THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 8, 1996 TAG: 9603080745
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PHILADELPHIA LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
The last thing Virginia Tech wanted was to make this kind of first impression in its Atlantic 10 basketball tournament debut. But the worst happened, in all its awkwardness Thursday in the Hokies' quarterfinal contest against Rhode Island at the Philadelphia Civic Center.
The young Rams, fourth-seeded in the East Division, draped a 77-71 upset on the 15th-ranked Hokies, veterans who entered top-seeded in the West. Not that you could tell Tech is full of upperclassmen by the way it wandered through the first half and then fell apart at the end.
Strangely out of sorts in the first 20 minutes, after which they trailed by 10, the Hokies literally rebounded hard after the break, demolishing Rhode Island 24-8 on the boards.
Despite terrible shooting by center Ace Custis and guard Damon Watlington - Tech's leading scorers were a combined 4 for 17 for 17 points, 14 by Custis - and a shoulder injury that limited forward Shawn Smith to two points in 18 minutes, Tech held a 64-63 lead with 5:16 to play.
Tech (22-5), which still seems assured a spot in the NCAA tournament, had trailed by as much as 13 early in the second half. But the Hokies followed that rally with a pair of turnovers. Troy Manns bounced a pass through Travis Jackson's legs, and Watlington, who turned an ankle early and said it hindered him the rest of the way, dribbled the ball off his leg out of bounds.
Rhode Island (18-12), which lost in overtime to Tech in the teams' regular-season meeting in Kingston, in the meantime regained the lead on two free throws by Michael Andersen.
The Hokies never were in position to go back on top as Rhode Island made 6 of 7 free throws in the last two minutes to maintain control and gain a semifinal matchup with Temple tonight.
``I'm shocked,'' said Tech coach Bill Foster of his team's passive play at the outset. ``Everybody was 10 minutes early to get on the bus, there wasn't a damn word said coming over. It was kind of like, boy, focus. So I figure we're gonna go out there and rip their britches off from the get-go.
``But we go out there and don't play physical at all. Ace was like out in the twilight zone somewhere. Wat wasn't himself. I don't know. It's hard to figure.
``I know they wanted to play well.''
The only Hokies who fulfilled that wish were guard Shawn Good (21 points) and center Jackson (17). Custis did what he could despite his misfirings, keeping the Hokies in the hunt with 10 second-half rebounds. Only because he hit 8 of 11 foul shots, however, did he reach his 14-point average.
``I felt I had let the team down in the first half,'' Custis said. ``I wanted to come out and play a better second half. I couldn't play any worse than I played the first half. I tried to play more solid in the second half, but it wasn't enough.''
Tech was blistered for 18 points each by sophomore guard Tyson Wheeler and forward Antonio Reynolds, the A-10's freshman of the year, who also had 10 rebounds. Ironically, the Rams had developed a reputation for blowing leads in the regular season, including in their overtime loss to Tech.
``I figured once we came back and got the lead in the second half that we were gonna be OK, we were gonna maintain our composure and keep the lead,'' Custis said. ``But they got some big baskets, got the lead and never looked back. We didn't play well, we didn't play smart. That's what happens when you don't play to your potential.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Virginia Tech's Shawn Good drives the baseline for two of his
team-high 21 points while Rhode Island's Antonio Reynolds defends.
by CNB