Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 12, 1992 TAG: 9202120278
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
PH CLINCHES DISTRICT TITLE
It took less than five minutes for Patrick Henry to put an end to the 1992 regular season Roanoke Valley District race.The Patriots used a first-quarter run to put some distance between themselves and Pulaski County, fended off a mini-rally by the Cougars in the second period and stormed to a 75-54 victory Tuesday night to clinch the RVD title.
The game was won on the backboards and at the guard spot. The Patriots outrebounded Pulaski County 58-37. At guard, PH's Curtis Staples and Troy Manns limited the Cougars' Chris Burns and Kevin Alexander to just 13 points and five assists between them.
About the only thing PH (18-1 overall, 6-0 in the RVD) didn't do well was shoot. The Patriots made 28 of 79 field-goal attempts, but didn't need to shoot well thanks to their rebounding prowess. Staples hit 9 of 16 shots for a game-high 22 points. Teammate Turk Smith, 5-for-9, scored 12 for his second straight double-figure game. They were the only PH players hitting with any consistency.
"I didn't think it would be this easy," said PH coach Woody Deans. "They had been playing well and with confidence."
Pulaski County coach Pat Burns, whose team had won eight straight, was just as shocked. "We outrebounded them at their place and they killed us up here," said Burns. "They played a heck of a game while our kids might have been too psyched. They were thinking about the game instead of playing the game."
After Alexander penetrated and scored two baskets to give the Cougars (11-7, 3-3) an early lead, PH went on a 16-5 surge to take a seven-point lead with less than five minutes gone. The Patriots built that to 15 points before Pulaski County went to a press and cut its deficit to 31-22.
Then the PH guards took over. Staples canned four jump shots with two coming on passes from Manns, who had seven assists and four steals, as the Patriots blew to a 40-22 advantage.
"Curtis was open," said Manns. "We talked after the William Fleming game [last week] that he hadn't shot much. He felt he needed to shoot more for us to win."
Jonas Callis, the Patriots' 6-foot-7 center, returned after a two-game absence because of chicken pox to grab 13 rebounds along with Timmy Basham's 10 to key PH's board work. It was revenge for the game at PH when the Cougars held a 39-33 rebounding edge.
"We came out pumped up and took it to them because this was the district [championship]," said Basham. "And we remembered they had outrebounded us."
Although Basham picked up two quick fouls, Pulaski County suffered from them most.Chris Burns got his third with less than two minutes gone in the second quarter. \
see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
BASKETBALL