DATE: Saturday, March 1, 1997               TAG: 9703010662
SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   33 lines

RICHMOND ADVANCES IN CAA PLAY-IN GAME

When the worst team in the league loses its best player, the result tends to be predictable.

That occurred Friday in the Colonial Athletic Association play-in game. Ninth-seeded George Mason lost Nate Langley - the conference's leading scorer - late in the first half when he sprained an ankle while pursuing a loose ball. George Mason was already trailing No. 8 Richmond by nine at the time, and ended up losing 85-57.

Richmond (13-14) advances to meet No. 1 seed Old Dominion in a tournament quarterfinal at 2:30 p.m. today in the Richmond Coliseum.

Four Spiders scored in double figures, led by guard Daryl Oliver with 17 points on 6 of 8 shooting, 5 of 7 from 3-point range. CAA Rookie of the Year Marseilles Brown added 13 and seven assists.

The 57 points was a season-low for the Patriots (10-17).

``We just couldn't generate enough good offense,'' George Mason coach Paul Westhead said.

Spiders backup point guard Carlos Cueto suffered a broken nose in the second half, but is expected to play today.

ODU swept the season series with the Spiders, winning 76-69 in Richmond and 63-51 in Norfolk. The Spiders were overmatched by ODU's interior play in both games.

``Defensively we have to box out their big men and offensively we have to make quick post moves and knock down some shots,'' Oliver said.

``We need to shoot the ball well and we need to get some production inside,'' Richmond coach Bill Dooley said.

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