THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 8, 1995 TAG: 9501080221
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: TEMPE, ARIZ. LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Arizona State coach Bill Frieder swore he was nervous about playing Old Dominion two days after the Sun Devils' emotional victory over Arizona.
It didn't take long Saturday to allay his fears.
For the second consecutive game, Old Dominion's basketball team was virtually out of a game moments after it began. The Monarchs lost their fifth consecutive game, 71-52, to 15th-ranked Arizona State at the University Activity Center and broke a school record for fewest points in a half.
``We had a lot of shots we wanted, they just were not falling,'' ODU point guard Brion Dunlap said.
In a loss Wednesday at St. Joseph's, ODU (5-8) trailed by 18 just over eight minutes into the game and by 27 early in the second half. Saturday, the deficit was 16 midway through the first half, 26 in the final minute of the first half. The Monarchs made 4 of 24 first-half shots (16.7 percent) and trailed at the break, 36-12.
It was the fewest points an ODU team has ever scored in a half. The previous low was 17 versus James Madison in 1983. Mario Mullen made a jump hook to open the game, and Arizona State scored 16 unanswered points before E.J. Sherod's follow-up basket almost nine minutes later.
Coach Jeff Capel took the blame for the way the Monarchs began the game.
``I take total responsibility for the first half,'' Capel said. ``You sit around two days and start thinking, and think you're smarter than you really are. I apologized to the team.''
Capel said in watching tapes of the Sun Devils, he determined Old Dominion couldn't survive in an up-tempo game with them. So he instructed his team try to milk 20 seconds off the shot clock before putting the offense in motion in an attempt to limit the number of ASU possessions and hopefully make the game close at the end.
It backfired, however, as the Monarchs turned the ball over three times in their first five possessions and made just two of their first 20 field goal attempts. The Monarchs shot 16.7 percent in the first half, 34.5 percent for the game, and had 13 first-half turnovers.
``They weren't that good of a team,'' said Arizona State center Mario Bennett, who tied the school record with eight blocked shots to go with 16 points and seven assists. ``That surprised us.''
ODU guard Mike Jones, who scored seven points, 10 below his average, said the change in style of play threw off the Monarchs.
``If coach says to go out there and play with our shoes on the wrong feet, we'll do it,'' Jones said. ``It didn't work out, so we went back to the way we normally play.''
Just like they did Wednesday at St. Joseph's, ODU made it respectable with a second-half comeback. The Monarchs made 8 of 9 field goals in one stretch to cut what once was a 26-point ASU lead to 63-50 with 3:13 to play. The Sun Devils called timeout, then outscored ODU 8-2 down the stretch.
Petey Sessoms led the Monarchs, scoring 20 of his 23 in the second half with 8-of-14 shooting. Centers David Harvey (six points, six rebounds) and Derrick Parker (four points, seven rebounds) produced what Capel called their best combined performance since Odell Hodge was lost for the season. Point guard Brion Dunlap, who had committed just one turnover in the previous three games, made five, all of them coming in the first half. ODU's 25 turnovers was a season high.
Arizona State, winners of six in a row, shot 50 percent from the field. Both teams grabbed 33 rebounds.
The Monarchs open conference play at home Wednesday against UNC Wilmington. Although they are carrying a string of losses, Capel and the players said the rugged schedule has prepared them well for the Colonial Athletic Association.
``If I were a first- or second-year coach, I might panic,'' Capel said. ``We've found out about ourselves and I think this team is definitely ready to make a run in the Colonial.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ODU's Derrick Parker, left, fights James Bacon for an inbounds
pass.
by CNB