THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9511300178
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
THINGS DIDN'T quite work out the way Barry Hamler expected during his new team's first two games. Yet in Elizabeth City State University's first home game, despite a loss, there was some distinctly positive signs.
The Vikings opened the season last Friday with a 71-67 loss to Catawba College. ECSU led 39-32 at the half, but fell apart in the second half, shooting just 31 percent from the floor.
Then the Vikings came back home to take on CIAA opponent Fayetteville State on Monday. The odds were against the Vikings from the start:
ECSU was playing without projected starters Bernard Cooper, Kenneth Miller, and Maurice Mincey because of grades. Clearly undermanned, ECSU listed just 10 players on the roster. All of them saw game time, including two freshmen. The three players will be eligible after the third game. ``That's why I scheduled only three games before the end of the first semester,'' Hamler said. ``I didn't know who was eligible and who was not when I came here.''
One of the scoreboards at the Vaughan Center was out. The electrical problems with the scoring system is something the school has not addressed in at least four years.
There was no public address announcer for the first home game, nobody to whip the home town fans into a frenzy for the first contest.
Predictably, the Vikings lost 69-57. But it wasn't for lack of hustle or carrying out orders, something that Vikings teams in the past were not so good at. Even when they were down against FSU, nobody sulked, nobody whined, nobody hogged the ball. It was a team concept all the way.
``Two things impressed me about ECSU,'' said FSU head coach Ricky Duckett. ``They understood what the coach wanted and they played with intensity. They had a good half court offense and they played tough and aggressive. He (Hamler) did a great job for his second game.''
The Vikings did play aggressive early on. ECSU led by as many as six points when Theron Curry sunk a jumper with 9:26 to play in the first half to put the Vikings up 20-14. The Broncos then went on a 7-0 run in about a minute to regain the lead. Alphonza Kee knocked down a 3-pointer, Darrin Johnson followed with two free throws, and Wayne Morris added a layin to put FSU up 21-20 with 7:40 left in the half.
A team with little experience could have buckled right there. But ECSU quickly regained the lead when Curry, who scored 18 points on the evening, sunk a 3-pointer, and Albert Battle sunk two free throws. The teams played even until the half where ECSU went to the locker room up 32-31.
But like the Catawba game, the Vikings faltered in the second half. After shooting a robust 48 percent from the floor in the first half, the Vikings dropped off to 40 percent in the second half while Fayetteville, predicted to win the Southern Division of the CIAA, scorched the irons for 54 percent.
The Broncos opened the second half with an 8-0 run, which was punctuated by two consecutive slam dunks by Morris. The Vikings jumped back in the contest with their own run. At 16:12, Curry hit a 3-pointer. After a Fayetteville timeout, Anthony Harris added two straight buckets to tie the game at 41-41 with 14:01 to play. Again the game stayed close. The Vikings closed within one point when Curry bagged another 3-pointer with 8:11 to play. The Broncos then ripped off seven straight points and went on a 12-2 run to finish off the Vikings.
ECSU played the second half with three players in foul trouble. Battle, who started at center, played just 21 minutes after picking up his fourth foul within the first minute of the second half.
``They (FSU) had more depth and we had three starters with three fouls,'' Hamler said. ``We did everything we could to stay in the ball game.''
Hamler liked what he saw as far as determination.
``They didn't quit. We were only down by seven points with 1:20 left,'' he said. ``When we get the whole platoon together we will be a force in the CIAA. But these guys can't wait until the other become eligible. They have to step up right now.''
Hamler, a first-year college head coach, said the first two games were also a learning experience for him.
``We played nervous at Catawba. We weren't quite sure what we were doing on the court,'' Hamler said. ``We should have played some exhibition games. This is my first time around.''
Harris, a graduate of Columbia High School, finished the game with 12 points and eight rebounds. ILLUSTRATION: ECSU Coach Barry Hamler
by CNB