ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 1, 1996 TAG: 9601020001
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
VIRGINIA TECH COACH Bill Foster reaches a career milestone with a 62-46 victory over Wright State.
Bill Foster's 500th coaching victory really was the Big Easy.
After playing the first 15 minutes as though they had just come from an all-nighter on Bourbon Street, the 21st-ranked Hokies woke up and slam-dunked Wright State 62-46 Sunday at Lakefront Arena.
The victory enabled Foster to become the 16th active Division I coach and 40th overall to join the 500 club. In 28-plus years of head coaching, Foster's teams are 500-304.
Foster, who was presented a 500th victory cake by his players and Tech officials after the game, said he was glad this ``milestone deal'' was done.
``The best thing about this one is the 500 deal is over,'' the 59-year-old coach said. ``We won't have to worry about there being a No. 600.''
After slumbering through the game's first 15 minutes, the Hokies (6-1) took care of business for their coach.
Down 21-16 with 5:40 left in the first half, Tech scored 12 unanswered points to take a 28-21 lead to the locker room.
Tech's closing run included back-to-back steals and dunks by Ace Custis, followed by Shawn Good's steal and breakaway. The three jams in a span of 51 seconds let Wright State (6-4) know it was in the wrong place on this day.
The Raiders, hampered by the loss of star center Vitaly Potapenko, never got closer than seven the rest of the way. The Hokies breezed in the second half behind Damon Watlington (20 points) and Custis, who had 16 points and 17 rebounds.
``We wanted to get it all over with for coach today,'' said Custis, whose rebound total included a season-high nine on the offensive glass.
``He's not a person that gets all excited about this kind of stuff. He told us to forget all this hype about the outcome of the game and just play hard.
``He's a great, great coach, a player's coach. It feels good to be a part on the team that won him his 500th.''
Early on, the Hokies were still locked in the jet stream from their big 73-64 victory over arch-rival Virginia on Wednesday in Roanoke.
Foster said that factor, combined with his team's knowledge that Potapenko wasn't playing due to a suspension, put his team in a poor mindset to leave the gate early.
``I kind of expected what happened early in the game,'' said Foster, "but I didn't tell the kids that.''
The lethargic Hokies led only once in the first 15 minutes before finally getting their wake-up call.
Foster explained: "We had an emotional win against Virginia ... two days of being patted on the back and told how great you are, which they deserved ... and then the big kid [Potapenko] doesn't play. Human nature just grabs you by the throat and you just don't get after it.
``At halftime, we didn't give 'em any pearls of wisdom or anything. We made some adjustments against their zone ... but the thing was they found out that every day out you've got to strap it on and be ready to play.''
Watlington, Tech's steady shooting guard, helped get the Hokies jump-started by playing zone-buster. Watlington hit seven of 13 shots, including 4-of-7 from 3-point territory, which finally opened some holes inside for Tech against Wright State's packed zone defense.
``Watlington really stepped up and had a monster game,'' Foster said. "That kid is amazing. He's always ready to play whether it's practice or a game.''
Potapenko, a 6-foot-10, 290-pound sophomore from the Ukraine who leads Wright State in scoring (19.2 points per game), didn't make the trip after being handed a one-game suspension for being ejected for fighting in the Raiders' 105-86 loss to Miami on Wednesday.
``We heard it last night,'' Custis said. ``That's a big boost for us when the other team's best player won't play. That guy is a beast in the middle.''
Wright State coach Ralph Underhill said he knew his club might go underground without its big man.
``We wanted a game with the score in the 40s,'' Underhill said. ``Unfortunately, we were the only one in the 40s.''
The game drew a crowd of 4,212, nearly all of which were Hokies fans in town for Sunday night's Sugar Bowl. After the final horn, the Hokies fans stood and saluted the man who has recharged the school's basketball program over the past four-plus years.
``I appreciate the fans and the gestures by the school over this 500 thing,'' Foster said. "But to me the next one up is always the biggest one.''
see microfilm for box score {KEYWORDS} basketball
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. DON PETERSEN/Staff Tech basketball coach Bill Fosterby CNBnotched victory No. 500 on Sunday in New Orleans. color
2. DON PETERSEN/Staff Tech's Ace Custis dribbles the ball on a fast
break during the Hokies' game with Wright State on Sunday.
3. chart - Winning Ways STAFF