THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 29, 1995 TAG: 9512290692
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROANOKE LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
It's tough for a college basketball team to be undressed, figuratively, in its annual battle for state bragging rights. Tougher still to have it happen before a chorus of whooping voices, which represented the majority of the Roanoke Civic Center's capacity crowd of 10,056 Thursday night.
But Virginia Tech did it to Virginia, as if from a textbook. Virginia coach Jeff Jones said as much after the Hokies' 72-64 display of authority exposed the Cavaliers as far shy of Virginia Tech's equal after one month of the season.
``I feel like that was a lesson we got out there tonight,'' said Jones, whose team (4-3) ranked No. 22 by The Associated Press, was probably bumped from the national polls while No. 21 Virginia Tech (5-1) goosed its momentum. It was the first time since 1983 that the teams met with national rankings. ``We were beaten by a basketball team that's better than we are,'' Jones said.
And in many ways, not the least of which are depth, offensive balance and cohesion. The Cavaliers played to their trademarks - poor shooting, sweaty defense and flat-out trying hard.
Virginia Tech made it all a futile exercise, however, trailing only in the opening minute and storming to the finish after Virginia closed to within 43-41 with 13 minutes left.
The Hokies' perimeter defense was the major difference, and that especially came into play after Tech rendered Virginia's inside game largely impotent early on.
Tech's guards, led by Damon Watlington and Shawn Good, hung a combined 9-for-30 shooting night on their counterparts, Harold Deane (5 for 17) and Curtis Staples (4 for 13). It contributed to Virginia's dismal 34.5 percent shooting and was a big reason for Virginia Tech coach Bill Foster's smile after his 499th career victory.
``This team can hurt you a lot of ways,'' Foster said. ``But the real way they can hurt you is when they play defense like they did tonight.''
Virginia Tech forced Staples and Deane into a steady flow of rushed or forced shots, rarely allowing them clear looks at the rim. On the other end, Tech, which shot 44.8 percent, exploited the savvy of junior forward Ace Custis, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds, seniors Good and Watlington, who scored 12 each, and got a pair of important jump shots from senior forward Shawn Smith, who added 10.
Smith, Tech's leading scorer at 16.4 points per game coming in, played only 21 minutes because of foul trouble. He sat out 12 minutes of the second half after drawing his fourth foul, but upon returning hit a jumper from the corner to stymie a Virginia rally and make it 63-55 with 2:57 left.
Then with 2:07 to go, Smith hit a 3-pointer for a 66-56 lead that all but ended the Cavaliers' hopes.
``This means a lot to our four seniors, to the whole team,'' said Smith, who missed a pair of late free throws as Virginia edged the Hokies last February and doomed them to the National Invitation Tournament, which they won. ``We preached about this game the whole week. It's something that's real big.''
Said Custis: ``It feels great to beat Virginia. With the name they have in the ACC and the respect they have around the nation, we said if we want to go to the NCAAs, we have to beat some of these big-name teams. Last year they kind of sent us to the NIT. Before this game, we said we won't be denied this year.''
Which means the state's biggest name team now, without dispute, is from Blacksburg.
``They just made solid plays, possession after possession,'' Jones said. ``They're like a puzzle where the pieces all fit tight. I think we can learn some valuable lessons from Virginia Tech.'' by CNB