Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 7, 1993 TAG: 9312070197
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It's not easy to score, either. And sticky defense is absolutely out of the question.
Just ask the Lynchburg College men's basketball team.
Playing its third road game in four days, Lynchburg ran into Roanoke College on Monday night - and then ran out of gas. Performing before the home crowd at the Bast Center, the Maroons broke open a close game midway through the first half and coasted to a 98-73 Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory.
Roanoke (6-1 overall, 2-1 ODAC) leads the all-time series with Lynchburg 76-17.
Roanoke's balanced attack was led by seniors Hilliary Scott, who had 22 points, and Kevin Martin, who matched his season best with 20. The Maroons also got 13 from freshman Tim Braun, who filled in for Bryant Lee, who injured an ankle Saturday against Virginia Wesleyan.
Lynchburg had defeated Wilmington College on Friday and Salisbury State on Saturday en route to winning the Salisbury (Md.) Invitational Tournament.
Roanoke coach Page Moir knew his opponents would be road weary and plotted accordingly.
"Part of our philosophy was to fast-break them to death," Moir said. "We wanted to move the ball up and down the floor."
As a result, the game was rapid-paced, and each team committed 19 turnovers.
Lynchburg (3-2, 1-2) led first as all-ODAC forward Anthony Cummings, a Cave Spring High School product, scored five of his team-high 18 points in the game's opening minutes. But once Roanoke took the lead 16-15 on a Martin bucket with 10:52 left in the first half, the Maroons never trailed again.
Roanoke opened a 46-38 halftime lead and led 66-52 with 11:46 to play. Then the floodgates were lifted. In the next five minutes, the Maroons scored 17 consecutive points (seven by Scott), and the contest became a rout.
"We just took their heart out," Braun said. "We were scrapping and getting down on the floor."
Said Moir, "I thought our guys put forth a tremendous effort. With one of our key players out, I wondered how they would react. But we've got so many players with experience, we did alright."
Thirteen Maroons saw action, and only Scott was on the floor more than 24 minutes. Roanoke shot 60 percent from the field, 69 percent in the second half.
The shooting eyes of Roanoke's top scorers were extraordinarily accurate. Scott was 8-of-10 from the field, Martin was 8-of-11 and Braun made six of his seven shots.
"It makes a big difference when you get layups," Martin said. "Lynchburg tried to overplay us, and Coach [Moir] teaches us to back-cut whenever that happens."
The Maroons consistently found the open man, recording 26 assists.
Roanoke also shot well from long-distance, converting on seven of 15 3-point attempts.
Free-throw shooting was the Maroons' most glaring weakness. They missed 10 of 23 tries. Lynchburg wasn't much better, converting 16 of 27.
Other than Cummings, Otis Tucker was the only Hornet who scored in double figures with 12 points.
Steve Camara was the Maroons' leading rebounder, snaring 11 in 13 minutes. Roanoke controlled the rebounding 43-34.
Lee, Roanoke's second-leading scorer, is expected to return Thursday when the Maroons host Eastern Mennonite. \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB