THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150615
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Virginia Commonwealth caught Mississippi State on a cold shooting night. The Rams got the Bulldogs' talented junior center Erick Dampier in foul trouble. They had the ball inside where they like it all night long.
And still lost.
The Bulldogs, the Southeast Regional's fifth seed, avoided an upset bid by the 12th-seeded Rams, who left the RCA Dome with the feeling a 58-51 loss was opportunity wasted.
Point guard Sherman Hamilton said when he can bring himself to watch the game tape, he's certain ``I'll kick myself in the butt.''
Bernard Hopkins lamented about the Rams' shooting woes - 21.9 percent in the first half, a season-low 31.3 percent for the game.
``We beat ourselves,'' Hopkins said.
Despite their problems, VCU had a chance in the final minute. The Bulldogs (23-7) led 54-51 when Hopkins put up an off-balance 8-foot hook shot with 41 seconds left that missed everything.
``I think I shot a little quick and I was bumped,'' said Hopkins, who finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
The Rams (24-9) got another chance, however, when Mississippi State's Darryl Wilson threw the ball away. VCU called time with 26.8 seconds left.
They never got off a potential game-tying shot. Wilson stripped the ball from Ivan Chappell with about 20 seconds left, and VCU had to foul. The Bulldogs made 4 of 4 from the line to wrap up the win.
``That was a broken play,'' said Hamilton, who along with another teammate and both their defenders was within about 7 feet of Chappell. ``I think we got too crowded on the floor, there was too much congestion.''
The first half did not do much for basketball purists here in Indiana. VCU's shooting was only slightly worse than Mississippi State's 31 percent, and the Bulldogs had 10 turnovers at the break and a 24-20 lead.
With 13 1/2 minutes left in the game, both teams had as many turnovers as they did field goals. VCU made 1 of 19 field goals over a span of 12:40 at the end of the first half and beginning of the second half.
``We felt like going into the game we'd be able to run our stuff and get our normal shots, and that actually happened,'' Rams coach Sonny Smith said. ``The shots just didn't go down.''
VCU played poorly, but Mississippi State did not look much like the team that beat Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference tournament title game just four days earlier. The Bulldogs shot 40.7 percent from the field and committed 20 turnovers.
``I don't think it was a lack of effort on our part,'' Mississippi State coach Richard Williams said. ``Mentally it was just very hard to get back to the same level we were at last weekend.''
The Bulldogs seemed to be pulling away early in the second half. They extended the lead to 32-22 with 15:34 to play.
But a few minutes later, Dampier picked up his fourth foul with 13:20 remaining and had to sit down.
Hopkins stepped up. He scored 10 points in a 15-5 VCU run the put the Rams ahead 46-45 with 6:07 to play. The last basket was over the 6-foot-11 Dampier (13 points, seven rebounds, five blocks), who had returned with 6:22 to play.
The Bulldogs rattled off a 6-0 run of their own, sparked by Wilson, who scored 10 of his 15 points in the final seven minutes. VCU got back within three, but failed on both opportunities to get closer.
``The strengths of our team are rebounding, second shots and playing great defense,'' said Smith, whose team was fifth nationally in rebound margin but got beat on the boards 46-36 by the Bulldogs. ``Unfortunately, we played a team that had the same strengths. The part that's discouraging about it is we got the ball right where we wanted to.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mississippi State's Marcus Bullard and VCU's Marcus Reed reach for a
loose ball in first-half action.
by CNB