Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 8, 1992 TAG: 9203080269
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: WARRENTON LENGTH: Medium
The Patrick Henry point guard sprained both his ankles in the first quarter. Still limping noticeably to start the third quarter, the 6-foot-1 senior took over the game and led the Patriots past Fauquier 68-53 in the Northwestern Region championship boys' basketball game.
Manns will have time to rest his ankles because the Patriots won't have a first-round Group AAA tournament game until next weekend. PH (24-1), the state's top-ranked team, will play the loser of Saturday's Northern Region game between Chantilly and South Lakes on either Friday or Saturday somewhere in the Roanoke Valley.
Manns injured one ankle when he rebounded and landed on reserve forward Shannon Taylor, who also reinjured an ankle. Moments later, Manns went down at midcourt as he injured his other ankle.
"When they went down," PH coach Woody Deans said, "we were in control."
The Patriots had started fast and led 14-3, but by the half, Fauquier (18-7) trailed only 31-27 as Duane Gilliam had scored 10 of his game-high 22 points.
With 2:07 left in the third quarter, though, Manns had put the Falcons out of the game. He started by scoring on PH's sucker play to open the second half in which the Patriots line up at the wrong end. If the other team follows, Manns breaks for the right basket and scores an easy layup.
He added four baskets in the next 5:50 and PH had a 48-33 lead. For the quarter, Manns had 12 of his 18 points and Fauquier never got closer than 10.
"I figured the more I moved, the looser it would get," Manns said. "Instead, it got tighter. By the fourth quarter, I couldn't cut."
Manns also had seven assists and a pair of steals in a typical performance for him.
This game also was about defense, though. The Patriots jammed up the middle, doubled up on Gilliam and Fauquier wound up making only 20 of 72 shots from the floor. Gilliam made only one 3-point shot in the second half after making four in the opening 16 minutes.
"We wanted two men on him, but in the second quarter, he was rubbing off his man running the baseline," PH assistant Hank Hamrick said. "So, in the second half, instead of chasing him, we kept [the second man] coming from over the top."
The Patriots' defense was so effective that two Fauquier starters - Ross Cook and John Williams - didn't score and missed 19 shots between them. The Falcons also wound up making only eight of 30 3-point attempts.
"We felt if we could keep the ball from Gilliam and jam up the inside, they couldn't beat us from the outside," said Deans, whose defense also jammed up 6-foot-7 Joe Jones inside and kept him from dominating offensively.
PH's rebounding also was a factor. The Patriots, with Timmy Basham getting 17 rebounds and Jonas Callis 13, dominated 54-44. Basham's performance was remarkable because he picked up his third foul with 5:37 left in the second quarter and stayed in the game.
"I didn't know I had three personals until the half," Basham said. "Then Coach [Deans] said just to slack off and don't reach."
Deans had no choice but to risk Basham because Taylor couldn't return after his injury.
The Patriots, despite Manns' brilliant third-quarter play, made only eight of 22 shots in the quarter while extending their lead. For the game, however, PH made a respectable 27 of 61 thanks to the final quarter when the Patriots hit seven of nine.
Sophomore Curtis Staples led PH with 21 points. \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB