Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 15, 1992 TAG: 9202150277
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: DALEVILLE LENGTH: Medium
PRINCE SETS UP BOTETOURT VICTORY
Clinging to a one-point lead and with time running down, William Byrd basketball coach Paul Barnard and his team had one thought: Don't let Lord Botetourt senior guard Bobby Prince beat them.Prince didn't - but he made sure somebody else did.
While he may not have made the last-second shot that sank William Byrd, Prince played a big role in setting it up.
Unguarded near the free-throw line, Derek Loyd took a pass from Prince and sank a jumper that gave Lord Botetourt a thrilling 59-58 Blue Ridge District victory Friday.
Loyd's only points kept the Cavaliers a game behind idle Northside in the hunt for the district's regular-season championship and automatic bid to the Region III tournament. Lord Botetourt (12-6 overall, 5-1 Blue Ridge) visits Salem on Tuesday before playing host to Northside next Friday.
"I was off tonight," said Loyd, "but [Lord Botetourt coach Don Meredith] told me to keep shooting. Fortunately, it was the one that counted that dropped."
Loyd's jumper culminated a fourth quarter in which there were seven lead changes and two ties.
Down 58-57 with seven seconds remaining, Botetourt set up the winning sequence with an inbounds pass from under the William Byrd basket.
Prince took the pass from Mike Bramblett on the right side of the free-throw lane and was guarded tightly by Chris Lester as he started toward the basket. When Prince entered the lane, two more William Byrd defenders rotated to defend against him.
Rather than force a shot, Prince passed to Loyd at the left of the free-throw line. Loyd's jumper snapped the net with three seconds remaining.
"With seven seconds left, there was no need to rush it," said Prince, who scored 21 points, including four 3-pointers. "They were all pinched on me. I knew I wasn't going to get a shot off."
Loyd actually was the third option on the play. If Prince couldn't find a shot, he was supposed to look down low to forward Cline Dooley, who had freed himself under the basket. However, Prince spotted Loyd first.
"Derek's a great shooter," Prince said. "You've got to give a guy like him that chance. I'll take that every time."
For William Byrd (8-10, 1-6), it was deja vu.
Almost a year ago to the day, Loyd took a pass from Prince and made a late jumper to beat the Terriers 76-74 at William Byrd.
"We wanted to make sure Prince didn't beat us by scoring or getting to the foul line," Barnard said. "When [Prince] penetrated, we had three guys on him. We should have two. He kicked it back out to Loyd.
"Loyd hit a pressure shot. It wasn't an easy one. If he misses it, we win; he makes it, they do.
"We did everything but win, and sometimes when you're struggling, that's what happens."
Craig Layman made three 3-pointers and matched Prince with 21 points for Botetourt.
David Robertson paced William Byrd with 18 points. Brian Young scored 16, including three 3-pointers.
Young drove into the lane and leaned in for a jumper over a Botetourt defender to give the Terriers the 58-57 lead with 16 seconds left. \
see microfilm for box score