ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, August 20, 1996 TAG: 9608200043
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS
Former Iowa star Jim Bartels scored 23 points as French club LaMotte beat the Virginia Tech men's basketball team 78-72 on Monday in an exhibition game in Lyon, France.
It was the Hokies' fourth loss in five games on their European tour, which continues with a game tonight in Strasbourg, France.
Senior forward Ace Custis led Tech with 15 points and eight rebounds. Jim Jackson scored 14 points and Kelly Mann added 10.
In other sports news in the region:
Lee Taylor, a freshman from Patrick Henry High School, shot a 2-under-par 70 to win the Heritage Invitational golf tournament played at London Downs Golf Club in Lynchburg.
Taylor's score was a tournament record as he edged Michael Hart of C.D. Hylton by one stroke and helped Patrick Henry to win the team title by one stroke. The Patriots finished at 310, followed by C.D. Hylton of Woodbridge and Mills Godwin of Richmond.
Franklin County finished fourth in the team battle with 317. Cave Spring (10th), Salem (11th) and Liberty (18th) were other Timesland entries.
The first major prep sports event of the school year begins today when the Bob McLelland Classic golf tournament, involving the top teams and players from the Roanoke Valley, tees off for a two-day run at Westlake Country Club in Franklin County.
North Cross, Patrick Henry and defending Group AA champion Northside are the headline teams. Among the marquee players are Brandon LaCroix (North Cross), Lee Taylor (Patrick Henry), Mike Damiano (William Byrd), Jacob Jarrett and Jason Orlando (both Northside).
The championship round is Wednesday at Blue Hills.
Robert Robinson of Alexandria shot a 1-over-par 71 Monday to lead 160 first-day qualifiers in the 46th annual Virginia State Golf Association Senior Men's Amateur Championship.
Robinson, a former Oakmont Country Club pro who regained his amateur status in 1966, had 13 pars, three bogeys and two birdies on the 6,566-yard layout of the Cascades course at The Homestead in Hot Springs.
Bob Moyers of New Market, a two-time finalist but never the champion, was one shot back after an even-par 72 on the 6,619-yard Lower Cascades course. Jim Kite of Wolftown was third after a 73, also on the Lower Cascades layout.
The golfers will switch courses today, after which the low 32 advance to match play beginning Wednesday and concluding with the championship Friday.
Chip Sullivan, a teaching pro at Hanging Rock Golf Club, was tied for fourth after one round of the Middle Atlantic PGA Hogan Section Championship in Williamsburg.
Steve WenPetren set the pace with a 4-under-par 68 on the Golden Horseshoe's Green Course. Sullivan, playing the more challenging Gold Course, was one of nine golfers at 71 - even par on his course. Jeff Sprinkel (Gold Course) of Blue Hills and Bill Good of Virginia Tech (Green Course) were at 80.
The players will switch courses today before the field is cut to 100 players and ties for the final round Wednesday.
Roanoke's K.J. Hippensteel defeated Jay Patel of India 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the International Hardcourts Championships tennis tournament in College Park, Md. Hippensteel, 16, will play top-seeded David Martin of Tulsa, Okla., today in the second round of the 18-and-under division.
Roanoke College has hired Ken DeBolt as its sports information director. DeBolt, a 1995 graduate of the University of Dayton, comes to the Salem school from Hobart and William Smith colleges in Geneva, N.Y., where he served as an assistant for the past six months.
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