THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 16, 1994 TAG: 9408160491
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PALAVAS, FRANCE LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
The bullring-turned-basketball arena quickly turned into an ice rink Monday night, and Old Dominion's basketball team almost slipped away with a victory over Montpellier, another member of France's top professional league.
Monarchs Mike Jones and Mark Johnson each missed game-tying 3-point attempts in the closing five seconds as ODU lost its second game of a French tour, 81-78.
The game's unique setting was charming. A wooden floor was placed on top of the dirt floor of the bullring. The locker room ODU used at halftime was adorned with bulls' horns and pictures of matadors. Instead of ``ODU,'' the manual scoreboard read ``USA.'' ``La Cucaracha'' blared every time the home team scored, and lights and festive music from an amusement park next door filled the sky.
``It was really nice playing here,'' said forward Petey Sessoms, who had a game-high 28 points. ``The atmosphere was much different than usual.''
But it quickly went from charming to alarming. After sunset, the moisture in the air descended on the wooden floor. Several players slipped during pregame warmups, and once the game started, at 10 p.m., bodies were everywhere.
``It was like playing basketball with ice skates on,'' said ODU backup center Derrick Parker, who had a game-high nine rebounds.
From the ODU bench, coach Jeff Capel yelled for players to be careful during fast-break opportunities. He said just getting away without sustaining any injuries felt like a victory.
``The first half, it was awful,'' Sessoms said. ``I thought they were going to stop the game. From the jump ball on, we were sliding up and down the court. You couldn't cut, and I was scared to take it to the basket because I might get hurt.''
Once again, the Monarchs faced a team that was bigger, stronger and more physical. But unlike in their first loss of the trip, when the Monarchs were pushed around repeatedly, they held their ground.
ODU enjoyed a 38-28 rebounding advantage but could not match the inside force of Americans Ron Anderson - who spent several years with the Philadelphia 76ers - and former Notre Dame player Keith Robinson. Anderson had 22 points and Robinson 21, and they were responsible for Monarchs center Odell Hodge sitting out 12 minutes of the second half with four fouls.
Even without Hodge, ODU fought back from a 10-point halftime deficit with Sessoms and Jones (19 points, five steals) leading the way. ODU took a brief lead midway through the half but then sputtered down the stretch. Jones and Sessoms committed turnovers on back-to-back possessions in the final two minutes, and Hodge missed a pair of free throws with 40 seconds left.
The final outcome aside, Capel liked what he saw, much better than in ODU's 30-point loss to open the tour. ``We're here to improve and build for December, January and February, and I think we took a step in that direction,'' he said.
ODU received surprisingly enthusiastic support from the crowd of about 2,000. Four fans in particular stood out. Before the game, the Monarchs noticed a group cheering for them already, and one wore an ODU T-shirt.
Gil Eyraud, a Frenchman who lives in the town next to Palavas, earned his undergraduate and master's degrees from Old Dominion. Eyraud's fiancee, Pamela Falls, was born and raised in Norfolk and now lives in France.
Another couple attended the game with them. The man, Frederic Sanz, recently spent 30 months in Norfolk working as an au pair.
``I heard about this game on the car radio,'' Eyraud said. ``They said an American team was playing, and I said, `Oh, cool.' Then they said Old Dominion, and I said, `Whoa!' ''
The Monarchs will take a 3 1/2-hour bus trip north to play Lyon tonight in La Motte Servelette, which is near Lyon.
OLD DOMINION: Sessoms 10-16 3-5 28, Harvey 1-3 0-0 2, Sherod 1-5 0-0 2, Robinson 3-6 0-0 7, Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Mullen 4-6 1-1 9, Hodge 4-10 1-5 9, Jones 8-15 2-4 19, Parker 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 32-68 7-15 78.
MONTPELLIER: Samuel 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 9-16 3-4 22, Robinson 7-14 7-8 21, Cerace 4-5 1-2 10, Bourgain 4-8 5-6 14, Butler 2-5 0-0 4, Sedi 0-1 0-0 0, Oulalyssie 1-1 0-0 2, Veroue 3-8 2-2 8. Totals 30-58 18-22 81.
Halftime: Montpellier 42-32. 3-point goals: Old Dominion 7-17 (Sessoms 5-9, Robinson 1-1, Johnson 0-1, Mullen 0-1, Jones 1-5); Montpellier 3-13 (Anderson 1-5, Cerace 1-2, Bourgain 1-5, Veroue 0-1). Rebounds: Old Dominion 38 (Parker 9), Montpellier 28 (Robinson 9). Assists: Old Dominion 14 (Jones 4), Montpellier 17 (Cerace 5. Fouled out: Butler. Total fouls: Old Dominion 20, Montpellier 14. ILLUSTRATION: Map
by CNB