THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 7, 1996 TAG: 9601070208
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Forward Bernard Hopkins said Virginia Commonwealth was not trying to make a statement Saturday, but it did nonetheless.
Ram tough was too tough for Old Dominion in an early showdown between the teams picked to finish 1-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. VCU was the second pick, but you would have never guessed that from its 85-70 romp in the Monarchs' conference opener at Scope.
``I think we backed down from them and they intimidated us and just totally dominated us for the entire game,'' ODU coach Jeff Capel said.
You want dominant, look at the rebounding numbers. VCU had a 45-28 advantage. Hopkins grabbed 15 - more than twice the total by any ODU player - to go along with his 21 points.
Anyone who thought ODU (5-8, 0-1) was the class of this league had to think again.
``I don't think we really were trying to make a statement, we just knew what we had to do and we executed our game plan,'' Hopkins said.
That gameplan: own the paint. VCU (9-6, 2-0) did that, scoring a vast majority of 29 field goals within a couple feet of the hoop, cleaning the glass and giving ODU virtually nothing inside beyond Odell Hodge's game-high 22 points. VCU shot 56.9 percent from the field - the best by an ODU opponent this season and better than their 56.1 percent from the line (23 of 41).
VCU also came out with a trio of big bodies ODU could not contend with. The Rams used three players weighing between 240 and 270 pounds. ODU has three players of comparable size, but 275-pound Hodge was the only Monarch who was productive. The three VCU big men combined for 37 points and 36 rebounds, while ODU's had 25 and 14.
``They're tougher than we are,'' Capel said. ``That's the bottom line.''
VCU, which had lost 11 consecutive games on opponents' home floors until winning by 23 at William and Mary Thursday, may be tough for anyone in the league to beat.
``This is huge because I know (ODU) is good, very good,'' VCU coach Sonny Smith said. ``They could be the best team in the league, or the second-best.''
ODU senior forward Mario Mullen sat on the bench in street clothes for the second consecutive game with an ailing back.
VCU's final rebound total was similar to last year, when the Rams hammered ODU 53-28.
The Monarchs trailed by just seven at the break, largely because of 6 of 11 shooting from 3-point range. But early in the second half the lead reached 13 following a three-point play by Sherman Hamilton and an putback by Hopkins off a missed free throw.
Hopkins' basket ended an 18-6 run during a seven-minute stretch in which ODU made just a pair of 3-pointers.
The Monarchs scrapped back into the game with three Hodge baskets in less than three minutes midway through the second half, and the Monarchs trailed 55-51 with 8:28 remaining.
VCU was back on top 65-51 just more than two minutes later.
Marlow Talley blew down the lane to put in a another missed free throw to get the Rams rolling. Hamilton made a 3-pointer and then Talley took an errant Reggie Bassette pass the other way for a dunk. Hopkins' slicing layup with 6:17 remaining ended the run. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
JIM WALKER/The Virginian-Pilot
Old Dominion's Odell Hodge, center, scored 22 points and snagged
seven rebounds Saturday.
by CNB