THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 20, 1995 TAG: 9503200121
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON
DATELINE: ALBANY, N.Y. LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Jeff Capel's voice cracked as he began to talk about his seniors Sunday after an NCAA tournament loss that ended the Old Dominion careers of Petey Sessoms, Mike Jones and David Harvey.
``It bothers me because I'm not going to be able to work with Petey, Mike and David,'' Capel said, trying to maintain his composure. ``I'll miss that.''
The trio led ODU to a Colonial Athletic Association championship and probably the biggest victory in the history of the program Friday when the Monarchs upset Villanova in the East Regional. Sunday afternoon, their careers drew to a close at the Knickerbocker Arena when sixth-seeded Tulsa knocked off 14th-seeded ODU, 64-52.
As the game wound down, Capel substituted for each senior and spoke briefly with them on the sideline. Jones sat on the bench with his hands buried in his face, Sessoms had an arm around Jones' shoulder and Harvey hid his face in a towel.
Harvey skipped the postgame press conference because Capel said he had trouble composing himself. In the locker room a few moments later, Harvey reflected on what ODU had accomplished in a 21-12 season.
``What we had to go through to get to this point really took a team effort,'' Harvey said. ``We really came together as a team after losing Odell (Hodge). I'm just going to miss everything.''
RECORD SETTER: Here's one that Old Dominion officials and the media completely missed: Sessoms set a single-season scoring record for the Monarchs, surpassing the 682 points Joel Copeland scored in 1973-74.
Sessoms eclipsed the mark in the CAA championship game and finished the season with 730 points. He moved into third place on ODU's career scoring charts Friday night against Villanova when he matched his career high with 35 points.
Sessoms finished with 1,985 points, trailing only Ronnie Valentine (2,204) and Leo Anthony (2,181) on the Monarchs' career charts. Sessoms finished the season with a 22.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, both team highs. He set the school's career 3-point record earlier in the season, and finished with 270.
SHOOTING BLANKS: Both teams shot poorly and relied heavily on two scorers Sunday.
Sessoms and Jones made 15 of 35 shots and scored 36 of ODU's 52 points. The rest of the Monarchs went 6 for 22.
Tulsa's Shea Seals and Pooh Williamson combined for 16 of 34 shooting and 50 of 64 points. The rest of the Golden Hurricane went 4 for 20.
Tulsa made just 37 percent of its shots, while ODU converted 36.8 percent. Both teams went long stretches without a field goal. They combined to open the second half 1 of 13 from the field.
TIP-INS: Duffy Samuels had to be taken to the locker room in the first half for stitches. He collided with Tulsa's Kevin Grawer and bit through his upper lip, requiring three stitches both inside and outside his mouth. ... ODU has never won a second-round NCAA tournament game. by CNB