THE HARDER THEY COME, THE BIGGER HIS SCORING AVERAGE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 31, 1992                   TAG: 9201300204
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-10   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: RAY COX SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LUSTERS GATE                                LENGTH: Medium
THE HARDER THEY COME, THE BIGGER HIS SCORING AVERAGE
The opposition is really hurting Timmy Henderson's basketball scoring average.
It isn't that the enemy teams are playing great defense on the Gateway Christian sharpshooter. It's worse than that.
They're keeping him on the bench.
"When we play teams that are our size [Old Dominion Association of Church Schools A, which is 50 students or less], he doesn't play much," Crusaders coach Jeff Aikens said. "I can't in good conscience leave him in there. Also, we're trying to develop some players for next year."
Henderson, a 5-8 point guard and Gateway's only senior, can light it up, given the opportunity. Witness his 30-point performance in the Crusaders' 77-75 loss at Covington Boys' Home this week.
"In big games, he comes up big," Aikens said. "In the last eight games against quality competition, he averaged 24.5 points per game."
Henderson, who lives out in the country near the Roanoke County line, has had to travel to learn his basketball.
"Most of it was playing up here at the school," said Henderson, whose father is a maintenance man at a Blacksburg apartment complex and whose mother is a teacher at the school. "I also go up to Virginia Tech War Memorial gym and play as much as I can."
He's played for the team since eighth grade and was its sixth man as a freshman. He leads the team with a 16.5 per game scoring average, which might be higher if he didn't have so much help. As it is, the Crusaders have four players averaging close to 10 points per game, with freshman Matt Linkous averaging 11.5 points per game and Sam Moore 10.2.
Thus, it's no surprise that Gateway is 10-5 and taking aim at a second-straight state title. The Crusaders won last year, but after an injury to a key player were eliminated from the first round of the national tournament.
To prepare for the postseason, Gateway seeks challenging opponents and is not afraid to travel to do so. Early in the year, the Crusaders finished third in the Athens (Ga.) Christian Christmas Classic. Henderson was on the all-tournament team.
Gateway also finished second in the Southall Christian Invitational in Danville. The Crusaders are undefeated against schools their own size.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB