Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 19, 1994 TAG: 9402190173
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY JIMMY ROBERTSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MONETA LENGTH: Medium
The biggest came from Lynwood English, who sank two free throws with 14 seconds left to seal the Golden Eagles' 62-60 Seminole District boys' basketball victory over Liberty.
Cornelius Foxx also earned a gold medal by putting English in a position to win the game. Foxx stole an errant pass by Liberty's J.J. Coles and scored an easy layup with 45 seconds left to give the Golden Eagles a 60-58 lead after Liberty seemed to be hold the ball for a final shot.
Staunton River head coach Ed Carter can't be left out of the gold-medal picture, either. He became the school's all-time winningest coach. Carter surpassed current Bridgewater head coach Bill Leatherman with his 56th victory in his sixth year at Staunton River.
"I am extremely proud of the record, but I am more proud of what our kids did tonight," Carter said. "We went out there and scrapped and beat one of the best teams in the state."
Staunton River (11-6 overall, 11-6 district) clinched its best record since 1969. Liberty (13-4, 13-4) saw its hopes the district's regular-season title diminish.
After the teams traded baskets until halftime, Liberty's Greg Reynolds hit two 3-point shots to start a 10-4 second-half run that gave the Minutemen their biggest lead at 38-33 and seemed to put the Golden Eagles on the ropes.
Staunton River, however, answered with a 13-0 run. Jeff English hit two baskets and a free throw in the run, and Lynwood English's 3-pointer gave the Golden Eagles their biggest lead at 46-38.
The Minutemen would not fold. They regained the lead 54-53 after Greg Richie rebounded a missed free throw by Brian Long and scored.
"I told our kids that they [Liberty] would not go away," Carter said. "We knew that they would not lay down, and that we had to start playing harder to have a chance."
Foxx, who scored 14 points, hit a basket with 1:52 left to tie it at 58. Liberty then called a timeout and held the ball for nearly a minute before Foxx made his steal and layup.
"I just set back and shot through the gap," Foxx said. "I wanted to dunk it, but I decided to lay it in since it was a close game."
Liberty coach Mark Hanks said, "We were not trying to stall the ball there. We called the timeout to rest our kids and we told them to be patient. We just got rattled and did not execute, but you have to give them credit. They deserved to win."
After Stephen Shrader walked on Liberty's next possession, Lynwood English was fouled and hit the free throws to give Staunton River a 62-58 lead with 15 seconds left. Shrader scored a basket inside to pull the Minutemen to 62-60, and then Liberty had to foul.
Geoff Zimmerman, who also had 14 points for Staunton River, missed a free throw, but Coles' desperation 3-point shot at the buzzer was just off the mark.
by CNB