Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 8, 1991 TAG: 9103080338
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Archer's feats in the final 1:22 enabled the Scarlet Hurricane to edge Blacksburg 73-70 in the semifinals of the Region IV high school boys' basketball tournament.
It was the second straight year Marion (23-2) ousted the Indians (18-5) in the regional semifinals.
Marion will play host to Carroll County in the regional final Saturday. Both teams in the final will advance to next week's Group AA tournament in Charlottesville.
But if it hadn't been for Archer, Blacksburg would be playing instead of the Scarlet Hurricane.
Marion trailed 70-69 when Archer stepped to the free-throw line with 1:22 remaining. He sank both free throws, and Marion had the lead.
"Results. And just wanted to get back there [the state tournament]," said Archer, who hit six free throws and grabbed four rebounds in the final period. "That's what was going through my mind at the free-throw line."
Archer then twice protected the Scarlet Hurricane's lead. First, the 6-foot-5 senior post player rebounded Darren Morton's missed 3-point field-goal attempt with about a minute to go.
Marion held the ball until Jason Null was fouled with 22 seconds remaining. Null missed his free throw in a bonus opportunity, but Archer was right there.
Archer grabbed the errant free throw and was fouled. He then sank a free throw and bonus to give Marion a 73-70 lead.
"They had bigger post players, but we were quicker," said Archer. "We figured we could get around them and get to the ball. And I thought at the end of the game, we wanted it more."
The Indians had one last chance, but with 10 seconds to go Morton's 3-point attempt from the top of the key bounced left and Marion guard David Keith got the rebound.
Keith was fouled with six seconds left and missed the first free throw in a bonus chance. But he got his own rebound, missed a shot, rebounded and passed to run out the clock.
"We didn't block them [out] as well as we should have," said Blacksburg's 6-6 center Jon Maher, who had 12 rebounds and three blocked shots. "They just pushed through us, I guess. We should have gotten those [late-game] rebounds. That really killed us."
Another thing that cost the Indians was their inability to score in the closing minutes. The Indians did not get a basket in the last five minutes and did not score a point after Maher hit two free throws with 3:35 to go.
"We didn't play good defense tonight," said Marion junior Eric Hungate, who scored 14 points. "When we play defense the way we're capable of playing it, that's the thing that gets us going. And that's basically what we did [late in the game]. We picked up the defense a little bit."
Marion's defensive pressure resulted in batted passes and forced three straight turnovers in a 60-second span, starting with less than three minutes left. And the defense got Thompson Lester, who led Blacksburg with 25 points, to foul out by drawing a charge with 3:55 remaining.
Before fouling out, Lester pulled the Indians back in the game. He had eight points, including two 3-point goals, in the last two minutes of the third period. Then Morton swatted in a pass from Nathan Warren from 30 feet, just beating the buzzer and giving Blacksburg a 60-58 lead after three quarters. The 11-0 run erased a nine-point Scarlet Hurricane lead.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB