THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 5, 1995 TAG: 9502050184
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
After breaking a team rule, Virginia Union's Tom Meredith came off the bench and broke Norfolk State's 14-game winning streak Saturday night.
Meredith, a 6-foot-4 senior, scored 34 points - 24 in the second half - to lead the Panthers over the Spartans, 73-70, in front of 8,103 at the Richmond Coliseum.
The loss, Norfolk State's first since Dec. 10, left the Spartans (17-3) tied with Virginia Union at 6-2 in the CIAA North.
Meredith, Union's leading scorer, sat out the game's first seven minutes as punishment for breaking an unspecified team rule.
He pumped in 10 quick points in the first half, then lifted Union repeatedly down the stretch with big baskets.
``He probably was mad at me and took it out on them (Norfolk State),'' Virginia Union coach Dave Robbins said.
Third-ranked Norfolk State fell behind by 11 points midway through the second half, but came back to the cut the margin to two, 61-59, with 4:33 left.
Meredith then canned a trey, and came up with a steal and a layup 20 seconds later to push the lead back to 66-59 with 3:58 left.
Norfolk State closed the margin to two again, with 1:36 left, but couldn't get any closer.
``Meredith killed us all night long,'' Norfolk State coach Mike Bernard said. ``We played poor man to man defense on him and in the zone we didn't come out on him all night.''
Meredith's second-half performance was nearly offset by Norfolk State's Marvin Stinson, who had 21 second-half points.
Norfolk State was down, 45-33, early in the second half and might have been run out of the gym were it not for Stinson, who scored 12 straight in a 2 1/2-minute stretch to keep the Spartans close.
``I knew I had to step up my game in the second half,'' said Stinson, who had two points in the first half and finished with 23. Corey Williams also had 23 for Norfolk State.
Stinson hit five three-pointers in the half, most of them after being freed for the shot by a Blitz Wooten pick.
With Norfolk State down, 71-68, with about 30 seconds left, Stinson was looking for another Wooten screen when Wooten's man, Ben Wallace, leaped out and knocked the ball loose. Wallace grabbed the ball and finished the play with a breakaway slam dunk, giving the Panthers a 73-68 lead with 28 seconds left.
Norfolk State cut it to 73-70 on two Derrick Bryant free throws, then had a final chance when Union's James Marshall missed two from the foul line with 18 seconds left.
Norfolk State's Rodney Carmichael got the ball and drove to the basket, only to have his shot blocked by Wallace. Wooten got the rebound but the 6-8 Wallace blocked his shot, and time expired.
``They took it right at me, just like they're supposed to do,'' Wallace said. ``I was just playing on adrenaline.''
Ninth-ranked Union (18-3, 8-2) made just 12 of 30 free throws, but offset it with 57 percent shooting in the second half.
Norfolk State shot 50 percent in the second half, but couldn't stop the Panthers enough to make up any ground.
``You can't trade baskets and win a ballgame,'' Bernard said. ``Not a big ballgame.''
Norfolk State has four games remaining in the CIAA North, while Union has two. The divison winner receives a first-round bye in the conference tournament. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Norfolk State's Maurice Whitfield, left, runs into double trouble
from Virginia Union's Jay Butler, center, and Thomas Meredith.
by CNB