Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 8, 1991 TAG: 9102070108
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV8 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RAY COX SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: SHAWSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Not that he doubted the reality of Joe Dowe's deeds. Davidson wanted to make sure of the exact numbers.
After the double viewing of film of the 78-68 loss to Bland last week, Davidson was sure of this much: Dowe definitely had accomplished one of the rarer feats in the sport, a triple double in points, rebounds, and assists.
But Davidson still wasn't sure of the numbers.
"There was this one play where Joe gets the rebound and heads up the floor," Davidson said. "At that point, our camera guy apparently starts watching the play and the camera just stays in the crowd. Then, you can hear our crowd going crazy as we score. I know Joe didn't score on that play so he must have had another assist. But I didn't see it, so I'm not counting it."
Dowe's official line: 11 points, 10 assists, and 14 rebounds.
"Our original stats had him with 10 assists and 10 rebounds," Davidson said. "When I saw that, I decided I had to double-check with the tape. There's no way I was going to tell anybody that he had a triple-double until I was sure."
Specualtion had heated up about when Dowe would accomplish the trifecta after a recent newspaper article. At about the same time, Dowe cooled off.
"He didn't play very well after that was in the paper," Davidson said.
The obvious assumption was that Dowe, a 6-foot-1 senior point guard, was pressing.
"It did seem like that," he said. "I've always wanted to get more than 10 assists. As long as I've played point guard, I've never had a triple double."
As far as Dowe was concerned, that was all part of the job.
"I always thought that a point guard was supposed to make things happen," he said. "Friday [against Bland], it just seemed like it was easy."
The trick was to not think about scoring.
"Every time I got a rebound, I pushed the ball up the floor," he said. "When I penetrated, I tried to dish it off to whoever was open."
The primary beneficiary of Dowe's forays was cousin Kenny Dow, who finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Dow made 13 of 18 shots.
"In the past, I've had people have trouble catching the ball," Dowe said. "Against Bland, everybody was catching the ball great. Kenny and Wes Mullins did their best job all year catching and shooting the ball."
Mullins finished with 11 points.
Perhaps the best point about Dowe's performance, Davidson said, was his sure-handedness with the basketball.
"He only had five turnovers," Davidson said. "You hear about the assist turnover ratio, 2-1 is a pretty good for a high school player, I think."
Other exemplary efforts:
Kevin Alexander of Pulaski County went 8-for-12 from 3-point range and scored 30 points in a 63-60 loss to William Fleming.
Matt Linkous, an eighth-grader, set a Gateway Christian scoring record with 36 points as the Crusaders pounded Greater Beckley (W.Va.) Christian. It was Gateway's first victory ever at home over Greater Beckley.
Terri Garland of Pulaski County's girls' team scored 21 in a 60-37 rout of Franklin County, then had another 24 points in a 52-26 victory over Cave Spring.
by CNB