THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602150200
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER
CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
FIRST-YEAR head coach Barry Hamler may be in the running for CIAA Coach of the Year honors, but Virginia Union still has ECSU's number, no matter how slim a margin.
Despite trailing by one point with 38 seconds to play, Union's James Marshall scored on a wide open layup with 24 seconds to play and the Panthers went on to win 80-74 in CIAA action.
The loss dashed ECSU's hopes of a CIAA Northern Division crown.
The Vikings trailed by as many as 10 points with 9:28 to play. But a 3-pointer by Walter Wright, a jumper by Sharano Woodley, and another 3-pointer by Theron Curry cut the Union lead to 63-61 with 7:11 to play. The Panthers, ranked number one in the NCAA Division II poll, knocked the lead back up to 73-67 on two free throws by Marshall and Marquise Newbie and a layup by Newbie after an ECSU turnover.
Like they had done all night, when the Vikings needed a key bucket, they got it. With 2:22 to play, Maurice Mincey ignited the crowd with a 3-pointer to put ECSU down by three. Curry sank two free throws and the game stood at 73-72.
With 2:05 to play, ECSU's Kenneth Miller fouled Newbie. Newbie swished both free throws to up the lead to 75-72.
Both teams missed on their next possessions. The Vikings had a golden opportunity to tie the game with 38 seconds to play, but Adrian Bell missed a layup on a fast break. Bell was fouled by Maurice Greene and made both free throws and the Union lead stood at 75-74.
Virginia Union called timeout on the inbound play when the Vikings showed a full court press. After the timeout, the Panthers broke the press and Marshall was standing uncontested under the basket. He hit an easy layup for what proved to be the game-winner.
With six seconds to play, Mincey missed a 3-pointer which would have tied the game. Greene was fouled on the play and went to the foul line. Hamler was called for a technical foul on a delay of game when his strategy to get the ball back was miscalled by the officials.
After the ref handed Greene the ball, Hamler called a timeout, but he had none to use. He pulled his players back off the lane, hoping that the other team would also back off the lane which is exactly what happened. Because both teams left the lane, they were both in violation so the officials should have reverted back to the possession arrow. ECSU had possession and should have regained the ball with six seconds to play. However, the officials incorrectly called Hamler for a technical foul for delay of game when he called for the timeout. But, according to the rules, a timeout should not be granted in that situation anyway, so Hamler was never in violation.
Sound confusing? It was to the refs. Greene hit all three free throws and the final stood at 80-74.
The Vikings had to play catch-up after digging themselves a hole early in the second half. Trailing by six points to open the half, Union quickly ran off 10 straight points to open up a 51-35 lead with 17:50 to play.
Curry led the ECSU offense with 25 points including six 3-pointers. He tied the game four different times with four of those bombs.
``He (Curry) could be one of the best shooters in the CIAA this year,'' Hamler said.
After the game, Dave Robbins, Virginia Union head coach, said the Vikings' program is on its way up. Earlier in the year, ECSU took the Panthers to overtime before losing by three points.
``They will be a team of the future, whether that means the rest of this year or next year. That's the type of team I see here. Barry should be coach of the year. He's got my vote,'' Robbins said.
``That's very honorable of Dave,'' Hamler said, ``but we're not here to play close ball games and lose. I want them to improve a little more each game and we've done that. We've grown up a lot since October.'' by CNB