Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 20, 1991 TAG: 9102200332
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN WEBSTER SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Roanoke Valley District champions ran their winning streak to nine games by scoring 33 points in the final quarter for an 89-67 victory over Franklin County at the Roanoke Civic Center.
Patrick Henry closed out its regular season with an overall record of 17-4, 8-0 in the district.
Franklin County (1-17, 0-7) battled Patrick Henry on even terms until Troy Johnson hit a 3-point field goal with six minutes left in the half to break a tie and put the Patriots on top for good at 28-25. But the Patriots were not in complete control until they unleashed a 17-3 run early in the final period in which 14 points came off steals turned into easy fast-break baskets.
The spurt gave the Patriots a 72-52 lead. With 4:25 still to play, Eagles coach Ed Holstrom more or less threw in the towel by pulling all five of his starters.
"This was not a typical 20-point game," Holstrom said. "Our kids played tough, but once they opened it up on us, I had to think about keeping our players fresh for the two remaining games we have this week. That is why I went to the bench near the end."
Patrick Henry coach Woody Deans said: "Give Ed [Holstrom] credit.
"He had his team ready, and they came to play. We struggled at first, but then we were able to pick up the intensity in the fourth quarter."
Franklin County guard Ted Holstrom added: "We might have played our best game of the year. We were able to control the tempo most of the game with our matchup zone defense. But before it was over, they proved why they are the RVD champions. They are well-coached and they play well as a team."
Franklin County led by six points in the early going, but once Johnson's 3-pointer broke the 25-25 tie, the Patriots continued to pump in 3-pointers to build a 39-30 halftime lead.
Johnson came back with another 3-pointer that was followed by two more by Troy Anderson and Tim Basham. The RVD kings made eight from long range in the first half and finished with 10.
"We are not just a fast break team," Deans said. "We have always shot 3-pointers a lot, and we have four kids who shoot them real well."
Johnson said, "No doubt, the 3-pointers got us going. We got five or six guys on this team that can make those shots.
"I think the reason the game was so close for so long is that we came out cold. But we did have a good fourth quarter."
Troy Manns added another thought as to why Patrick Henry was slow getting its offense going. "Maybe we didn't take the game serious enough," he said.
Each team took 60 shots from the floor. Patrick Henry connected 31 times while Franklin County made 22.
Free-throw shooting also hurt the Eagles. They were 21-of-39 while the Patriots were 17-of-27.
"No doubt our free-throw shooting - or rather lack of it - was one of the keys to our losing," said Holstrom, who noted that nine of his team's misses came on the first attempt in bonus situations.
FRANKLIN COUNTY (67)
Warren 1 0-2 2, Underwood 4 2-3 10, Reynolds 2 3-8 8, Davis 1 0-0 2, Greenburg 1 2-2 4, Wainwright 1 0-2 2, Holstrom 3 4-4 11, Wade 3 3-3 9, Bernard 2 1-5 5, Gill 2 1-3 5, Potter 1 0-0 2, Witcher 0 1-3 1, Mattox 1 4-4 6. Totals 22 21-39 67. PATRICK HENRY (89)
Wilson 1 0-0 2, Manns 2 1-2 5, Gaither 1 0-0 2, T. Anderson 5 2-4 15, M. Anderson 2 3-4 7, Webb 5 3-4 15, Johnson 5 0-0 13, Basham 5 2-3 14, Noel 2 3-5 7, Callis 3 3-5 9. Totals 31 17-27 89. Franklin County 19111720-67 Patrick Henry 25141733-89 Three-point goals: Reynolds, Holstrom, T. Anderson 3, Webb 2, Johnson 3, Basham 2. JV: 64-53, Patrick Henry.
by CNB