ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 6, 1996 TAG: 9602060081
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LEXINGTON
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
The Citadel painted itself into a corner Monday night in Cameron Hall, and VMI's Brent Conley provided the brush.
Hey, what are enemies for?
Conley brought the Keydets out of a second-half lull and scored 14 points as VMI cruised to a 91-52 victory over its most bitter rival.
The Bulldogs were on an 8-2 run when Conley came through with an outburst combining freshman exuberance and veteran skill. Conley scored or assisted on 16 consecutive Keydets points to put his team up 62-39 and put the game out of reach.
``He was a lot tougher than our guys up front,'' said Bulldogs coach Pat Dennis.
``I kept saying, `We've got to get him out!,' but Kenny [Brooks, VMI assistant] said no,'' said Bart Bellairs, VMI's head coach.
Conley began his five-minute campaign for Southern Conference freshman of the year with a steal of an inbounds pass and a perfect pass to Jason Bell, who made a layup. Then, in the midst of a personal celebration, he made another inbounds steal, grabbed a rebound of a Bell miss, laid it in and got fouled.
Next came a free throw, a 3-pointer, another steal, another assist ... well, you get the idea.
``I just got excited,'' Conley said. ``I was having fun. That's what this system is all about: having fun. Anyone of us can go off like that.''
It was too bad Conley had to paint the master strokes against The Citadel, the only school he visited while in prep school at Fork Union. He said he liked Dennis and assistant Ken Potosnak, but Charleston, S.C., was just too far away from his hometown of Fayetteville, W.Va.
``We would have really liked to have had him,'' said Dennis, a two-time All-American at Washington and Lee in the the late 1970s. ``But Lexington's just an hour-and-half from West Virginia. We're eight.''
The Citadel has been a long way from home for a long time. The Bulldogs left early for this past Saturday's game at Marshall in order to beat the snow, and drove to Lexington on Monday.
Once here, they became yet another victim of VMI's home-court hysteria.
``The tough thing about this league is the amount of travel,'' Bellairs said. ``It's great, if you like to watch lots of videos and movies.''
The Keydets (10-7 overall, 3-3 Southern Conference) have won 14 of their past 15 home games and, at 8-0, are off to their best start at home since 1977-78. That year they won their first nine at the old VMI Fieldhouse.
This 39-point outcome was as lopsided as any that came in that old building, but it wasn't the biggest margin this rivalry has seen. In 1920, in the basement of Jackson Memorial Hall, the Keydets trounced the Bulldogs 71-8.
``We have the utmost respect for their kids; we know what they go through,'' Bellairs said. ``Everything clicked for us. It didn't click for them.''
The Bulldogs (9-10, 4-4) got stuck in a corner thanks to their own hesitance against the pressing VMI defense. They committed 12 turnovers in each half, and have lost their past five games after starting with a 4-0 record in the conference.
``We were exposed at College of Charleston,'' said Dennis, referring to a 79-69 loss. ``We're struggling with handling pressure.''
Dennis didn't have a good night all around. Although he did get the chance to see some old friends in town, he also was hit with a first-half technical foul.
To make matters worse, around the corner at W&L, senior center Cam Dyer scored 22 points to take Dennis' ninth-place spot on the Generals' all-time scoring list.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines KEYWORDS: BASKETBALLby CNB