ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 25, 1996 TAG: 9601250056
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
It couldn't have started any worse for the Roanoke College men's basketball team Wednesday night.
Eleven seconds had expired and Roanoke's No.14, star guard Jason Bishop, already had committed a foul. Meanwhile, Emory & Henry's No.14, star guard Dytanyon Norman, made a 3-point goal.
It couldn't have ended any better for the Maroons, however, because aside from 2 1/2 minutes of what must have resembled basketball purgatory, Roanoke had a heavenly evening with its 600 guests at the Bast Center. After trailing by 11 points early, the Maroons won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference matchup 96-76.
The victory was Roanoke's fourth straight and moved it into second place in the league. Virginia Wesleyan conceded its spot behind first-place Bridgewater with a 66-57 loss at Randolph-Macon.
``It's anybody's game down the stretch,'' declared Maroons coach Page Moir.
It was Emory & Henry's game early on as the Wasps (9-6 overall, 5-5 ODAC) bolted to a 13-2 lead. Roanoke (12-3, 7-3) retaliated with a 17-6 run to tie it at 19. The Maroons got the lead for good at 31-30 with 6:44 left in the first half and forged a 49-38 lead at the break.
``We couldn't have had much better shooting there,'' said Emory & Henry coach Bob Johnson, ``but we really did nothing after that.''
Roanoke point guard and Northside High School graduate Nathan Hungate made sure of that. He scored a game-high 20 points to take the pressure off Bishop, who had three first-half fouls. Hungate made nine pretty assists and, just as important, had six steals.
``We became the aggressor later in the second half,'' Hungate said. ``I was trying to get the ball moving around.''
Even though the conference tournament is a long way off, Hungate felt pressure with the Wasps in town. ``We have to win out now,'' he said. ``We can't lose much anymore.''
Roanoke's Kevin Sigafoes seemed to be riding his recent shooting streak, making 6 of 11 field-goal attempts to finish with 18 points. Two of his baskets were 3-pointers.
``When we were down, he hit some of his biggest shots,'' Moir said.
Good offense wasn't the Maroons' only weapon. They held ODAC scoring leader and Floyd County High School graduate Jason Light to a season-low seven points and caused 19 Emory & Henry turnovers in snapping the Wasps' three-game winning streak.
``Nobody got it done for us,'' Johnson said. ``We can't allow people to play as well as Roanoke played tonight.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 linesby CNB