Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 16, 1992 TAG: 9202160171
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
HOKIES RIDE OUT WAVE
For Virginia Tech to defeat the nation's 14th-ranked basketball team, everything had to work almost perfectly. It did.\ How very strange it was Saturday at Cassell Coliseum.
Virginia Tech's free throws were accurate, its ball-handling was adept, its passing skilled, its field-goal shooting expert.
And then there was that scoreboard: It read Virginia Tech 89, Tulane 73. There were no technical difficulties; that score was not reversed.
"Today, we were a great team," Hokies guard Steve Hall said.
Tech emerged from the darkness of five straight losses and seven defeats in eight games to blast 14th-ranked Tulane in a Metro Conference basketball upset. It was the Green Wave's first league loss this year and put off the school's first 20-win season.
The Hokies (8-13 overall, 2-6 Metro) won without top rebounder and second-leading scorer John Rivers, did it on regional television and did it in front of the second-biggest home crowd this year, 6,044.
In its losing streak, Tech hadn't been a shadow of the team it was Saturday.
"Chemistry is the best word," Tech's Corey Jackson said when asked to describe the turnaround.
Jackson, Thomas Elliott, Erik Wilson, Steve Hall and Jay Purcell played all but a few seconds of the last 20 minutes. Last year, the Hokies beat Louisville in Blacksburg as Wilson, Elliott, Rivers, Don Corker and Rod Wheeler played the whole second half. Rivers sat out Saturday with a sprained ankle.
"Cassell Coliseum was the real difference in the second half," Foster said of the crowd's support. "How could you get fatigued listening to that?"
Trouble for Tulane was that the Green Wave (19-3, 7-1) had been reduced to a ripple before it took the floor. It was the fourth road game in the past five outings for coach Perry Clark's team, which beat 22nd-ranked UNC Charlotte at Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday.
Tulane normally blows away opponents with its five-man group of reserves, "The Posse."
Saturday, Clark flicked the five-man switch with 13:57 to go in the first half and Tulane ahead 14-10.
But Virginia Tech scored the next six points.
"We were about a half-step slow," Clark said. "We didn't really get enough out of the pressure. We're a little tired. We need to go home."
Tech gave Tulane no fond memories for the trip. For the first time this season, the Hokies had five players score 10 or more points. And, Tech's 58-point second half topped its scoring output in three of its previous four games.
Tulane used a half-court trapping press most of the time, but Tech attacked it. Jackson had 17 points, 15 in the second half as he loitered wide open on the baseline, took passes and hit layups or jumpers.
"We decided we weren't going to guard him today," Clark said, smiling. "In all honesty, we didn't rotate as fast as we normally do."
Still, the Hokies normally would have found a way to succumb. Not Saturday, when they had a season-high 21 assists.
"We worked on getting [the ball] to the middle, turn and face the basket," Elliott said. "There was a player open every time."
Added Hall: "We were just strong with the ball."
And strong without it. The Hokies' 2-3 zone, a near constant after a few tries at man-to-man early in the game, worked. Forced into a half-court game by Tech's offensive competence, the Green Wave struggled.
Tulane's lack of a potent inside game showed. Forward Anthony Reed had 10 points, mostly on jumpers. Centers Makeba Perry and Matt Popp went scoreless, as did Posse member Carlin Hartman, who averages 10 points per game.
"We made them set up the whole game because, A, we didn't turn it over, and B, we're in a zone," Foster said. "They're not used to doing that."
Tech tied the score at halftime on a steal and layup by Hall, then pulled away with about 13 minutes left - right after Elliott almost gave Tulane a jump-start.
With Tech leading 45-42, Elliott was called for a foul going for a rebound under Tech's basket. Elliott and referee Mac Chauvin had words, then Elliott turned and began walking away - swiping a dismissive backhand near Chauvin's face. Greg Gary hit two technical foul free throws.
"I probably did something I shouldn't have done," Elliott said. "I was worried it would get the Tulane players to play harder."
It didn't happen.
Pete Rasche lost the ball on Tulane's possession, and Elliott hit a turnaround shot inside for a 47-44 Tech lead. Tulane's Pointer Williams walked, and Hall hit a 3-pointer from the left corner that made it 50-44 with 12:10 to go.
Tulane missed, and Wilson hit a follow shot for a 52-44 Tech lead with 11:05 to go.
With 9:12 left, Elliott got the ball in the lane, turned and hit a short shot while being fouled. The free throw made it 57-46 Hokies. Tulane never got closer than seven the rest of the way.
Tech had lost its previous three games against the Green Wave.
"I sensed a little bit that some people were not really writing us off, but saying, `Oh, well, this is what everyone expected,' " Hall said of the Hokies' recent struggles. "We have a habit of playing to the level of our competition."
Or, as Clark put it:
"Things happen." \
see microfilm for box score