THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 12, 1997 TAG: 9702120816
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 68 lines
George Washington took advantage of its second chances and Old Dominion missed out on its chances down the stretch to steal a road win Tuesday.
The Colonials of the Atlantic 10 led all but the first couple of minutes and pulled out a 68-63 victory at the Smith Center. ODU (15-10) has lost three in a row and six of its last seven.
The Monarchs suffered their worst beating on the boards this season, as GW held a 49-36 rebounding advantage. Twenty-five of those were offensive rebounds, which the Colonials turned into 24 second-chance points.
``That's just ridiculous,'' ODU's Cal Bowdler said of GW's 25-11 advantage on the offensive glass. The Monarchs finished with 12 second-chance points.
``That's a big factor, especially when they shoot 30 percent,'' ODU's Odell Hodge said. ``We're stopping them, but we're not coming up with the loose balls. That's something we can't have.''
The Monarchs shot 44.8 percent from the field and made 26 field goals compared with GW's 30 percent and 21 field goals, but couldn't combat the Colonials' advantage on the boards and from the line (21 converted free throws to six).
George Washington (11-9) made 13 consecutive free throws in the game's final 7:54 before missing a pair with .09 remaining. Included in that stretch were six in a row that put the game away.
ODU cut the lead to 62-61 when Hodge made a bank shot over two Colonials with 1:47 remaining. At the other end, GW's J.J. Brade was fouled by Mike Byers and hit two foul shots with 1:26 remaining for a 64-61 lead.
The Monarchs turned it over with 1:06 left when GW's Andrei Krivonos harassed Mark Poag into a five-second call. The Colonials missed a shot with 33 seconds remaining but Brade rebounded. From there, GW put the ball into the hands of 90-percent foul shooter and point guard Shawnta Rogers, who made a pair with 27.5 seconds and 11.9 seconds remaining.
The game was technically interesting - ODU coach Jeff Capel got a technical in the first half, and in the second half Monarch Skipper Youngblood and Colonial Alexander Koul committed what amounted to offsetting technicals.
Youngblood's came with 7:54 remaining when ODU cut a GW lead that topped out at 13 in the first half down to 48-45. Youngblood was called for a foul on Koul, and argued and stomped around until official Larry Rose gave him a tech. Although GW only made two of four foul shots, it started the Colonials on a 7-0 run.
``Skipper's a young kid; he let his emotions get the best of him,'' Capel said. ``He just overreacted. . . . You have to understand there's a line you can't cross, and he obviously crossed it.''
Then Koul lost his cool. After Koul was fouled by Hodge, he was bumped by ODU's 5-foot-11, 170-pound Brion Dunlap as he walked toward the line. The 7-foot, 270-pound Koul pushed Dunlap to draw a technical, which was his fifth personal foul, sending him to the bench with 5:50 remaining.
``Alexander made a mistake that young people make when they allow their emotions to control their physical actions,'' GW coach Mike Jarvis said. ``Luckily for him, his team did not suffer the consequences.''
Just four minutes later ODU cut the lead to one, but couldn't come up with the plays at the end.
Hodge led ODU with 22 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, while Bowdler came off the bench to score a career-high 15 on 7 of 9 shooting.
``If he could play with that type of emotion and that type of confidence all the time, he would be in our starting lineup,'' Capel said. ``And he should be, but he just hasn't done that on a consistent basis.''
Poag had 15 points but continued to struggle from 3-point range (3 of 14), while starting guards Dunlap and Byers combined for seven points after hitting 36 in the last game.
Rogers, GW's 5-4 point guard, led the Colonials with 14 points, 12 rebounds and six assists without a turnover.