Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 15, 1993 TAG: 9301150103
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
49ERS SLIP BY HOKIES
Virginia Tech's offense dissolved against one of the Metro Conference's better defensive teams on Thursday as UNC Charlotte beat the Hokies 65-56 in front of 5,613 at Cassell Coliseum.Shawn Good's jumper with 7:05 left pulled the Hokies to 51-50 but UNCC outscored Tech 14-6 the rest of the way.
Tech played part of that stretch with offensive weapons Jim Jackson and Corey Jackson on the bench. But Tech trailed just 54-52 when Don Corker hit Shawn Smith for a transition layup with 4:06 left. UNCC's Bershuan Thompson followed with an open 3-pointer - after Jay Purcell fell down trying to harass Cedric Broadhurst on the perimeter - to give the 49ers a 57-52 edge.
Corker missed a jumper in the lane, and Thompson countered with two free throws with 3:03 left. Tech's next three possession resulted in a steal against Smith, Elliott's blocked turnaround and Purcell's stolen pass to the top of the key.
Tech fell to 4-4 overall and 0-3 in the Metro. UNCC, picked in some preseason Top 25s, improved to 6-6 and 1-1.
Tech lost its first home game this year in five tries while UNCC improved to 4-3 on the road.
It was the first of three straight road games for UNCC, which played without forward Jarvis Lang (13.1 points per game, 7 rpg). Lang, who missed all but two games last season with a broken wrist, sprained his right thumb in practice Wednesday night.
That didn't figure to help UNCC, which in its past five losses hadn't shot better than 40 percent from the field or 62 percent from the line. But the 49ers turned to their defense to stifle Tech.
The 49ers won two of the teams' three meetings last year, including a Metro Tournament game.
The game matched the Metro's top two defensive teams. UNCC's 71.1 points allowed per game is first in the Metro and Tech's 72.4 is second.
Tech and UNCC traded 11-point runs in a first half that ended with Shawn Smith's three-point play with :00.1 seconds left to put the Hokies on top 32-31.
Jim Jackson led Tech with 10 points at the break, followed by Shawn Smith with seven. James Terrell had eight points for UNCC, which had an 18-13 edge on the boards but had 12 turnovers.
Tech led 14-13 with 10:40 to go before the 49ers scored 11 straight points to lead 24-14 with 7:35 left. Tech freshman Jim Jackson had two passes stolen during the 49er run, which featured scoring from five different players and ended on a James Terrell three-pointer.
The Hokies matched UNCC's streak. After a jumper by Jimmy Carruth, Jim Jackson hit consecutive set-play three-pointers to make it 24-22 UNCC with 5:47 left.
Then, Jackson tipped a pass that Thomas Elliott picked off but had poked out of bounds on the break. On the inbounds, Jay Purcell drove through a cleared-out lane to score on a left-handed layup. He was fouled and hit the free throw for a 25-24 Tech lead with 5:09 left.
UNCC took a 31-29 lead on Aaron Wilhite's jumper with nine seconds to go in the half. Purcell went coast-to-coast and was stripped, but Smith picked up the loose ball, put in a left-handed layup, was fouled and hit the free throw.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL