Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 6, 1993 TAG: 9301070018
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
GLENVAR RALLIES TO WIN
While Covington's Van Wallace is Timesland's leading scorer in boys' basketball, it might seem hard to understand how Glenvar's Brad Melton is not among the leaders.Tuesday night, the 6-foot-4 junior had a career-high 30 points as the Highlanders rallied past Covington 69-62 in the Pioneer District opener for both teams.
Wallace wound up with 24 points, but they came quietly after he started with 11 in the opening quarter, helping Covington control the game early. The Highlanders went to a man-to-man defense in the second half, and, until Wallace hit two 3-point goals late in the game, he was not in the offense.
"We started off in a zone and then went to a diamond-and-one with a man on Wallace. Finally, we used a man-to-man while trying to deny him the ball," Glenvar coach Art Lawrence said.
All this came after Melton's biggest shot, one he doesn't usually take. He hit a 3-point goal at the end of the first half that seemed to pick up the listless Highlanders.
"I don't usually shoot that shot . . . I had no idea it would go in. The only thing my teammates said to me at the half was to keep it up," said Melton, whose shot trimmed Covington's lead to 37-29.
Lawrence did say something: "I thought we needed to use Brad as a role model. He was the only one who was exhausted at the end of the first half. We didn't block out or get back on defense, yet he was going after loose balls, diving and spilling his guts out there."
Melton continued to pour it on the second half. He scored 17 points, mostly underneath, and didn't attempt anything resembling a 3-point shot. The Highlanders, who trailed by 13 points in the first half, were not to be denied once Melton got going.
Using a 39-23 rebounding advantage, with Melton getting 11, Glenvar (4-3 overall, 1-0 district) took the lead when Matt Woolwine drove 20 feet for an uncontested layup. Then Melton added two free throws, and Nick Varney, coming off the bench to make a couple of nice defensive plays, added a field goal as the Highlanders went up 57-52 with 4:57 left.
The game was not quite over. Wallace, who finished with 24 points, hit the fourth of his five 3-point shots with 3:17 remaining to trim the Highlanders' lead to 59-57. But Melton hit a follow shot with 2:20 left and Woolwine got a layup for a six-point lead and the Cougars (2-5, 0-1) never got closer than four points again.
Keeno Jones provided the most help for Wallace with 16 points, five assists and two steals.
\ see microfilm for box score