Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 20, 1993 TAG: 9301200201
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BYRD GIVES A LESSON TO SALEM
William Byrd showed Salem there's more to the game of basketball than running up and down the floor on the way to rolling up big scores.The Terriers' defense slowed Salem's point parade to a trickle in the second half Tuesday as Byrd stunned the unbeaten Spartans 84-64 in a Blue Ridge District basketball game on the winners' court.
The most telling statistic about Byrd's defense wasn't that it limited the Spartans to their lowest output of the year. It also wasn't the nine points that sophomore Mike McGuire, with help from his teammates, allowed the Spartans' high-scoring Mark Byington.
The biggest factor was the Terriers' rebounding dominance by a 47-27 margin. David Robertson, who joined Bobby Milliron in scoring 19 points, had 17 rebounds.
"He was just three short of a goal of 20 that I set for him to get in a game sometime this year," said Byrd coach Paul Barnard.
"Some nights," said Robertson, "you just get lucky. I had a good feel for the ball as it came off the boards. I was in a groove."
The rout might have started in the second quarter, but Carlos Terry hit three baskets including a 3-point goal as Salem struggled to tie Byrd at halftime.
Byrd (6-3 overall, 1-1 in the Blue Ridge) outscored Salem 52-32 in the second half. Time and again, the Spartans (8-1, 1-1) attempted to rally only to miss a crucial free throw or make a turnover.
Byrd went on a 13-0 run midway through the third quarter that put the Terriers in front 56-42. McGuire sparked the rally as he hit a 3-point shot and two free throws.
The Spartans went to a desperation press and a Terry layup whittled the deficit to 56-49. Salem got the ball back, but turned it over and Milliron's jumper at the buzzer made it a nine-point game again. The Spartans never got closer than seven points, though Josh Pugh scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the final two quarters.
"In the first half, we would take shots and have people watching instead of going to the boards," said Charlie Morgan, who suffered his first loss as Salem's coach. "We did a lot of standing and watching, then a lot of walking. But give Byrd credit. They played hard, came after us and wanted it more than we did."
Byrd's strategy was not to get in a running game with the Spartans, who have used that strategy successfully against some good teams.
"Salem was trying to get us into their type of game, up and down the floor," said Byrd's Donald Childress, who got eight of his 14 points in the final quarter.
Byington, Timesland's third-leading scorer, had three points with six minutes left in the game. Then he got three baskets but missed his final five shots.
Byington was only 4-of-18 shooting and missed seven 3-point attempts. He did have eight assists, five steals and two blocks.
The Terriers hit 30 of 56 shots, including 16 of 26 in the second half. Milliron added 10 rebounds.