Virginia Tech 73, Xavier 65

Sunday, February 20, 2000
Virginia Tech 73, Xavier 65
Muskies' tourney chances fading

BY MICHAEL PERRY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

David West is clobbered by VT's Rolan Roberts.
(AP photo)
| ZOOM |

BLACKSBURG, Va. — An omen, perhaps? Xavier point guard Maurice McAfee had made 17 consecutive foul shots and entered Saturday's game at Virginia Tech ranked second in the Atlantic 10 in free throw shooting (.846) behind teammate Kevin Frey (.852).
Fouled on a 3-point try just 32 seconds into the game, McAfee missed his first free throw attempt. Frey would miss three, including the front end of a one-and-one midway through the second half.
Suddenly, one thing the team could count on was gone.
The Musketeers, who shot 85.7 percent from the foul line over the previous two games and were No.1 in Atlantic 10 games, were 17-of-27 from the line Saturday — missing nine in the second half — and lost to the Hokies 73-65 before a season-high crowd of 6,113 at Cassell Coliseum.
“Frustrating,” Frey said.
“We don't expect that to happen,” coach Skip Prosser said. “That's a big part of our offense, especially the way we're shooting.”
That's not the only reason the Musketeers lost, but it was a big factor.
Xavier accomplished several goals: It forced 22 turnovers, collected double-digit steals (10) and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds.
But it could not handle Virginia Tech's inside game, had zero fast-break points and shot just 33.3 percent from the field, fourth-worst this season.
The loss was a blow to XU's fading NCAA Tournament hopes. The Musketeers, ranked 75th in Saturday's Ratings Percentage Index, dropped to 16-9 and into third place in the A-10 West at 6-6.
“I thought we needed to win four of five, or five of five to have a realistic shot, barring the A-10 tournament, so this one is a critical one,” Prosser said.
With four regular-season games left, that means winning out — or winning the conference tourney — is a must.
Virginia Tech (13-13, 6-7) had an RPI of 154. The Hokies ended a seven-game losing streak against the Musketeers, beating them for the first time in four years.
XU has lost five straight conference road games.
“The facts speak for themselves,” Prosser said. “It hasn't gotten better. It's nothing I can see, but it's obvious there's a difference. After 25 games, we should be beyond all that.”
The Musketeers trailed by eight at halftime but fought back to go ahead 41-39 with 14:35 left after a McAfee 3-pointer completed an 8-0 run.
Xavier would not lead again. It was within 53-51 with 6:31 remaining but went 3¹/₂ minutes without a field goal. Before McAfee hit a 3 with 3:08 remaining, the deficit had reached nine.
“Despite how bad we played in the first half, we still had a chance to win,” McAfee said. “They came out aggressive, but you've got to suck it up.”
Xavier lost control in the final 6:51 of the first half, when it was outscored 18-2.
A 3-pointer by Darnell Williams put the Musketeers ahead 24-18 — their largest lead. Then XU missed its last eight field goal attempts of the half during an 18-0 Virginia Tech run.
Williams scored 14 points in the first half and was pretty much Xavier's offense. In the first 20 minutes, starters Lloyd Price and David West (a combined 25 ppg) were scoreless, and McAfee had no field goals. The three were a collective 0-of-10 from the field.
After Xavier's flight was canceled Friday night, the team took a seven-hour bus ride, mostly through driving rain, and arrived in Blacksburg, Va., at 2a.m. Saturday. On the bus, the Musketeers watched film of Virginia Tech and went over their scouting report.
They never did get to practice at Cassell Coliseum before arriving for the game.
“No factor,' Prosser said.
McAfee and Williams led Xavier with 16 points each. Frey added 11 — it was XU's first loss with Frey in double figures — and West had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Virginia Tech's four big forwards — Rolan Roberts, Andre Ray, Dennis Mims and Russ Wheeler — combined for 41 points, 24 rebounds, 10 assists and six blocks.
“They were a lot more aggressive than we were,” West said. “Their big guys, if they weren't scoring, they were passing and getting somebody a dunk or a layup or 3-pointer.”
Williams treated for dehydration

XAVIER (65) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp West 32 4-10 2-5 8-11 2 3 10 Price 36 3-10 1-2 3-5 2 0 9 Butler 5 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 2 Mcafee 35 3-12 8-10 0-2 2 4 16 Williams 28 6-15 0-0 0-2 1 5 16 Frey 33 3-8 5-8 2-6 1 4 11 Brown 19 0-3 1-2 1-4 2 2 1 Turner 12 0-1 0-0 1-1 1 1 0 _______________________________________________ TOTALS 200 20-60 17-27 15-31 11 20 65 _______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.333, FT-.630. 3-Point Goals: 8-23, .348 (Price 2-7, Mcafee 2-7, Williams 4-8, Brown 0-1). Team rebounds: 31. Blocked shots: None. Turnovers: 15 (Mcafee 4, Price 4, Frey 2, West 2, Williams 2, Turner). Steals: 10 (Brown 2, Mcafee 2, Price 2, Butler, Frey, Turner, West).
VIRGINIA TECH (73) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp Roberts 34 7-14 5-12 2-4 1 4 19 Ray 34 3-3 0-1 0-9 3 2 6 Mims 37 4-11 6-6 4-8 4 1 14 Chase 38 3-9 6-6 1-6 0 3 14 Dunlop 33 6-9 3-3 0-3 8 3 16 Wheeler 15 1-1 0-0 1-3 2 4 2 Dobbins 9 1-2 0-0 2-4 0 3 2 _______________________________________________ TOTALS 200 25-49 20-28 10-37 18 20 73 _______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.510, FT-.714. 3-Point Goals: 3-8, .375 (Chase 2-6, Dunlop 1-2). Team rebounds: 37. Blocked shots: 6 (Roberts 3, Mims 2, Ray). Turnovers: 23 (Dunlop 5, Chase 4, Dobbins 4, Ray 3, Mims 2, Roberts 2, Wheeler). Steals: 5 (Dobbins 2, Dunlop 2, Wheeler). __________________________________ Xavier 26 39 - 65 Virginia Tech 34 39 - 73 __________________________________ Technical fouls: Xavier 1 (Bench). A: 6,113. Officials: Joe Demayo, Jack Sweeney, Merv Shapiro.

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