THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501220363
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Thanksgiving leftovers were still in many an icebox when Elizabeth City State last tasted victory on Dec. 2.
Norfolk State, meanwhile, has won 10 in a row, stretching back to Dec. 10.
That makes the Spartans the CIAA's hottest team, the Vikings the coolest. They met Saturday night with predictable results.
After a slow start, Norfolk State found another gear and easily pulled away from Elizabeth City, 82-63, in a conference contest at Echols Arena.
Norfolk State (13-2, 8-1 CIAA) used a 23-4 run midway through the second half to put an end to the upset hopes of Elizabeth City (4-12, 0-8).
``We had a lapse in the first part of the second half,'' coach Mike Bernard said. ``We picked it up and were able to capitalize on some turnovers off our press.''
The turnaround came at about the 10-minute mark, with Norfolk State up, 49-47. The Vikings threw an errant pass and Carnell Penn fed Derrick Bryant for a layup. Corey Williams then grabbed a deflected pass and soared in for a slam dunk that turned into a three-point play.
The Spartans were off and running, boosted by reserves Marvin Stinson (17 points) and Matthew Thompson (10).
Thompson scored eight of his ten points in the second half, and seemed fired up at the chance to go against Elizabeth City's 7-foot-1 Jo-ve Ford and 6-10 Bernard Cooper.
``I can throw myself around,'' against bigger players, said the 6-9, 285-pound Thompson.
Stinson scored nine points during the second-half run, which lasted about six minutes.
The Spartans, who were coming off an emotional, 67-60 win over Virginia Union on Thursday, were more than a little conscious of trying to avoid a letdown against Elizabeth City.
``Coach stayed on us during practice about what happened last year,'' Stinson said.
Last year, the Spartans had a similarly big win over Union, only to lose to Elizabeth City a couple of days later.
``We had that in the back of our minds,'' Bryant said. ``We didn't want the same thing to happen this year.''
There was not much danger of that. Elizabeth City kept it close for a while, but was sunk by cold shooting (35 percent) and poor work on the boards. Norfolk State outrebounded the larger Vikings, 43-33, as even 6-foot-1 point guard Maurice Whitfield grabbed seven boards.
``I just happened to sneak down and pick up a few,'' Whitfield said.
Bryant, a 6-4 junior, muscled inside for 15 points and 15 rebounds. The forward from Suffolk was coming off a scoreless game against Union, but said he didn't feel extra pressure to bounce back.
``I wasn't upset at all,'' he said. ``I'll do whatever we need.''
The Spartans didn't lack for much, as Williams had 20 points and eight rebounds, and center Blitz Wooten pitched in with two key second-half blocks, despite playing with four fouls.
Ron Nowlin led Elizabeth City with 18 points. Ford had 10 points and seven rebounds. by CNB