Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 16, 1993 TAG: 9302160163
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
RAIDERS MOVE CLOSER TO TITLE
It was snowing outside, but North Cross kept Hargrave Military Academy's 6-foot-8 Innus Norville warm with a three-man bodywrap."He didn't roam freely," North Cross coach Jim Muscaro said.
That accomplishment - and the foul-induced departure of Rod Cobb, Hargrave's other main scorer, for part of the second half - helped the Raiders beat the Tigers 83-73 in a Virginia Independent Conference boys' basketball game Monday at the Carter Athletic Center.
North Cross pluses included the 3-point accuracy of tall-and-skinny Raiders Hal Johnson and Tyler Pugh, the slippery drives of Marcus Cardwell and the 18 rebounds by center Mike Bryan, who had four shots blocked by Norville.
It all gave North Cross a 19-5 record overall, 12-1 in the VIC. The Raiders need only win today at Carlisle, which has two victories, to secure the VIC Southern Division title and the accompanying favorable league tournament seedings.
"I've got to feel good about our chances," Muscaro said.
Hargrave (15-4, 11-2) beat North Cross by 20 points at home this season.
Hargrave coach Dave Myers saw his team miss 16 of 23 free throws and virtually ignore its rehearsed plan to free Norville, which was to bring him to the ball off screens. So, the Tigers' whole offense was fuzzy - especially when Cobb left with his fourth foul with 3:56 to go in the third quarter.
North Cross led 51-47 at that point. Hargrave scored four points the rest of the quarter, and the Raiders built a 62-51 lead after three quarters. Cobb had scored his team's first eight points in the third.
"We're not used to being behind late in the game," Myers said. "They didn't execute very well. We just really don't have any other scoring threat penetration-wise [besides Cobb]. That was the turning point in the game."
But not the end. Bryan's follow shot gave North Cross a 70-63 lead with 3:33 left in the game before things got messy.
Cobb, who returned with 5:12 to go in the game, made a layup with 2:45 left and Hargrave was five points down. Cardwell drove and was fouled; he made one of two free throws, and North Cross led 71-65 with 2:35 to go.
Hargrave's Nathan Tasso, who seemed to either airball a 3-pointer or hit one, did the latter and the Tigers trailed 71-68 with 2:12 left. Cardwell, though, passed long to Bryan for a basket and a 73-68 count with 2:12 left.
The Raiders won a scramble for a loose ball, but Cardwell double-dribbled, and Norville rebounded a miss and scored to bring his team to three behind with 1:43 to go.
Cardwell missed a 3-pointer, but Bryan ripped the rebound from Tasso and scored.
Then Hargrave unraveled. Tasso threw away the ball, and Cardwell made a layup for a 77-70 North Cross lead. Hargrave's Brian Sheares drove wildly and lost the ball, and Johnson, who finished with 19 points, made two free throws for a 79-70 lead with 1:03 left.
Rob Ward double-dribbled, and North Cross got it back. Two more free throws by Johnson and the lead was safe at 81-70.