THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 4, 1996 TAG: 9603040134
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
If there's an explanation for the way UNC-Wilmington smothered Old Dominion on Sunday, it might be that the Seahawks had superior motivation.
UNC-Wilmington crushed ODU 59-39 in the Colonial Athletic Association semifinals with a bruising defensive effort.
With losses to Massachusetts, Cincinnati and Mississippi State and a victory over Southern Conference regular-season champ Davidson, the Seahawks (13-15) probably played the toughest non-league schedule in the CAA. They also finished third in the regular season.
Yet in part because they shoot poorly and often win ugly, the Seahawks say they don't get any respect.
``This team has been maligned and knocked all season,'' coach Jerry Wainwright said. ``I heard somebody say on the radio that this team doesn't shoot well enough to be in Division I.
``Well, our seniors won 19 CAA games. They finished second last season and third this year. Your first job is to win games, not score points. Until we got some more firepower, the best thing we can do is defend, and so that's what we do.''
The Seahawks meet Virginia Commonwealth for the CAA championship tonight.
LONG DAY: Basketball tournaments can be as tiring to journalists as they are to players. Just ask John Castleberry, the WTKR-TV sports director who doubles as ODU's radio voice.
On Saturday, Castleberry did play-by-play broadcasts on two quarterfinal games for Home Team Sports - nearly six hours in all - then immediately donned a headset to do the ODU game on radio. By day's end, his voice was but a whisper.
``I was drained by the end of the day, but I enjoyed it. It was a great experience,'' Castleberry said.
PAYBACK: Morris Grooms got a full measure of revenge in ECU's 76-60 quarterfinal victory over American. Grooms had 12 points and led all rebounders with 10 in just 17 minutes. He did so while playing against American's Tim Fudd, who nearly ended Grooms' career just a month ago.
Fudd sent Grooms sprawling with an elbow Feb. 3 that league officials ruled was intentional. Grooms suffered a life-threatening collapsed lung that required surgery to repair. He was not supposed to return this season.
Fudd got a five-game suspension.
Fudd had 15 points against ECU in the rematch and, true to form, had the game's only technical foul. by CNB