Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 6, 1993 TAG: 9303060319
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS BACHELDER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DALE CITY LENGTH: Medium
FLEMING TURNS BACK GAR-FIELD
During the heavy seconds of crunch time Friday, William Fleming pampered its egg-shell lead.With four starters on the brink of disqualification, the Colonels kept cool and finished off Gar-Field 78-68 in a Northwestern Region semifinal game.
Carlos Rhodes had five 3-pointers and 22 points to lead William Fleming, which will play at home against Woodbridge on Monday night for the region title. With Friday's win, the Colonels are assured a Group AAA state tournament berth.
Fleming (20-5) never trailed after Phillip Lacy's layup gave the Colonels a 6-4 lead less than three minutes into the game, but Gar-Field (20-4) was never far behind.
The Indians, who trailed 39-34 at halftime, sliced the lead six times to four points in the second half and once got as close as two, 47-45, midway through the third quarter.
Both teams had slipped into serious foul trouble by early in the fourth quarter. Fleming was worse off as point guard Derrick Hines and center David Hutchinson picked up their fourth fouls late in the third quarter, while post players Jemare Crump and Lacy were whistled for No. 4 early in the fourth.
Hines sat for three minutes, while Gar-Field turned up the heat with a half-court zone trap. Fleming coach Burrall Paye got his sophomore point guard back into the game with 6:45 to go.
"We were deeply concerned about the foul situation, especially Hines," Paye said. "That scared me a little bit, because he's the best point guard anywhere around."
Lacy fouled out with 5:04 left, but Hines and the Colonels blasted the trap with artful use of the spread offense in the final minutes. After the Indians cut the lead to 61-57 on Jason Bell's 3-pointer, Hines worked the spread for two driving buckets and an assist to Hutchinson to push the lead to 67-57 with 2:40 left.
"I was really frustrated when I got all those fouls," said Hines, who finished with 20 points. "I just had to relax and get myself together. My team needed me out there. I'm a good leader.
"We went to the spread offense, but we were real aggressive. We needed to score, too. It was time to go to state and we got it done."
The Indians once more cut the lead to four, 67-63, on Kevin Smith's 3-pointer, but the Colonels were 9-for-10 at the free-throw line in the final 1:32. Hines and Crump were each 4-for-4. Crump had 15 points.
Fleming made 16 of 19 second-half free throws after a 6-for-13 start.
"We heard they run four-corners well, and they do," said Gar-Field coach Mel Cheshire. "We heard No. 10 [Hines] is a good little point guard, and he is. We heard No. 22 [Rhodes] is a pretty good shooter, and he is.
"I'm not sure they surprised us with anything they did. They just executed very well."
At halftime, the Indians had three players with three fouls each and two more with two, but Cheshire wasn't concerned about the foul war.
"We scouted them the last game and they only played six," he said. "We usually play 10 or 12. If they had started fouling out on both sides, we would have felt pretty good about our chances."
The Colonels led 25-15 early in the second quarter and 36-28 with 1:42 left in the half. Gar-Field scored six straight to pull to 36-34, but Rhodes' 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Fleming its five-point halftime edge.
Rhodes hit four 3-pointers in the final 3:39 of the half to score Fleming's final 12 points. \
see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
BASKETBALL