Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 6, 1993 TAG: 9302060233
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHRIS STEUART STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
PULASKI COUNTY HAS TO FIGHT OFF CAVE SPRING
Cave Spring's boys' basketball team took the lead on a last-second shot Friday night, but at the wrong buzzer.The Knights battled back from a 14-point deficit to take a one-point halftime lead on the second of five 3-point baskets by Robbie Hibbs.
The Knights still led by six midway through the fourth quarter, but with 10 seconds remaining, Montie Brown pulled Pulaski County out of the fire.
Brown, who had scored his first points of the game about a minute earlier on two free throws, drove the lane and drilled an off-balance, 10-foot jumper to complete a come-from-behind 60-59 Roanoke Valley District victory for Pulaski County.
The Knights had a chance to win but committed a turnover under the basket with one second remaining.
"We were protecting something we aren't used to having," Cave Spring coach Rick Crotts said. "But we were unaggressive there at the end. We deserved to win. I guess it was youth and inexperience, but that is getting to be an old excuse."
The last time the teams played, Pulaski (13-4 overall, 4-1 RVD) jumped to a big lead early and went on to win.
"I think our guys said, `Here it is again,' " Pulaski County coach Pat Burns said.
On the contrary.
Pulaski shot 65 percent in the first quarter, then put forth a lackluster 20 percent shooting effort in the second quarter.
The Knights (5-13, 0-6), meanwhile, shot 53 percent in the second after a 27 percent first quarter.
"It was a mental breakdown," said Pulaski County's Ty Hash, who scored 15 points. "We should have kept playing hard the whole game. I mean, we should have blown them out."
Hibbs, who tied Pulaski's Chris Foster with a game-high 22 points, was guarded primarily by Hash.
"He just kept gunning the ball and hitting shots," Hash said. "I figured he'd miss one every now and then."
Hibbs found a spot to his liking on the left baseline, just beyond the 3-point arc, and sank his third 3-pointer in a row at the beginning of the second half. After his last bomb about three minutes into the fourth quarter, he twice drove the lane to give Cave Spring a 56-50 lead with 4:19 left.
"Hibbs really put on a show tonight," Burns said. "He kept them in the game there for a while."
Hibbs scored 12 in the fourth quarter, but Pulaski County worked the ball inside to Foster to keep pace. Then the Cougars rallied for a 58-56 lead by making eight consecutive free throws.
"I thought it would be a lot easier win," Foster said. "But they are a good team and they came at us hard. It took Montie Brown's last-second shot and the team working together to win it." \
see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.