Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: TUESDAY, June 26, 1990 TAG: 9006260298 SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: Associated Press DATELINE: ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. LENGTH: Medium
Coles sank eight three-point field goals in his opening-round match against Payton but still lost 40-36.
"He backed me down," Coles said of Payton. "I was hitting good from the outside, but then I missed three shots in a row. He was banging my elbow and it threw my shot off. I was ahead in the first half [of the eight-minute, one-on-one game] and those three shots killed me.
"He's good. He's tougher than I thought. He really didn't beat me one-on-one, he just backed me in."
Both finalists played two previous games, but Payton had an advantage with an extra few minutes of rest while the 6-foot-5 Kimble battled 6-7 Lionel Simmons of LaSalle in the semifinals.
Kimble, though, showed no signs of fatigue, making four 3-pointers early for a 14-5 lead, then muscling inside to draw fouls. He made 12 of 12 free throws in the final 4:31 and had only one field goal in that span.
Kimble, the nation's leading collegiate scorer last season with a 35.3 average, is a certain first-round pick in Wednesday night's NBA draft.
He earned $100,000, his first pro paycheck, and Payton got $50,000. The other six entrants were guaranteed $10,000 each.
The 6-3 Payton advanced to the final by going inside on two 6-1 players - Coles and Chris Jackson of Louisiana State. Payton made only one outside shot in defeating Jackson 23-19 in the semifinals.
Kimble reached the final with a 34-30 win over Simmons, scoring the last four points of the game on free throws in the final 19 seconds.
In other first-round matches, Jackson made 16 of 25 3-point attempts, accounting for all but four of his points in a 52-39 victory over Minnesota's Willie Burton; Kimble defeated Travis Mays of Texas 31-18; and Simmons came back from an eight-point deficit to edge Sean Higgins of Michigan 30-29.
Earlier, Joey Johnson, the younger brother of the Boston Celtics' Dennis Johnson, won the national Vertical Dunk contest with a slam of 11 feet, 7 inches.
Johnson, 23, who played at Arizona State, outdueled Antonio Davis, an at-large entry from Texas-El Paso, who dunked 11-6 on a basket raised hydraulically. Johnson won $50,000.
by CNB