THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 20, 1997 TAG: 9702200310
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES C. BLACK, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 57 lines
Norfolk State coach Mike Bernard's lineup shuffling has increased the playing time of previously under-utilized senior Robert Robinson.
Robinson, who scored 13 points on Senior Night against Bowie State, has started the last two games and has received significant playing time in three others.
The 6-foot-2 guard, who had played only 63 minutes in the first 19 games, has played 57 in the last five.
He has scored only four points since the Bowie State game, but offense is not why Bernard has him on the floor.
``Robinson has given us defense right away,'' Bernard said. ``He gives us defensive pressure.''
Despite Elizabeth City State's 54-percent field-goal shooting last Saturday, Robinson has helped keep opposing guards in check.
No backcourt duo has combined to score 20 points on the Spartans' (16-8, 11-5 CIAA) current four-game road trip.
TOUGH FINALE: If NSU's planned move to Division I takes place next fall, Saturday night's game at North Carolina Central would be the Spartans' last CIAA regular-season basketball contest.
The Eagles (19-4, 13-4), the Southern Division leaders, buried Virginia Union 72-49 in their previous home game.
However, the Spartans' approach is simple.
``If we can come out of Saturday's game and record a `W', we'll go into the tournament with some momentum,'' NSU forward Rodney Carmichael said.
A NEW BEGINNING: ECSU's 86-83 double-overtime victory over St. Paul's in Lawrenceville on Monday gave the Vikings the Northern Division title.
Elizabeth City State (18-4, 14-2) is the first team since Virginia State in 1982 to win a Northern championship other than Virginia Union or Norfolk State.
The Vikings, which received a first-round bye, could add to their feat by winning next week's CIAA tournament. The last team other than NSU or the Panthers to accomplish this was Hampton in 1991.
A tournament championship for ECSU next week, however, would extend another streak - the Northern Division's dominance. Winston-Salem State's title in 1977 was the last one by a Southern Division member.
The last titles for ECSU came in 1981 in both the division and the tournament.
SNUBBED? Not everyone was impressed with Herb Lewis' performance for ECSU last Saturday.
Lewis scored 20 points on 6-for-6 field-goal shooting, including a couple of 3-pointers, as the Vikings knocked off rival Norfolk State.
Lewis, a transfer from Staten Island, N.Y., however, did not win newcomer of the week honors.
The honor went instead o Marquis Wright, who had 20 points and five rebounds for Johnson C. Smith - fifth place in the Southern Division - in a loss to Shaw.