THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501220246
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
Senior guard Mike Jones' recent hot streak is a short story.
Whoops, make that a shorts story.
Jones matched his career high with 31 points Saturday as Old Dominion's basketball team beat William and Mary, 83-73, in a battle of Colonial Athletic Association unbeatens at William and Mary Hall.
The victory sets up a first-place showdown between ODU and James Madison, both 4-0 CAA, Wednesday at Scope.
Jones will outfit himself for that game like he has each of ODU's conference wins. When he pulls on his Monarch shorts, he will be pulling them over his old DeMatha High School basketball shorts.
That reminder of past glory has served him well in conference play. Jones first donned the DeMatha trunks in the league opener.
``Something different for when things aren't going well,'' said Jones, who had been mired in a shooting slump during the five-game losing streak ODU took into league play.
Things have gone well since. In four games, he has scored 90 points (22.5 per game), made 48 percent of his shots, 45 percent from 3-point range and 75 percent from the line. He scored 29 Wednesday against American before equaling the point total he posted earlier this season against Tulane.
Note to ODU manager: handle those DeMatha threads with care.
``They're starting to get washed too much,'' Jones said. ``They're getting small on me.''
Jones came up big for the Monarchs (9-8, 4-0) in a game that was close for 30 minutes until the Tribe (4-9, 3-1) couldn't shoot anything but itself.
ODU led, 59-56, with 9:57 to play. During the next 8:40, William and Mary missed 11 consecutive field goal tries and made just 7 of 12 free throws. During that same stretch, the Monarchs made 7 of 12 shots. When the Tribe's David Cox finally hit a 3-pointer with 1:17 left, what had been ODU's biggest lead was trimmed to 78-66.
``I knew he was good, but I didn't know he was that good,'' Tribe coach Charlie Woollum said of Jones while scanning a stat sheet. ``Eleven of 18 (field goals), 6 of 7 3-pointers; I don't know if we've got anybody that could do that good if we put them out there by themselves.''
Jones was not by himself, just part of a senior trio of stars. Forward Petey Sessoms scored 23 points on 6 of 10 shooting had 10 rebounds - his eighth double-double this season - and made all nine of his free throws. Center David Harvey scored a career-high 13 points on 5 of 9 shooting.
Harvey also was involved in one of the game's more intriguing sequences. The Tribe's Cox ran into a Harvey screen and went sprawling to the court in pain. No call was made.
Moments later, William and Mary's David Cully retaliated and was called for an illegal screen when he drilled ODU's Duffy Samuels, and then drew a technical as he taunted the fallen Samuels.
``I didn't agree with the call,'' Woollum said. ``There wasn't anything bad, just jawing.''
They were two of numerous instances of physical play and frequent trash talking.
``William and Mary was a lot more physical team than they were in the past,'' Harvey said. ``They used to be a team, to tell you the truth, that we looked forward to playing because we knew we would get a win. They're a different team now. It was a game for first place and both of us had something to prove.''
Woollum said it just proved the Monarchs are a better team. ODU has won four in a row and is off to its best league start in its four seasons of CAA play.
Jones has a lot to do with that. But coach Jeff Capel passed at a chance to lavish Jones with praise.
``I don't want to jinx him,'' Capel said. ``My grandfather told me `Don't say nothing good about a man until he's dead - then he can't let you down.' Mike's playing awful well, and I just hope that continues.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Petey Sessoms, left, congratulates E.J. Sherod after hitting a
3-point shot in the final seconds of the first half.
Photo
LAWRENCE JACKSON/Staff
Old Dominion's Duffy Samuels gets on the back of William and Mary's
David Cox trying for the steal in ODU's win Saturday.
by CNB