THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 30, 1995 TAG: 9512300514
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: TALLAHASSEE, FLA. LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Norfolk State got a taste of big-time Division I basketball Friday night and found it a bit too spicy, falling to Auburn 92-56.
Frazzled much of the night by the Tigers' physical full-court press, Norfolk State committed 21 turnovers, many leading to easy Auburn baskets. And when the Spartans broke that press, they found the Tigers' in-your-face, man-to-man defense equally effective.
The Spartans (3-1) connected on a season-low 34.9 percent from the field, and only 1 of 6 from 3-point range.
Meanwhile, the Tigers burned the nets. Auburn was 11 of 23 from behind the 3-point arc. The Tigers connected on 47.8 percent of their 3-point attempts and 56.9 percent overall from the field.
While Auburn (10-1) is off to its best start in 33 years, Tigers coach Cliff Ellis had warned his troops of the dangers of meeting a basketball unknown. He reminded them of Mount St. Mary's shocking upset of Georgia Tech earlier this season.
``I had my own concerns,'' Ellis said. ``We hadn't played in 10 days, and I was scared we might be flat.''
His fears never became reality, although the Spartans were able to cut Auburn's early 31-12 lead to 35-26 with six minutes remaining in the first half.
Then, a series of Spartans mishaps, left Norfolk State scrambling to its locker room at intermission down 48-30 and virtually out of it.
Guard Carnell Penn went to the bench with a bruised left shoulder after colliding with Auburn's Lance Weems while chasing a loose ball, and center Blitz Wooten went to the bench after catching a Pat Burke elbow over his right eye.
The Spartans then gave up four offensive rebounds to Auburn, turned the ball over on three of their next four possessions, missed four of their next six free throws and didn't score another basket until Carlton Cooper's layup at the halftime buzzer.
``Those four things happened and we were down 20,'' Norfolk State coach Mike Bernard said. ``In a game like this, you can't do those things.''
Norfolk State's efforts to keep it respectable were severely hindered when point guard Maurice Whitfield, the only Spartan consistently able to handle Auburn's pressure, picked up his third and fourth fouls within seconds of each other early in the second half.
Whitfield fouled out with over nine minutes remaining and the Spartans were at the mercy of Auburn point guard Wes Flanigan the rest of the way. Flanigan finished with a team-high 18 points, six assists and five steals.
``I was very impressed with Flanigan,'' Bernard said. ``I'm even more impressed with the fact that he's a two-guard who converted to the point this season.''
Flanigan's move came after Auburn's Moochie Norris, a John Wooden player-of-the-year candidate, was ruled ineligible while the school investigates possible wrongdoing with his recruitment.
Even without Norris, the Tigers are off to an 11-1 start, the school's best in 33 years. After another tune-up with Florida A&M tonight, the Tigers begin play in the Southeastern Conference on Wednesday when they visit Tennessee.
Meanwhile, Norfolk State meets West Florida (3-6), an NAIA school, tonight at 7 in the second night of Classic action. by CNB