THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602180189
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Play zone against Old Dominion and you're taking your chances that Mark Poag might have an off night.
Play man-to-man and you take your chances that you can contend with the bullish tandem of Odell Hodge and Joe Bunn inside.
When ODU's inside and outside games are both clicking as they were Saturday night at Scope, few teams in the Colonial Athletic Association have a chance to knock off the Monarchs. The trio of Poag, Hodge, and Bunn combined for 62 points on 22-of-38 shooting in ODU's 70-63 victory over Richmond. The rest of the Monarchs were 2 for 14 from the field.
``We've got our two horses inside, and as long as our shots are falling from outside it opens up the inside where teams are playing those two guys one-on-one,'' said ODU guard Brion Dunlap, who had eight assists. ``That's a tough task for anybody. And when Poag gets hot, there's not much you can do about it.''
Poag stoked the fire beginning at the 8:14 mark of the second half, when he made the first of four 3-pointers within a span of just over three minutes. The first trey put ODU into the lead for good at 51-50, and the fourth one closed out a 14-5 ODU run that gave the Monarchs a 62-55 lead with 5:04 to play.
Poag finished with eight 3-pointers - one shy of the school and CAA records - and a game-high 26 points. Most of them were open shots against Richmond's zone, which the Spiders stuck with most of the night because they did not have the bodies inside to match up with Hodge and Bunn (18 points and eight rebounds apiece).
``Wide open 3s for Mark Poag we consider like a layup,'' ODU coach Jeff Capel said.
``I'd prefer teams play zone like a 2-3 and sag in, but most teams won't,'' Poag said. ``I got good looks tonight. It's hard to guard us when both our inside and outside are clicking.''
ODU's win coupled with Virginia Commonwealth's loss to James Madison leaves the Monarchs (15-11, 10-3) just 1 1/2 games behind the league-leading Rams (19-8, 12-2).
Capel said the Monarchs played right into Richmond's hands in the first half because they were shooting too quickly against the zone. The game was tied at 29 at the break, but Capel said Richmond (7-16, 3-10) outplayed the Monarchs, who trailed by six at one point.
``They really came out in the first half and played with more intensity and desire than we did,'' Capel said.
ODU picked up the defensive intensity in the second half and Poag got hot, but the Spiders would not wither and die. They cut the margin to 65-63 on a free throw with 1:08 remaining.
Hodge put back his own miss for a 67-63 lead with 40 seconds left, and the Spiders missed their final four shots while ODU hit 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch to wrap things up.
Jarod Stevenson led the Spiders with 17 points. ODU blocked a season-high 13 shots, including five each by Hodge and Skipper Youngblood.
``Their blocks of our shots was a key,'' Richmond coach Bill Dooley said. ``It let them get out in transition and gave them some easy buckets.'' by CNB