Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 6, 1993 TAG: 9303060216
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
COVINGTON GIVES LESSON TO LEBANON
You don't pull a Cougar by the tail. Least of all Keeno Jones.Covington taught Lebanon that lesson Friday night in the semifinals of the Region C basketball tournament in front of a standing room only crowd at Christiansburg High.
Jones and the rest of the Cougars woke up after falling behind by four points midway through the fourth quarter. Once awakened, they disposed of Lebanon 61-57.
The victory was the 10th straight for Covington (17-8) and moves it into tonight's 7:30 championship game against the winner of the late game between Floyd County and Glenvar.
More importantly, the win puts the Cougars in the Group A state tournament for the second straight season.
The loss eliminated the Pioneers (19-5), which had been ranked as high as second this year. It is the first time in three years as a Group A team Lebanon did not reach the state tournament.
In a two-minute span late in the final period, Jones scored eight points and had an important rebound and steal. Not coincidentally, the Cougars outscored Lebanon 10-2 during the span and took a 56-50 lead with a minute to go.
"I felt like I had to start shooting the ball; we needed to make something happen so we could win," said Jones, who finished with 26 points, three steals and five assists. "I wanted to win. I wanted to make it to the state [tournament]. And we felt like we owed Lebanon back from last year."
Covington coach Brad Morton said: "We just kept hanging tough and we were able to come back in the fourth quarter. This was the opposite of what happened last year in the regional finals. We had the lead and they came back to beat us."
This time, after Jones and Cougars took the lead, they made sure the Pioneers' rally fell short.
"The little point guard [Jones] had us worried about what he could do and we couldn't stop him from taking the ball to the hole against us," Lebanon coach Sam Blevins said. "And when you fall that far behind, you have to catch a break. We just couldn't catch one."
The Pioneers closed to three points twice in the final 30 seconds.
But Van Wallace clinched the win for Covington when he made the front end of a one-and-one free throw with seven seconds remaining, giving the Cougars a comfortable four-point edge that would be the final margin.
"I just got a routine going and stuck with it," said Wallace, who hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final period. "The crowd was yelling [on the last free throws]. I had to block them out so I could make it."
Wallace also found other ways to hurt the Pioneers. He finished with 15 points, a team-high nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Aaron Fuller paced the Pioneers with 27 points. He had 11 in the fourth period, including a 3-pointer which cut the margin to three in the final 30 seconds. \
see microfilm for box score