ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 2, 1997 TAG: 9702040034
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
The Old Dominion Athletic Conference's Team of the Future came to the Bast Center on Saturday to play the ODAC's Team of the Present. The Team of the Future showed up, however, with impatient minds and an impassioned attitude.
Hampden-Sydney, with a starting lineup of three freshmen, upset first-place Roanoke 85-82 before a tense and contentious crowd of 1,538.
``I've been looking at this game on the schedule ever since last year,'' said Carlos Holland, a Franklin County High School graduate and one of those Tiger freshmen. ``We wanted it so bad.''
Hampden-Sydney revealed its intentions from the opening tip, making its first six shots and, before you could say ``Illinois Wesleyan'', had a 16-4 lead. ``I thought we were ready to play,'' said Tigers coach Tony Shaver. ``But I certainly didn't predict a win.''
Join the crowd. Roanoke may have lost its first ODAC game on Wednesday night at Emory & Henry, but that was supposed to be an aberration, a tiny slip on the way to the Team of the Present's second-straight ODAC title. Now the Maroons have their first two-game losing streak since January 1995. It was Roanoke's first regular-season loss at home in the past 20 games.
``We've let two young teams get confidence early,'' said Roanoke coach Page Moir. ``A veteran team shouldn't start out that way.''
The Maroons (14-3 overall, 9-2 ODAC) recovered well enough to lead 45-41 at halftime. They pushed the lead to 59-49 with 15:41 to play, but then went scoreless for the next five minutes. Nevertheless, their lead was back to nine, 67-58, with 9:06 to go.
At that point, the Tigers (13-5, 7-5) snapped out of a trance that had them taking all their shots from around the 3-point arc. They began to fire the ball to the inside, where senior forward Bryan Sheridan and freshman center Jeremy Harris awaited. Harris scored eight of Hampden-Sydney's next 20 points, and put the Tigers ahead, 80-78, with 1:49 to go. It was their first lead since the 3:39 mark of the first half when Harris banged a 3-pointer for a 39-36 margin.
``We finally got the ball inside,'' said Shaver. ``We made so many threes in the first half, our guys thought that was the only part of our offense that existed.''
Such is the risk of having so many young minds out on the court. But with young minds come young bodies, and the Tigers' bodies seemed to be quicker than the Maroons. After Harris put Hampden-Sydney ahead, freshman guard Chris Fox stole a backcourt pass and was fouled by Roanoke's Jason Bishop. Fox made one of two free throws for an 81-78 Tigers lead with 1:42 left.
Roanoke's Jon Maher, who had his sixth double-double of the season (16 points, 12 rebounds) brought the Maroons back within one, 81-80, off an assist from Nathan Hungate. But Loyal Grimes, yet another Tigers freshman, hit a 12-foot turnaround jump shot with 25.4 seconds left that put Hampden-Sydney up 83-80 and put a lock on the game.
``We were surprised,'' said Maher, a senior from Blacksburg. ``We're not playing the way we're capable of playing right now.''
Other than Maher, the only Roanoke player who looked like he was at his best was Bishop. Another of Roanoke's six seniors, Bishop scored 31 points, one off his career-high, had five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
``He tried to win it for us,'' Moir said. ``Because of guys like him, I think we'll make it out of this.''
The Maroons should pull out of it. The time certainly is right.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY STAFF. Roanoke's Kevin Sigafoes (right)by CNBclears a way to the basket past Hampden-Sydney's Alex Robbins.