THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 15, 1995 TAG: 9512150625
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
Mark Butts has been at Green Run as an assistant coach and head coach long enough to know that the knock on the Stallions always has been the lack of a point guard.
No longer.
Rod Cooper spearheaded a devastating zone trap and scored a career-high 14 points Thursday night as the third-ranked Stallions rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat No. 1 Nansemond River 64-58 in the Tidewater Classic at Booker T. Washington.
Cooper got lots of help from shooting guard Bobby Glos, who scored 13 points.
``It was the guards' night,'' Glos said. ``Rod ran the show and as far as the shots went, I just started feeling it. Coach (Butts) called the plays. He had confidence in me.''
Cooper and Glos scored 22 of their 27 points in the second half, including the Stallions first 12 of the fourth quarter.
Green Run (4-0) had completed its comeback by then. The Stallions, who trailed 41-26 with 1:19 left in the first half, scored the last nine points of the third quarter to go ahead 51-50 when Will Brooks rebounded a missed free throw and scored with seven seconds left.
Nansemond River built its big lead by pounding the Stallions on the offensive boards and using its own man-to-man press to force 13 first-half turnovers.
The Warriors (2-1) scored 14 second-chance points and 12 points off turnovers in the first half.
``Everybody was feeling a little down when we came in the locker room,'' Cooper said. ``We just said we have to play harder and play together.''
There was no magic in Green Run's adjustments, Butts said.
``They weren't beating us from their offensive sets,'' Butts said. ``It was mostly Montoria Valentine on the boards. He's probably the most aggressive rebounder we'll see.
``We just had to get tough and box out.''
As for the press, ``we could tell by some of the passes they made in the first half that they might be vulnerable to it,'' Butts said. ``But I was surprised at how many times they turned it over.''
Nansemond River still outrebounded Green Run in the second half and finished with a whopping 39-19 advantage. But turnovers evened out at 22 each and the Stallions did an excellent job of checking the Warriors' leading scorer, Antoine Willie.
Willie led all scorers with 20 points, but he had only six in the second half and made just one 3-pointer.
``We expect to be pressed, but we didn't execute in the second half,'' Nansemond River coach Spencer Mayfield said.
``Green Run wanted it more than we did.''
Mayfield noted that the Warriors hadn't played in 12 days and may have tired in the second half.
``They'll go through the meatgrinder (in practice) tomorrow,'' he said.
In other tournament games:
Bayside 61, Booker T. Washington 51: Booker T. led early, but the shots started dropping in the second quarter for the No. 8 Marlins, who outscored the Bookers, 19-7, in the period.
Kevin Yearwood scored seven of his game-high 21 points during the surge.
Dewayne Jacobs led the Bookers with 15 points. Chester Jones added 10.Franklin 49, Northeastern 47: The Broncos rallied from a 14-point deficit early in the second half as Northeastern went more than five minutes in the fourth quarter without a field goal.
Northeastern got the ball with nine seconds left after Franklin's Chris Skinner missed two free throws. But the Eagles missed two shots before the buzzer.
Sidney Gainey led Franklin with 18 points. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/The Virginian-Pilot
Green Run's Rod Cooper, guarded by Nansemond River's Maurice Fofana,
had a career-high 14 points against the top-ranked Warriors.
Photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
Green Run guard Bobby Glos checks Nansemond River's Antoine Willie
Thursday night in the Stallions' win. Glos, alternating with Kenyon
Mullen and Lanier Washington, chased last year's Group AA player of
the year on the baseline, keeping a hand in his face. Willie led
scorers with 20 points, but had only six in the second half and made
just one 3-pointer.
by CNB