Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 18, 1992 TAG: 9201180313
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
INDIANS HANG ON FOR WIN
It all came down to the final half-minute for Blacksburg High.Clinging to a two-point lead, the Indians had to run the final 31 seconds off the clock to defeat Radford in the New River District boys' basketball opener for both teams Friday night.
And Darren Morton saw that Blacksburg did just that. His ball handling and passing preserved a 70-66 victory.
Radford (2-9) played without its top scorer, Chris Hairston, who was not dressed for disciplinary reasons. But the lack of Hairston's nearly 17 points per game seemed to inspire the Bobcats.
So with 31 seconds left, the Indians (7-4) held just a 68-66 lead. They inbounded the ball after a Radford timeout and immediately put the ball in Morton's hands. And he did not disappoint his teammates. For over 20 seconds, Morton bobbed and weaved through a Radford defense set up for a quick foul. Every time the Bobcats went for Morton, all they hacked was air.
"I knew they had to go after the ball," said Morton. "I knew they had to overplay the pass. So I just looked to pass and didn't. They could help it [falling for the fake] because they had to get the ball."
Finally, Morton was forced to give up the ball. And he was smart enough to get it in the hands of the district's leading scorer - Jon Maher. The Bobcats caught Maher and fouled him with nine seconds left. But he calmly swished two free throws to clinch the win.
"I knew we had to have those shots," said Maher, who paced the Indians with 20 points. "We were only up by two points. If I miss one of them, they're still in it."
Radford had closed to 68-66 on a short jumper by Kris Smith with 32 seconds left. The Bobcats quickly called time out to set up the defense. But Morton foiled their plans.
"I take responsibility for that," Radford coach Brenda King said about her team's inability to get the quick foul in the last half-minute. "If we had practiced a little more on the speciality situations, maybe we finally would have come out with a `W'."
Blacksburg seemed on the verge of breaking things wide open several times. But the Indians could never get more than an eight-point bulge before Radford would start coming back.
The fourth quarter was more of the same. Blacksburg led 63-55 with 5:15 to go and seemed ready to cruise to victory. But the Bobcats called their first timeout and allowed only one field goal the rest of the way.
Radford still trailed by seven points with less than three minutes to play when Smith took over. He scored two straight baskets to cut Radford's deficit to three. Then after Blacksburg's Matt Smith missed the back end of a one-and-one free throw, Kris Smith hit Paul Nester with a pinpoint pass for an assist and Radford closed to 66-64 with 1:17 left.
Matt Smith hit two free throws to give Blacksburg a four-point advantage with 41 seconds to go. Then Kris Smith scored his last basket for the Bobcats. But he wouldn't get another opportunity as Morton effectively ran out the clock.
Kris Smith's late-game scoring spree gave him a game-high 23 points. Duane Pierson added 21 for the Bobcats, including four 3-pointers. \
see microfilm for box score