ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 9, 1990                   TAG: 9003092064
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: PAGE:         EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BILOXI, MISS.                                 LENGTH: Long


TECH BOUNCED FROM BILOXI/ POOR SHOOTING HITS AT WRONG TIME

Virginia Tech took the abbreviation of the Magnolia State literally and applied it to field-goal shooting on Thursday.

That was enough to get the Hokies bounced out of Biloxi.

Seventh-seeded Tech made just 26 of 81 field goals - a season-low 32 percent - as second-seeded Southern Mississippi rolled to an 81-67 win in a Metro Conference basketball tournament first-round game at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

That percentage is the lowest ever for Tech in 174 Metro games, regular season and postseason.

"Southern Miss did a good job of blocking some shots, intimidating some shots and making us shoot off balance," said Tech coach Frankie Allen, who watched his team fritter away its recent momentum by shooting 27 percent in the first half. "You're going to dig a little bit of a hole for yourself."

The Hokies lost their sixth straight tournament game, including the final in 1984, and have lost eight of their last 11 games against Southern Miss after winning the first eight matchups between the teams.

Tech got 19 points from star Bimbo Coles, who played with a badly sprained left foot, but Coles made just eight of 21 field-goal attempts.

"I didn't play well at all," said Coles, who wore a splint and a brace on his left foot and ankle. "I'm not going to say it's because of the ankle."

Whereas Coles' iffy status shrouded the Hokies during the week, Southern Miss had few worries. The Golden Eagles got 18 rebounds from Metro Conference Player of the Year Clarence Weatherspoon and grabbed a total of 53 rebounds. Each number is one short of the tournament record.

Weatherspoon, averaging more than 18 points per game, scored just nine. Guard Darrin Chancellor scored 22 while shooting 9-for-14 from the field, and 6-11 center Daron Jenkins had 24 points and 13 rebounds.

"They were really trying to double Spoon and front him, and keep the ball out of his hands, and they did a very good job," Southern Miss coach M.K. Turk said. "But that also allowed Jenkins to roam a little freer."

The Hokies fell behind by 11 at halftime and trailed by 20 in the second half. Southern Miss led 66-48 before a 12-4 run brought Tech to within 70-60 with about five minutes left. That was all the Hokies could muster, though, as the Golden Eagles widened their lead after that.

"We took it to them and kept fending off runs we knew they would make," Turk said.

Southern Miss, which beat Tech 83-66 in the Metro Tournament's first round in 1986-87, picked up just its second tournament win in seven years in the league. Tech hasn't won a first-round game since 1984.

Tech had a three-game winning streak snapped and finished 13-18. Southern Miss (19-10) faces Cincinnati (19-12) in today's semifinal game at 9:30 p.m. In the other semifinal, at 7 p.m., Memphis State (18-10) plays top-seeded Louisville (24-7).

At the pre-tournament luncheon on Wednesday, Allen said he thought Tech was on a roll. The roll, however, carried the Hokies onto the Coliseum floor and no further.

"The past three games, we shot the ball really well and played great team defense," said center David Herbster, who had 12 points and 12 rebounds. "All the breaks went our way. But [Thursday] our shots didn't fall early."

In the first half, Southern Miss used an 11-2 run to open a 31-19 lead with about seven minutes left, and led at the half 40-29.

The Hokies, who shot 41 percent from the field this year, were abysmal from the field in the first half. The Golden Eagles, the Metro's second-best shooting team with a 51.7 percent mark, made 13 of its 20 field-goal attempts (65 percent).

Tech trailed 18-10 with about 13 minutes left in the half, but a 7-2 run cut its deficit to 20-17. Antony Moses' free throw started the streak, and Coles' follow shot made it 18-13. Southern Miss' Daron Jenkins scored underneath to make it 20-13, but Rod Wheeler's layup on a pass from Coles cut it to 20-15. Tech's Ibraheem Oladotun tipped away a Southern Miss entry pass, and Coles scored on a drive from the left baseline to make it 20-17.

But Darrin Chancellor hit a wide-open 3-pointer from the right corner for a six-point Southern Miss lead. Tech missed twice, and John Lacey scored on a fast break to put Southern Miss ahead 25-17. Dirk Williams missed a baseline jumper, and Golden Eagle Jerome Jones hit a jump shot, was fouled by David Herbster and made the free throw for a 28-17 count.

Herbster scored inside, but Jenkins hit a free throw to make it 29-19. Two more free throws by Jenkins gave Southern Miss a 31-19 edge.

The poor first half belied Tech's bravado going in.

"We were still confident," Coles said of the team's attitude before the game. "We were sitting there watching the [Cincinnati-Florida State] game, we were talking, saying, `Yeah, we're going to be here Saturday.' "

But today, the Hokies board their charter flight home.

"Southern Miss just played so much better than we did," Allen said. VA. TECH MPFGFTRAFPT Rivers 222-50-03054Williams 313-111-24247Herbster 275-122-2120212Coles 328-211-442319Burton 295-162-232312Wheeler 181-85-74007Elliott 181-30-04022Oladotun 121-20-03032Moses 100-21-23041Holland 10-11-21001Totals 20026-8113-214762667 S. MISS. MPFGFTRAFPT Weatherspoon 373-83-618029Crowell 191-80-02242Jenkins 359-156-11130024Johnson 322-27-833311Chancellor 349-143-677222Jones 223-73-46219Lacey 51-30-01022Dale 80-10-10000Rembert 61-10-02012Mealer 10-10-00010Sullivan 10-00-01000Totals 20029-6022-3653141681 Rebounds include team rebounds Score by periods: Va. Tech29-38-67 S. Mississippi40-41-81

Three-point goals - Virginia Tech: Coles 2-8, Burton 0-3, Wheeler 0-4, Moses 0-1, Total 2-16. Southern Mississippi: Chancellor 1-2, Jones 0-1, Dale 0-1, Total 1-4.

Turnovers - Virginia Tech 10 (Oladotun 3); Southern Mississippi 17 (Chancellor 5). Blocked shots - Virginia Tech 1 (Rivers); Southern Mississippi 5 (Weatherspoon 3). Steals - Virginia Tech 9 (Wheeler 3); Southern Mississippi 2 (Weatherspoon, Crowell).

Technical fouls - Coles. Officials - Chrisman, Jag, Hatfield. Attendance - 10,257.



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