Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 17, 1993 TAG: 9303170111
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FAIRFAX LENGTH: Medium
FLEMING CUTS DOWN HAYFIELD
Sometimes lessons learned during the regular season prove valuable come tournament time.William Fleming's boys' basketball team learned when it misses free throws, it won't win big games. During the regular season, the Colonels blew a seven-point lead against Rice of Manhattan, N.Y., and missed a chance to upset the nation's 20th-ranked team.
Tuesday night, the Colonels hit 15 of 16 free throws and advanced in the Group AAA state tournament by beating Hayfield 56-50 in the quarterfinal round at Robinson High School.
Jemare Crump led the way by hitting nine of 10 free throws, including two with 24.8 seconds. Then Derrick Hines, who hit four free throws in the final 1:30, made two more 13.2 seconds later to nail down a trip to the semifinals Friday against John Marshall at University Hall in Charlottesville.
"Derrick missed a free throw against Rice," said Fleming coach Burrall Paye. "I told him there would come a day when he would hit one to seal another game, and he did that tonight."
Crump, with a mischievous grin, said, "I don't know why everybody said we couldn't make free throws.
"We learned from the Rice game that we had to make free throws if we wanted to win the big games. I know I missed one against Rice, and I didn't want to go out feeling like that again."
Fleming (22-5) found itself in a strange game as it blew a 10-point lead. The Colonels, facing a patient Hayfield delay game, suddenly were out of tempo, and they made only seven of 28 shots in the second half after hitting 13 of 22 in the first 16 minutes.
Hayfield (22-7) was using its delay game to isolate Ronnell Felton, a junior averaging 31 points in tournament play. Felton scored six points in the opening quarter and dealt an assist for the Hawks' other basket, but a Fleming zone effectively kept him from dominating after that.
Hayfield climbed back in the game on the shooting of Deshawn Weston. His 3-point shot from the front gave the Hawks a 46-45 lead with 3:28 left. It was the first time they had led since the opening quarter.
"We noticed that when Mount Vernon ran a 1-3-1 zone against them, it kind of took Felton out of the game. But Weston took over and shot much better than I thought he could," Paye said.
After both teams missed, Felton's 10-footer made it 48-45 and the Colonels were in trouble.
Fleming's rally started when Crump was fouled. He made one free throw but missed the second. Good things happened for Fleming, which dominated the rebounding 40-28. Reggie Reynolds crashed and missed a tip, but David Hutchinson followed to tie the score with 2:03 left.
"I saw the ball wasn't going in. No one was boxing me out. I missed, but David was there to back me up," said Reynolds, who had eight points after replacing starting center Phil Lacey, who was in foul trouble the entire game.
Hayfield coach Brian Metress said he had made an all-too-true prediction.
"I turned to one of my assistants and said the worst thing that could happen was for him to make one and then miss with them getting the rebound and a basket," Metress said.
Then came the next big play. Fleming guards Carlos Rhodes and Hines double-teamed Hayfield playmaker Hyo An. There was a scramble, and Hines came up with the steal and drew a foul. He hit two free throws with 1:30 left to put Fleming on top 50-48.
"I felt I could have gotten a steal anytime, but we were in foul trouble," Hines said.
However, Hayfield's Josh Abraham followed a missed shot and gave the Hawks their final tie with 54.9 seconds left. Then rebounding again helped Fleming when Reynolds got a stickback with 48.9 seconds left to give the Colonels the lead for good.
Metress said Fleming turned up its intensity in the final two minutes.
"We were trying to bring it down to a close game [with a delay offense] at the end," Metress said. "But we didn't think they'd go 15-of-16 from the line."
There was one other key situation after Reynolds' follow shot. Weston got in perfect position for a 3-point goal to give Hayfield the lead, but he missed.
"He stepped up and made some big shots for us," Metress said. "Their zone really didn't bother us. But they kept getting the offensive rebounds. We couldn't keep them off the boards."