I I Ati K I IK
Right Stuff CONTIN
Rams, he tallied eight points in the first
lalf as the Spartans built a 32-22 advantage.
But, with WSSU's Kevin
Vaughn shadowing him throughout the
final 20 minutes, Pope managed only
3ne additional point, hitting a
:echnical foul shot at the lf?!48 mark.
At that juncture, Norfolk held a
:ommanding 43-25 lead. But the Spartans
found themselves in a dogfight a
little over eight minutes later as the
Rams clawed back to within three,
46-43.
And, after nearly eight more minutes
of frantic physical and defensive play,
Christian found his team's advantage
sliced to a precarious one point. The
cushion grew slightly more comfortable
when Mullen's 18-footer with 24
seconds left gave Norfolk a 63-60 lead.
"This team played excellent defer
in the tournament.99
WSSU called time with 17 seconds
left and got a shot off with nine
seconds left; it missed, but the rebound
was knocked out of bounds by the
Spartans.
The clock was allowed to run down
to three seconds and, when WinstonSalem
State Coach "Bighouse" Gaines
protested at the scorer's table, Christian
joined him and the two exchanged
words.
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Upstart Rams
W!nston*Salem State's Roger Masc
the quarterfinals (photo by Joe Da
Pa^f 14-March, 1984 uSSSSSSSSSSSSSm
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'UED
Christian then seemed ready to do
some fighting himself as he moved
toward Gaines and the 6-5, 290-pound
Ram coach in turn approached his 5-8,
175-pound counterpart. Referee John
Russell settled the argument, sending
both men back to their benches and
decreeing that the clock be set back to
six seconds.
The Rams then lost the ball out of
bounds and Barry Mitchell ended the
scoring by sinking one of two free
throws with three seconds left.
Gaines and Christian did not shake
hands after the game and both seemed
less than cool toward one another during
their post-game interviews.
"I went over to shake his hand after
the game and he headed toward his
lockerroom," said Gaines of Chrisise
all year. It really paid off for us
Norfolk State's Charles Christian
tian. "I wasn't going to chase him all
over the damn place to shake his hand.
Maybe he wanted to talk to his grandmother
or something. He has the
number one team in the nation and
there is no reason for him to act like
that."
Christian told a slightly different
story. "That kind of stuff is just nor
mal with Gaines and me," he said.
"He wanted all nine seconds put back
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A Spartan Effort
Norfolk State freshman guard Ralph 1
a pain in the you-know-where for
Parker).
on the clock and I couldn't let that
happen. After the game he went to his
_ bench and 1 went to the lockerroom to
pray. 'House' is a great psych man,
you know."
While Christian personally avoided a
battle, his team found itself in another
war in the title game against the
South's top seed, St. Augustine's, the
following night.
Still smarting from the memory of a
last-second dunk by the Spartans' Tim
Allen that cost them a shot at the title
game last season, the Falcons spotted
Norfolk a basket off the opening tip
but responded with the game's next six
points.
The Spartans got only two free
throws from Tally over the next seven
and a half minutes and missed an incredible
17 floor shots in a row. But,
relying on their defense, they trailed
only 10-4. Then, after producing three
quick turnovers, they knotted the game
at 10 on an inside basket by sixth-man
Albert Gatling.
St Augustine built a 20-13 Teacf
^ncrrer the bw tire
Spartans mounted a comeback. Pope,
who scored only one basket in the first
half, nicked ud his third foul at the
4:27 mark with his team trailing 21-19.
But the Spartans didn't waver as they
grabbed a 29-28 lead at the half on two
Tally free throws with six seconds left.
The Spartans trailed 36-35 in the second
half when Pope was whistled for
his fourth foul at the 15:08 mark. He
was replaced by Gatling, a 6-4
sophomore from Hampton who quick
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rally: a savior to hfts teammates and
St. Augustine's (photo by James
ly asserted himself. His conversion of
back-to-back one-and-one free throws
gave Norfolk a 44-38 lead with 12:27
left and St. Augustine's never led
again.
Pope re-entered the contest at the
4:32 mark with the Spartans holding a
60-50 advantage. He would add a
basket 30 seconds later and two free
throws with 46 seconds left to help
hold off a Falcon rally that fell four
points short in the 68-64 win.
_ A t_ ? A*
i^nnsuan, in a mucn oeuer mooa
than after the semifinal win, chewed
his ever-present toothpick and talked
about his team's play in the early going.
"We were missing easy shots at the
beginning of the game and St.
Augustine's was playing very tough
defense," he said, admitting he was a
little worried. "But, when we took the
lead going in at the half, I felt a little
better. We have played better in the second
half all year and I didn't think we
would shoot as badly as we did in the
first half."
Christian said he was not all surprise
ctMyy
off the bench. "He has been our sixth
man off the bench and he has contributed
all year long," Christian said.
As for his team playing better with
all-American Pope riding the bench,
Christian said, "David is the leader of
this team even when he is on the bench.
Did you see him yelling instructions
and encouraging the team while he was
sitting there? Besides, when you have a
player like David and he goes to the
bench, the other team will sometimes