THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 11, 1997 TAG: 9702110449
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RANDY KING, LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: PHILADELPHIA LENGTH: 56 lines
The Virginia Tech men's basketball team may have given away its postseason hopes on the floor of the CoreStates Spectrum Monday night.
In a game that could come back to haunt them next month, the Hokies suffered a damaging 59-56 loss to Atlantic 10 Conference lightweight La Salle.
In dropping to 13-10 overall and 6-5 in the A-10, the Hokies returned home in a foul mood.
Tech was victimized by atrocious free-throw shooting (13 for 24). Plus, the Hokies thought David Jackson was fouled by La Salle's Donnie Carr on a 3-pointer that would have tied the game as the final horn sounded.
Down 59-56 with 6.6 seconds left, Jim Jackson rebounded Mike Gizzi's missed free throw and fired the ball upcourt to his brother. David Jackson caught the ball, took one long dribble and went up for a three from the top of the key. As Jackson went up for the shot, he got caught in Carr's arms and wound up flinging the ball wildly toward the hoop.
After the horn sounded, Tech coach Bill Foster charged several steps onto the court in the direction of the officials.
Did Foster think Jackson got fouled.
``There was no thinking about it, he was fouled,'' Foster said. ``Those guys (the officials) were running around like the three blind mice out there.''
Foster then added: ``It probably wouldn't have made any difference. (Jackson) probably would have missed one of the three (free throws).''
After the game, Carr, who was held to a season-low 13 points, confessed to the crime.
``Truthfully,'' said a smiling Carr, ``I absolutely hammered him.''
The Hokies, who fell to 13-10 overall and 6-5 in the A-10, wouldn't have been in such a predicament if they'd made some free throws and Troy Manns hadn't committed a defensive blunder with 17.6 seconds left.
With Tech trailing 55-54 after Shawn Browne's offensive rebound basket, La Salle set up to inbounds the ball against the Tech press. In a set play, inbounder Mike Gizzi threw the ball to teammate Steve Fromal, who had retreated from the court to out of bounds.
When Fromal took the pass, Manns, in a reaction move, batted the ball from Fromal's hands - an automatic technical foul.
Gizzi, shooting the technical free throws, canned both to put La Salle up 57-54.
La Salle (8-12, 3-7) got the ball back on the technical and got another point when reserve Mike Melchionni was fouled with 12.1 seconds left and made one of two free throws.
Manns hit a running 8-footer with 7.8 seconds left to cut it to 58-56. Gizzi, fouled with 6.6 seconds left, made the first free throw. He missed the second, leading to David Jackson's misadventure with Carr.
Manns was quick to take the blame for the loss, which ended Tech's three-game winning streak.
``I blew it,'' he said. ``I messed up. Put the blame on me. I'm big enough to take it. As a senior, I'm supposed to know better.''