THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 26, 1995 TAG: 9511260213
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Norfolk State coach Mike Bernard says he's looking for ``more from Mo'' this season, and the Spartans got just that Saturday night in their season opener at Echols Arena.
Maurice ``Mo'' Whitfield, the Spartans' senior point guard, scored 16 points, dealt three assists, had four steals and added seven rebounds in an 85-60 victory over Augusta College.
And he was a one-man highlight show in the last two minutes of the first half.
Whitfield, who averaged just 6.3 points a game last season, scored the Spartans' last eight points of the opening half as Norfolk State established a 35-27 advantage at the break after struggling most of the period.
Whitfield canned a mid-range jumper to begin his spurt, added four free throws and scored on an acrobatic drive to the basket as time expired.
``He's the floor general and we flow through him,'' said teammate Derrick Bryant, who scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds. ``He gave us a tremendous effort in those last few minutes of the first half.''
The closing run made it easy for the Spartans to forget the game's opening minutes, when they fell behind 16-6.
``We were very sluggish in the first 10 minutes,'' Bernard said. ``We were a little overanxious and we shot the ball poorly. But I wasn't alarmed. We were getting some good looks at the basket.''
After the Spartans went on an 11-6 run to open the second half, the Jaguars never got closer than seven.
Guard Carnell Penn and forward Rodney Carmichael both added 16 points in a balanced attack by the Spartans, who visit West Virginia Wesleyan on Thursday.
Augusta (2-2) was led by freshman center Ikeno Patrick, who scored 25 points and grabbed four rebounds.
But Patrick's output didn't cause Bernard serious concern, particularly since the Spartans succeeded in stopping Augusta's leading scorer, Adam Miller.
The Jaguars' senior forward had entered averaging 22.3 points but made only one shot, a 3-pointer with just over eight minutes remaining. He was held to a 1-for-7 performance from the field, and Bryant garnered the accolades for shutting him down.
``I give all the credit to the coaches,'' Bryant said. ``They gave me a great scouting report. He doesn't put the ball on the floor too much. What I wanted to do was take away his first look at the basket.
``I thrive on defense. It's something I want to do. It doesn't get the same kind of glamour, but I take pride in it and knowing he was a good scorer just motivated me.''
``Derrick Bryant did a great job on him,'' said Bernard, who'd watched Miller score 28 and almost beat the Spartans last season in a 70-68 Norfolk State victory at Augusta. ``We knew from what we saw last year that he's a perimeter shooter. Tonight we took him out of the ballgame.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
L. TODD SPENCER
Norfolk State's Carnell Penn drives past Augusta College's Albert
Stephens on Saturday at Echols Arena. The Spartans won their home
opener 85-60.
by CNB