THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 16, 1997 TAG: 9702160231
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 71 lines
Virginia Commonwealth knew it had to contend with a potent inside-outside combination from Old Dominion. But the Rams never fathomed that combination would consist of Cal Bowdler and Brion Dunlap.
Bowdler and Dunlap lit up the Rams for 19 points apiece as Old Dominion's 75-70 victory before 6,313 at Scope Saturday cooled off the hottest team in the Colonial Athletic Association. VCU had won seven in a row and would have moved into a tie for first place with a win, but instead fell to third.
The Monarchs, meanwhile, moved into a three-way tie for fourth. ODU shook off its month-long doldrums to get what it hopes will be a momentum-building win in the final 10 days of the regular season. The Monarchs (16-10, 7-6), losers of three in a row and six of their last seven, got a jump start from a pair of unlikely sources.
``We came in here hoping to stop (Mark) Poag and (Odell) Hodge, that was the big thing,'' Rams coach Sonny Smith said.
Bowdler and Dunlap - who averaged a combined 10 points coming into the game - both ripped off career highs. Dunlap made 5 of 11 field goals and added eight assists. The 6-foot-10 sophomore Bowdler was 7 of 13 from the field, hit two 3-pointers and also had career highs of 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots. The seven blocks was the most this season by a CAA player, and spearheaded ODU's school-record 15 blocked shots.
``The stats tonight reflect my old high school stats,'' Bowdler said. ``I always knew I could have a game like this, it was just when would it come.''
The first hint came Tuesday, when Bowdler scored what was then his career-high 15 points in a reserve role at George Washington.
``He played well up at George Washington and followed it up with two great practices,'' ODU coach Jeff Capel said. ``That's why we started him, he had earned the right to start.''
Bowdler found out at practice Friday he would start in place of Reggie Bassette.
``That kind of got me hyped up,'' Bowdler said.
He immediately got ODU hyped up Saturday as the Monarchs built a 17-2 lead in the opening seven minutes. Bowdler - playing with fist-pumping intensity that seemed to ignite his teammates - scored seven of those, muscling up a put-back, hitting a 3-pointer and scoring again underneath while blocking a pair of shots.
``I think it was a breakthrough game for him,'' Dunlap said. ``He's shown that potential in practice, tonight he brought it out to the game. We've been waiting for him to carry it over, and tonight he did.''
ODU couldn't carry on with the quick start, as the game was marked by multiple runs. The Rams (13-11, 8-6) used a 16-2 burst to cut the Monarchs' lead to a bucket at halftime.
The teams were never separated by more than seven points in the second half. There were eight lead changes from the 8-minute mark until 1:36 remained, when ODU's E.J. Sherod drove the lane and got the roll to put the Monarchs on top 66-65. After a VCU miss, Bowdler fed Hodge (14 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks) for an easy basket underneath for a 68-65 lead with 1:05 left.
At the other end, ODU's Mike Byers stole a pass intended for VCU's George Byrd with 45 seconds left, and at that point it turned into a free-throw shooting contest. The Monarchs made 7 of 9 in the final 37.8 seconds to put VCU away.
ODU has three more home games before the CAA tournament, which runs Feb. 28-March 3 at the Richmond Coliseum.
``If we can play like we played tonight the rest of the games, I don't believe we can be beat again,'' Bowdler said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot
ODU's Cal Bowdler shoots through VCU defenders Saturday night at
Scope. Bowdler and Brian Dunlap hit for 19 points apiece to fuel the
ODU win.