Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 6, 1993 TAG: 9303060269
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHRIS STEUART STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WOODBRIDGE LENGTH: Medium
PULASKI COUNTY OUSTED
Woodbridge wanted to make every basket count Friday night, so the Vikings worked a spread offense to perfection and outlasted Pulaski County 53-48 in a tough-fisted Northwestern Region boys' basketball semifinal."They looked like they were indecisive about coming out on us," said Woodbridge's Brion Dunlap, who did most of the shooting and scored a game-high 20 points. "When they came out on us we got easy layups and wen they sat back in a zone we worked the ball around and were patient."
The Vikings (24-1) of the Commonwealth District advanced to play Roanoke Valley District champion William Fleming, a 78-68 winner over Gar-Field, for the championship Monday.
Woodbridge and Pulaski played Friday's game as if it were a match between two sumo wrestlers. The bullish play brought incessant protests, by both teams, on fouls called and not called.
"This is the regionals," Dunlap said. "The referees are going to let you play. You just have to take a beating.
"And we took a beating. Those are hard kids, but you should expect that . . . they are tough country boys."
To that, Cougars coach Pat Burns answered, "The calls shouldn't be any different in March than they are in February. Why get the kids used to playing one way and then change it?"
There were 21 fouls called during the game - 11 on Pulaski and 10 on the Vikings. The Cougars made nine of 13 from the line and Woodbridge was 11-of-17.
The Cougars (18-8) led 21-19 at halftime but shot 42 percent in the third quarter and committed four turnovers as they fell behind 36-33.
Unquestionably, the key to the game was the play of Dunlap, the Commonwealth District player of the year.
The scrappy 5-foot-11 junior point guard almost single-handedly won the game for the Vikings in the second half by scoring 14 points, eight in the final 2:30 of the game.
"If the game is close, we want the ball in Brion's hands," Woodbridge coach Will Robinson said. "The bottom line is that's our guy."
Two free throws by Chris Foster, who led Pulaski with 18 points, and a 3-pointer by Tyrone Hash helped the Cougars cut their deficit to 46-44 with 1:55 remaining.
Although Pulaski's Chad Owen made two clutch baskets with less than a minute left, Dunlap negated them with four consecutive free throws.
Pulaski County big man Chris Foster, who led Pulaski with 18 points, fouled out as the Cougars made their last charge.
"We beat ourselves," Foster said. "I would be a little late coming around and they'd call a foul."
However, Foster said one of the bigger problems was the delay game of the Vikings. It seemed to cause the Cougars to rush themselves offensively after waiting so long to get the ball back. That contributed to Pulaski County making 15 turnovers.
"I think it hurt us," he said. "We like to get the ball up the court. We're not a team that likes to hold the ball in our hands long."
The loss ended Pulaski's season at 18-8.
"It was a good season," Foster said. "We had a good run. We weren't supposed to be all that great anyway." \
see microfilm for box score