ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 25, 1997 TAG: 9702250122
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
We should have known it would end like this.
The craziest, most unpredictable men's basketball season in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference closed with fifth-seeded Hampden-Sydney wiping out seventh-seeded Lynchburg 102-70 in Monday's conference championship game at the Salem Civic Center.
The 32-point victory margin was true to this season's freaky form. Hampden-Sydney's two regular season victories over Lynchburg were decided by a combined four points.
Of course, neither of these teams was supposed to be playing for the championship anyway. Hampden-Sydney was supposedly in a rebuilding mode after the graduation of two All-ODAC seniors. The Tigers started three freshmen, for goodness sake.
``I think they have overachieved,'' said Tony Shaver, Hampden-Sydney's coach. ``I feel better about that than I do the championship.''
Lynchburg hadn't won a tournament game in 10 years, although when it did in Saturday's first round, we should have known something was up. Ten years ago, that 12-15 Hornets team won this tournament.
This Hornets team lost the championship in an eight-minute, 34-second stretch of the second half. During that period, Hampden-Sydney went on a 25-0 run, making 10 of 15 shots. Meanwhile, Lynchburg missed 11 of 11 and had four turnovers.
``It was an explosion like I've never seen before,'' said Shaver.
Hornets coach Joe Davis said he felt helpless because he couldn't stop the run himself. He wanted desperately to give something to this team that he loves as much or more than any he's ever coached. And local basketball fans know he's coached a bunch.
Davis started coaching at Glenvar High, spent two years at Ferrum, spent a year at Salem, went to Radford University for 10 seasons, coached Cave Spring for three seasons and signed on at Lynchburg in 1991. Davis put this team up there with his final Radford team, which went from a fourth seed to the 1988 Big South title game, and his first Cave Spring team, which came off a 2-22 season the year before, won the Kris Kringle Classic on this same floor and lost in the Western District title game.
``They were so energetic, they would do everything we asked,'' Davis said.
Like those previous favorite teams, this Hornets team affirmed Davis' work as a coach. ``It's been six years,'' he said. ``Last night, by getting to the championship, we finally accomplished something.''
Davis and the Hornets couldn't have gotten this far without senior forward Otis Tucker III. The fact he scored a game-high 20 points was incidental. Tucker, who stands 6-feet tall, was named the tournament's most valuable player.
Shaver added another accomplishment to his record with the Tigers. All four of Hampden-Sydney's ODAC championships and all six of the school's 20-win seasons have come under his direction.
Now the Tigers are headed to their fifth NCAA tournament under Shaver, most likely with a home game in the first round.
``I thought it was going to be very difficult with a young team to get ready to play today,'' Shaver said. ``The guys responded as well as I think they possibly could have.''
Shaver may have been correct in expecting the worst. This season in the ODAC, what was expected rarely happened.
NOTE: please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 66 linesby CNB