Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 10, 1993 TAG: 9312100231
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Thursday night, the victim was Eastern Mennonite. Roanoke used an efficient full-court press in the second half to crush the Royals 94-57 in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference game.
The victory was Roanoke's third at home in six days. In each case, the Maroons were lethargic at first but dominant in the second half.
The Maroons (7-1, 3-1) were led by freshman guard Jason Bishop, who scored a season-high 21 points in just 17 minutes of playing time. Bishop also paced the Maroons with four of their 18 steals.
Also playing outstanding second-half defense for Roanoke were playmaker Dustin Fonder and forward Stan Clements. In a 59-second span, Roanoke scored four baskets and forced four ensuing turnovers - without allowing Eastern Mennonite to get the ball within 25 feet of its goal.
"Coach [Page] Moir told us at halftime we had to pick it up on defense," Fonder said. "We were just going through the motions in the first half."
"My man was taking the ball out of bounds," Clements said. "So I was backing off to half-court and then jumping the ball as soon as I could."
Roanoke's swarming defense was effective, holding the Royals to only five points in the first 11 minutes of the second half. By the time Rod Martin (EMC's leading scorer with 15) made his first second-half bucket, Roanoke led 68-44.
For the first 20 minutes, an upset of staggering proportions was brewing.
The Royals (2-6, 0-3), who have been outscored by an average of nearly 25 points per game this season, stayed with Roanoke. They ran off seven consecutive points and took the lead 27-26 on a Martin basket with 4:04 left in the half. At halftime, Roanoke's lead was only four, and the Royals had three more field goals and two more rebounds.
Only superb free-throw shooting (14 of 18) kept the Maroons from trailing.
"In the first half, we played as well as we could play," Royals coach Tom Baker said. "But they turned it up a notch in the second half, and with our youth, the pressure got to us and our inexperience showed."
Eastern Mennonite starts three freshmen and four of its five leading scorers are in their first year.
Several Roanoke reserves were inserted in the lineup in the game's waning minutes, and Brian Blaney, Derrick Boykin and Darnell Norman scored their first field goals of the season.
Bryant Lee, Roanoke's second leading scorer, missed his second consecutive game with an ankle injury, but Moir said he will begin practicing at full strength today.
Even without Lee, Roanoke won its two games this week by an average of 31 points.
"We're excited about what we have here," Moir said. "But the real test will be when we play Randolph-Macon on Sunday. We'll have a little extra incentive against them because they knocked us out of the ODAC tournament last year.
"I've told our guys whatever we do, we're going to have to live with it for three weeks, because our next game isn't until Jan. 3."
One casualty for the Maroons was senior guard Mike Thornton, who hyperextended his left knee on a drive to the basket. Moir said Thornton might miss the Randolph-Macon game.
by CNB