THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 23, 1996 TAG: 9603230525
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LEXINGTON, KY. LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Georgia Tech, which had zipped into the Southeast Regional like a sports car with an extra passing gear, performed more like a clunker Friday night as it bid farewell to the NCAA tournament.
The ACC's regular-season champions started slowly and never got up to speed in an 87-70-loss to second-seeded Cincinnati, which advanced to Sunday's regional championship game against Mississippi State.
Cincinnati (28-4) sprinted into a 13-2 lead in the opening six minutes and never trailed while shutting down Tech's perimeter game.
Tech coach Bobby Cremins came into the game worrying about how his team would match up against the more physical Bearcats, and his concern was justified.
Freshman Stephon Marbury, Tech's leading scorer during the season, made only 2 of 7 first-half shots. He finished with 15 points but was 4 for 13 from the field.
Backcourt mate Drew Barry failed to provide any help, finishing the opening half without a point and was 2 of 12 from the field for the game.
Meanwhile, the Bearcats, ranked seventh in the final AP poll, had six players in double figures, led by Damon Flint with 18.
Center Art Long scored three of Cincinnati's first four field goals from close range, but the Bearcats used perimeter shooting to build their big lead.
The Yellow Jackets made only a couple of mild attempts to come back after dropping so far behind in the opening minutes.
Forward Matt Harpring tried to awaken Tech's offense by hitting a 3-point goal followed by a tap-in off an offensive rebound. That closed Cincinnati's lead to 13-7, but the Bearcats spurted for 10 straight points to rebuild the lead to 23-7.
Marbury scored his first field goal on a layup with 3:29 left in the first half and the Yellow Jackets down 35-20. Tech scored the final four points in the half to trail 40-30 at intermission.
But the Yellow Jackets (24-12), looking tired and disorganized, never threatened in the second half. by CNB