots. . . . Carnell Penn of Norfolk State won the men's 3-point shootout, while Corey Etheridge of Virginia Beach won the slam dunk contest. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
L. TODD SPENCER
Service Master's Logan Vandervillan tries to dribble around Team
Asics' Pete Seasons during Saturday's Pro-Am final.
by CNB