Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 25, 1992 TAG: 9201250233
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHRIS STEUART
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
INDIANS UPEND DEMONS
Patience.That's all it took for Blacksburg to fight its way out of a second-quarter jam and defeat Christiansburg 58-53 on Friday night to take possession of the top spot in the New River District boys' basketball standings.
"Early on [the boys] were juiced up and even missed the basket a few times," Blacksburg coach Bob Trear said. "But, they stuck with it, relaxed and brought it back in."
The Blue Demons seemed poised to notch a second district victory after an 11-0 run put them on top 21-10 with 7:29 remaining in the second quarter.
"Our offense was in slow motion," Blacksburg point guard Darren Morton said. "But we got it started and when we are running it right, it's hard to stop."
The Indians (8-4 overall, 2-0 in district) finally started clicking, and three minutes later they had the lead, 24-23, when Morton sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to complete a 14-2 spurt.
John Maher converted a steal into a layup to give Blacksburg a 33-27 lead at halftime.
Just as in the first quarter, Blacksburg was sluggish to start the second half. The Demons (5-8, 1-1) took advantage of the lapse, scoring six straight points to lead 38-37 with 1:35 remaining in the third quarter. The Indians then went on the defensive, increasing their pressure and forcing turnovers.
"Travis Bishop, Paul Kohler, Kevin Schug and Matt Smith ran themselves ragged underneath the basket to force the turnovers to the guys in the backcourt," Trear said.
Blacksburg led 51-42 in the fourth quarter and Christiansburg was forced to foul.
"We were down nine there at the end and had to go for the quick fouls and shoot the three's," Christiansburg coach Gerald Thompson said.
The Indians converted 8 of 10 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the victory.
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