THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 7, 1995 TAG: 9503070401
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Old Dominion basketball coach Jeff Capel and assistant coach Mark Cline had a difference of opinion Monday after the Monarchs' 80-75 victory over James Madison in the CAA championship game.
Capel said the two 3-point jumpers E.J. Sherod hit late in the final 4:10 of the contest were ``the two biggest shots of the game.''
Cline, wiping sweat from his eyes - or were those tears? - while watching the Monarchs trim the nets at the Richmond Coliseum, called them the ``two biggest shots of the season.''
Coach and assistant coach can settle the issue while waiting for the identity of their first-round opponent in the NCAA tournament that starts a week from Thursday. It should make for good conversation.
Sherod entered the game with 4:28 left when forward Mario Mullen fouled Louis Rowe on a three-point play that gave the Dukes a 66-65 lead. Madison was playing a triangle-and-two defense at the other end, man-to-man on leading scorers Petey Sessoms and Mike Jones, zone against the other three Monarchs.
Sherod knew from experience there would be openings on the wings, big ones if the defense didn't move quickly enough. His first move was to the left wing, where he found a clean look at the basket.
The sophomore from Richmond fired. ODU led, 68-66.
Rowe tied it with a basket and Kent Culuko gave Madison the lead, 70-68, with two free throws.
Sherod then came back with another trey from almost the same spot on the floor. This time, ODU was up for good, 71-70.
``I started the season hot, then went into a slump late in the year,'' Sherod said. ``But I knew there was nothing wrong with my shot. I knew it would start to fall if I just kept at it.''
FRANTIC FRIDAY: Nothing's official yet, but Tournament Friday in the CAA should get a little busier in 1996 - thanks to new member Virginia Commonwealth.
Traditionally, that day has been for the teams to come for practice and a banquet. The league's coaches will decide this spring, but CAA commissioner Tom Yeager said Monday that the eighth and ninth seeded teams likely will participate in a play-in game the night before the tournament officially begins.
``Our banquet has become a signature event for the league,'' Yeager said, ``and the problem is trying to accommodate the play-in game. There are some who think we ought to play that game on Wednesday, but then you end up leaving one of your conference members home. That would, I think, break with our family philosophy.
``I would think then that the lead candidate is an eight-nine game Friday night.''
HONORS: Champion ODU placed two players - Mario Mullen and Mike Jones - on the all-tournament team, selected by media at the tournament. Others selected wereJMU's Darren McLinton and Louis Rowe and American University's Christian Ast. The tournament's most valuable player was ODU's Petey Sessoms. Earlier in the day it was announced that Sessoms was named to the United States Basketball Writers Association's 1994-95 District 3-B team. by CNB