Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 3, 1990 TAG: 9003032817
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Down four points after one quarter against Grayson County, the Knights moved 6-foot-3 Maurice Davenport to the top of a 1-3-1 zone defense.
He had four steals in the second quarter and James River took control on the way to a 64-42 rout of the Blue Devils in a Region C semifinal.
James River will play Bland for the Region C championship tonight at 7:30, but both teams will advance to the Group A tournament next weekend.
James River (23-1), ranked No. 1 in Group A all season, will go to the state as the favorite. A young Grayson County (16-9) team will try to build on a sizzling finish in which it won the Mountain Empire District tournament.
"A lot of people ask me why we play a big man out front," said John Shotwell, James River's coach. "It hurts us a lot in rebounding, but when you have a player like Maurice out there, he can do a lot of things to make up for that."
Davenport finished with 10 steals and joined guard Don Turpin in scoring a game-high 18 points. Davenport also had a game-high 15 rebounds.
"I can tell where other teams are going to put the ball," Davenport said of his position on defense. "Sometimes I'll play off it and that helps George [Thompson] get a steal."
"We had watched them play and knew they'd slow it down because they usually put four men outside the perimeter," said Shotwell, who prepared his team for such a tactic.
Davenport's big second quarter helped James River lead 29-19 at the half, but the Blue Devils were far from finished.
Grayson County crashed the boards hard in the third quarter with Davenport out front. The Blue Devils scored 10 of the period's first 12 points to make it 31-29.
Then the Knights, who had missed 10 free throws to that point, put it together. Thompson made a jumper with 2:46 left to key a 9-2 run that gave James River a 40-31 lead through three quarters.
"We knew if they had a spurt, we would have to slow it down," said Rick Cormany, Grayson County's coach. "But they're so quick. We were afraid we'd get blown out early, but it didn't come until late."
It still was a nine-point game with 2:44 left after Grayson's Banner Satterwhite, who had 12 rebounds, made a stick-back shot.
Then, Turpin drove in for a layup and Davenport collected another steal and a stuff shot to seal James River's victory.
While Shotwell liked the way his team played defense, he wasn't happy with the offense. "I don't believe we ever got into an offense," he said.i
Davenport missed a couple of dunks and the Knights made only 19 of 38 free throws(50 percent) and 22 of 51 shots from the floor(43.1 percent).i
"It's frustrating [on defense]. We like to get the ball and go," Davenport said. "I like offense. But to win games, you have to play defense, I guess."i
Now it's on to the state tournament, where James River lost in the semifinals in 1989. Cormany says the Knights are beatable.
"But only if you control tempo," he said. "Get in a running game and they'll kill you."
\ GRAYSON COUNTY (42)
Blair 5 1-1 13, Campbell 3 0-2 7, Satterwhite 4 0-0 8, Snavely 2 3-4 7, Floyd 3 0-1 6, Duggins 0 1-2 1, Taylor 0 0-1 0, Weatherman 0 0-1 0. Totals 17 5-12 42. JAMES RIVER (64)
Davenport 8 2-8 18, Thompson 6 4-7 16, Critzer 2 0-2 4, Baker 0 0-2 0, Turpin 5 7-9 18, Christian 0 2-2 2, Jones 1 3-5 5, Rogers 0 1-2 1, Barlow 0 0-1 0. Totals 22 19-38 64. Grayson County 1541211-42 James River 11181124-64 Three-point goals-Blair 2, Campbell, Turpin. Team fouls-Grayson County 27, James River 13. Fouled out-Satterwhite, Snavely.
by CNB