Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 11, 1992 TAG: 9201110286
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
PH TOO TOUGH FOR FLEMING
The first William Fleming-Patrick Henry boys' basketball game went through two cycles.As expected, Fleming opened Friday night's game at the Roanoke Civic Center in a spread offense against the Patriots, ranked No. 1 among state Group AAA teams. As the game ended, with PH winning 72-60, the Patriots were in a spread offense while Fleming was running.
"It was ironic," said Patriots coach Woody Deans. "They didn't think they could run with us so they'd hold it. Then when they picked us up man-to-man and ran with us, they beat us.
"Maybe their kids will tell [Fleming coach] Burrall [Paye] to run with us next time."
That was an oversimplification. For three quarters, the Patriots (11-0 overall, 2-0 in the Roanoke Valley District) toyed with the young Colonels (4-3, 0-1) and built a 55-33 lead. Then the teams had a great time running in the last quarter, with Fleming closing to nine points on a 3-pointer by Fleming center David Williams that made it 69-60.
Williams, despite playing on a sprained ankle that he injured in warm-ups, wound up with a game-high 23 points. But it was PH sophomore Curtis Staples, with some assists from point guard Troy Manns, who brought the game to an end in the third quarter.
In the quarter, Staples scored 11 of his 18 points and Manns had four of his 10 assists and one of his three steals as the Patriots outscored Fleming 25-13.
"I came out in the third quarter and let the game come to me," said Staples. "In the first half, I was a little timid. I was trying to force it."
Staples said Manns was a big reason for his turnaround.
"He gets you the ball any kind of way," Staples said.
Manns wore a grin most of the game.
"I was having a good time. I always enjoy playing," said the senior. "Everyone has so much confidence in me. But it's easy. Once I get the ball, everyone runs to the basket. If they get open, I'll feed them."
The Patriots hit 24 of 44 field-goal attempts, including five of 15 3-point shots. Even 6-foot-7 center Jonas Callis attempted a 3-pointer.
"I took them all last summer and I've hit one this year. If they leave me open, I'll try it," he said.
Fleming wound up shooting 24-for-42 after a fourth quarter in which the Colonels went 10-of-13. Fleming had a 26-21 rebounding edge, with Williams hauling in 10.
But the Colonels also had 18 turnovers compared to nine for PH.
"We just don't handle the ball well," said Paye. "We were down six in the first quarter and threw the ball away twice. What if we hadn't done that and we had scored twice?"
Timmy Basham sank two 3-pointers in the third quarter to help PH's spurt, and Deans said he liked his club's outside shooting. "I thought we played very intelligently for three quarters," he said. \
see microfilm for box score