Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 30, 1993 TAG: 9301300281
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CLIFTON FORGE LENGTH: Medium
ALLEGHANY OVERRUNS NORTHSIDE
Although he is one of Timesland's better junior athletes, Alleghany's Todd Wheatley was sitting on the bench for his first victory against Northside.Five times in basketball and three times in football, Wheatley's Alleghany teams had lost to the Vikings in his three years as a varsity athlete.
Wheatley did all he could Friday to help the Mountaineers beat the Vikings 64-59 in a Blue Ridge District boys' basketball game at Dabney Lancaster Community College. Alleghany's victory leaves the Mountaineers and Vikings tied for first place with William Byrd, which beat Lord Botetourt 73-43. All three are 3-1 in the Blue Ridge.
The 6-foot-4 Wheatley had 16 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. He also had five fouls, so he watched as teammate Michael Hunter drove in for a layup and free throw with 57.7 seconds left to make it 61-57.
"It was quite an amazing shot," Wheatley said with a grin.
"I saw an opening and I took it. [Northside center Walt] Derey was just going to stand there with his hands up and try to block the shot," said Hunter, who had a game-high 23 points.
The Mounties (13-1) had to ward off a patented comeback by the Vikings (13-2). Northside trailed 38-26 midway through the second quarter but tied the score at 45 on Nathan Hungate's 3-point shot with 6:25 left.
"That was the key to the game," Alleghany coach Jimmy Smith said. "They always make a run. You can't play Northside without them making a run. I told the kids we had to step up . . . that it was a mental game."
Wheatley knew, too, that no lead is safe against Northside.
"Coach Smith and myself reminded the team that they came back from 18 points down on us last year over here," he said.
Wheatley came back with a layup and free throw 23 seconds after Hungate's shot to give the Mountaineers the lead for good. He also hit the front end of a one-and-one and a follow shot, while Derey made a layup for Northside that left the score 51-47.
Then Wheatley picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench. "The referees just started calling it close and I didn't adjust," he said.
When he came back, Wheatley fouled out trying to stop Hungate, who went to the line for two shots and the Vikings down 58-56 with 1:38 left. Hungate made the second free throw and, after both teams missed shots from the floor, Hunter went on his drive for the three points that gave the Mounties a big edge.
"[Hunter] came through. I thought he was going to miss, but it was a pretty move and just went in," said Derey, who scored 13 points in the second half as the Vikings started going inside.
Northside coach Billy Pope, whose teams usually win when they rally, said it wasn't a matter of running out of rallies.
"They came up with the bigger plays," he said. "We did everything, but Alleghany made outstanding plays."
As for Hunter's play, Pope said: "You just have to say it was a couple of moves across the middle, but I thought our defense was there."
Alleghany moved to a seven-point halftime lead when Hunter scored 12 of the Mounties' 19 points in the second quarter.
Alleghany made 23 of 47 shots from the field. Northside, which connected on only 24 of 68 from the field, had a 45-36 rebounding advantage, with Derey collecting 18 rebounds and blocking three shots.
Alleghany played without center Jermaine Winston, who is out indefinitely with an injured ankle. \
see microfilm for box score