THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 25, 1996 TAG: 9602250233
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Derrick Bryant grabbed his 1,000th career rebound. Carnell Penn canned his 200th career 3-pointer. And the Norfolk State Spartans won their 20th game of the season.
But more importantly, the Spartans sent a message to the rest of the CIAA: They are ready for the tournament.
Norfolk State closed out the regular season with a resounding 84-66 victory over Southern Division champion North Carolina Central Saturday night in front of 5,928 at Echols Arena.
The Spartans (20-4 overall, 14-3 CIAA) turned this into a romp when they went on a 14-point run to grab a 72-49 lead with eight minutes left.
During that run, the Eagles (19-5, 14-4) committed five consecutive turnovers as Norfolk State turned up its defensive pressure.
``We played defense the way we wanted to play it,'' Norfolk State coach Mike Bernard said.
Now the Spartans must wait until Thursday afternoon, when they open play in the CIAA Tournament at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Norfolk State has a first-round bye and will play the winner of Wednesday's first-round game between Shaw and Virginia State.
While the Eagles never mustered enough of a run to put a scare into the Spartans, Norfolk State was plenty scared in the game's opening minutes.
Bryant, one of the leading candidates for CIAA player of the year, found himself at the bottom of a pileup under the basket, with 265-pound N.C. Central center Kareem Robinson falling on his left ankle.
After rolling around in pain, Bryant was taken to the training room and missed almost eight minutes of action.
The Spartans played on, but with the thought of Bryant's injury in the back of their minds.
``I was very, very, very, very, very concerned,'' Bernard said. ``I think a lot of players wouldn't have been able to play after that. But Derrick came back and grabbed 11 rebounds on one leg.''
Bryant, who needed four rebounds for 1,000 in his career, reached the milestone on the first missed shot of the second half. The game was stopped on the next deadball situation to honor the achievement.
Bryant, after congratulations from teammates, threw the game ball to his twin brother Darryl in the stands. Problem was, there were still over 18 minutes of game to be played and the officials needed the ball back.
``The first moment after it happened I felt a lot of pain,'' said Bryant, the game ball under his arm afterward. ``That's a big guy and he compressed my ankle to the floor. It actually doesn't hurt that much now. I should be OK by (today's) practice.''
Bryant finished with 18 points and Blitz Wooten had 15.
The Spartans limited the Eagles to 43.9 percent accuracy from the field and held Levelle Moton, N.C. Central's leading scorer to 18 points, three below his average. But seven of those came in the game's last three minutes after the outcome was decided.
Moton, like Bryant, is considered a viable candidate for CIAA player of the year.
``What won that game was defensive intensity,'' said Penn, who had a game-high four steals. ``I think we shut down Levelle as a team.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Carnell Penn of Norfolk State, left, pulls away from Mike White of
North Carolina Central after stealing the ball.
by CNB