Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 15, 1991 TAG: 9103150102
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: CHRIS BACHELDER SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
That's the distance from the rim to the free-throw line, where the Region IV runner-up Cavaliers missed nine of 12 free throws and fell to Region II champion R.E. Lee 75-60 in the state Group AA quarterfinals Thursday at University Hall.
At the other end, Lee converted 18 of its 28 free throws and took another step toward defending its state championship.
It was by no means easy for Lee (24-4). The scrappy Cavaliers hit the floor after loose balls, sacrificed themselves to take charging fouls and rebounded with a vengeance.
Carroll County led 18-16 after the first quarter on Andrew Hawks' buzzer shot, then matched its largest lead of the game, 21-16, when Matt Montgomery sank a 3-pointer to start the second quarter.
Another 3-pointer, by reserve guard Ben Sumner, gave the Cavaliers a 26-21 lead minutes later before Lee came back.
After 10 ties and five lead changes in the first half, the floor-burned Cavaliers trailed just 38-34.
"We won - and that's about it, isn't it?" said Lee coach Paul Hatcher, a native of Bassett. "We were outplayed and outhustled, and we still won. It doesn't seem fair. We were not as sharp as I'd like us to be, but we did enough things right, I guess.
"I thought we got control of the game in the third quarter and maintained it. We'll play better tomorrow - we've got to."
The speed and quickness of Lee wore down Carroll County in the second half. Lee, which never trailed in the second half, led 51-42 going into the fourth quarter.
While creating steals and errors with pressure defense, the Lee players hit their free throws late and did not commit a second-half turnover until midway through the fourth quarter.
Lee guard Marcus Reed, the only returning starter from last season's state championship team, thwarted Carroll County uprisings by making 10 of 11 free throws in the final quarter. Reed finished with a game-high 31 points, 14 in the fourth as the Leemen won going away.
"Overall, I think we handled them pretty well," Carroll County coach Patrick Sharp said. "We're not used to that kind of quickness. It's a different type of basketball than we see in Region IV.
"We haven't been real successful the last few years, so we're just proud to be here and represent the region.
"They just wore us down in the second half, and free throws made a big difference down the stretch."
Hawks was 8-for-9 from the field and led the Cavaliers with 16 points. Montgomery added 13, Greg Bolen had 12 points to go with 11 rebounds and Dustin Harmon had 12 points.
Carroll County finished its season at 18-9. Lee advances to face Hampton tonight at 7 p.m. in the semifinals. see microfilm for box score
by CNB