ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 10, 1995 TAG: 9512290114
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
Make it Radford University 3, Tennessee institutions of higher education 0.
The Highlanders rallied to thump Middle Tennessee State 92-77 on Saturday night at the Dedmon Center to record their third victory over a university from the Volunteer State during this men's basketball season. The others were a 92-77 dusting of Tennessee-Martin on Nov.25 and an 88-77 victory over East Tennessee State on Thursday night. Radford will complete a home-and-home series with ETSU on Dec.28 in Johnson City.
Saturday's triumph ended a series of four games in eight days for the Highlanders, who went .500 during that stretch.
``Four games in [eight] days has to take a toll, but that was a great win for us,'' said Radford guard Anthony Walker. ``We left it all there in the second half.''
The Highlanders (4-2) were sensational in the second half, making 21 of 27 field-goal attempts (77.8 percent) and outscoring the Blue Raiders 53-32.
Lots of players had big games for Radford, as was evident by the five scorers with double-figure totals. But it was a player who scored no points while playing a season-high 10 minutes who drew widespread praise from coaches and teammates.
``Shane Weddle was the key to that victory,'' Walker said. ``Every time he gets in the game, he does the little things that help us win.''
Walker did some of the big things, such as scoring 16 points to go with seven assists and seven steals.
``Everybody knows he can shoot 3s, but not everybody realizes the other things he does,'' said Ron Bradley, Radford's coach.
Jason Lansdown led the Highlanders with 17 points, Kevin Robinson and Eric Bowens had 15 each and Marquiz Williamson added 13. Bowens and Williams both came off the bench, with Bowens scoring 12 points in the second half.
Radford had a devil of a time defending the Blue Raiders (3-2) in the first half. Middle Tennessee State, operating on fresh legs because it had not played since Monday's 66-51 victory over Northeast Missouri, ripped a porous Radford man-to-man for 61.3 percent shooting from the floor.
That amounted to 19 of 31 shots, with Chad Wampler's five makes in five tries leading the way. Wampler ended the half with 10 points, as did Tim Gaither, who was a more modest 4-for-6.
``We had a great win Thursday [against ETSU] and we were like, `Let's take our time and catch our breath tonight,''' Bowens said. ``They took advantage of it. They really took advantage of it.''
The Highlanders took control for good midway through the second half by scoring nine consecutive points, a sequence that ended with a steal and layup by Williamson. That made the score 53-52.
see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 58 linesby CNB