Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 30, 1993 TAG: 9301300292
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
FLEMING SUFFOCATES PULASKI
Beating William Fleming in a game of basketball is difficult enough as it is. But doing the job with half an offense? You're more likely to find a fresh rose to pluck in the January landscape.Friday night, the Colonels, playing the suffocating defense that is their trademark, first denied visiting Pulaski County any trace of an inside attack. Then Fleming went to work on the perimeter until pretty soon, the Cougars were firing nothing but blanks.
The reward for this relentless strangulation was a 74-52 victory that left Fleming in sole possession of first place in the Roanoke Valley District.
"We have to have an inside game," Cougars coach Pat Burns said. "We've had the same offense we've had since we went inside to Ron Shelburne and he was the leading scorer in the state. When you have to rely on the perimeter, it makes it tough."
It worked for a while as the Cougars (10-4 overall, 3-1 in the district) went time and again to sophomore guard Eric Webb, who had all of his 20 points, including a pair of rainbow 3-pointers, in the first half. After that, Fleming went to a matchup zone defense that employed Reggie Reynolds as a chaser on Webb, who was shut out in the second half.
"We went to the matchup in the second quarter because Webb was beating us with some awfully good one-on-one moves," Fleming coach Burrall Paye said. "We then tried to shut him down while still keeping the pressure on [Chris] Foster inside."
Pressure on 16-points-per-game Foster? It was as effective as a vise. Foster finished with two points - both on free throw - and three rebounds as the Cougars were getting mauled 38-23 on the backboards.
"He told us he was having trouble breathing," Burns said. "We weren't aware before the game that he was sick."
Only Webb and forward Ty Hash, who had 17 points, prevented the Cougars from being thoroughly humiliated. Paye examined his reserves and worked on a delay offense most of the fourth quarter.
Fleming (12-3, 4-0) barbecued Pulaski County by continuously beating it down the floor, made 30 of 48 shots (62.5 percent) and led by 25 points in the second half. Save for a loss to nationally ranked Oak Hill Academy, the Colonels have had at least a 20-point lead on 11 consecutive opponents.
"People haven't been giving us very good games lately," Fleming guard Carlos Rhodes said.
Rhodes gave the Colonels a good game, as usual, until second-half foul trouble slowed him down. Little did that matter, though. He already had scored 20 of his 25 before halftime - he had three 3-pointers and six rebounds as well - as the Colonels rolled up a 41-28 lead and were well on their way to a runaway.
"They surprised us," said Reynolds, who had seven points and five rebounds in addition to his stellar second-half defensive work on Webb. "We thought they'd be tougher. We also thought they'd play better defense."
Fact of the matter was, Fleming was running its offense as though the Cougars were standing as still as cones on a driver-training course.
"Fleming looked like it had more pep in its step than we did," Burns said.
Colonels point guard Derrick Hines flogged his team up the floor at breakneck pace and finished with 17 points. Forward Jamare Crump ended with 15 points and nine rebounds.
"We've been having sorry practices all week," Crump said. "We had a decent one Thursday and then came in here tonight and tried to show Coach that we have the best team in the district."
Paye seems to require little proof of that.
"If we just had some size," he said, "gosh, we'd be something to see."
\ see microfilm for box score