Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 17, 1993 TAG: 9302170222
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
COUGARS STUN FLEMING 70-69
For Pulaski County's Montie Brown, the last 21 seconds were like watching a whodunit at the movies.The Cougars' senior guard just didn't know whether he'd be the one to make the winning shot or whether William Fleming's Jemare Crump would get that honor.
Brown finally did it with a short jumper to the left of the lane with 21 seconds remaining that pushed Pulaski County ahead 70-69. Then he watched as Crump missed an 18-footer at the buzzer to leave the Cougars with a Roanoke Valley District boys' basketball upset victory.
"I said if that goes, it would be a bad way to lose it after we played so hard," Brown said. "My emotions were up and down those last few seconds."
Crump said: "I took a good shot. But I thought I was farther away than I was and I shot it too hard."
Both teams, tied atop the district standings at 6-1, can relax for the moment.
Fleming plays host to Cave Spring on Friday and Pulaski County travels to Franklin County on Saturday for their final games. If the two leaders both win or both lose, they will have a playoff Monday at Cave Spring for the regular-season title and one of the district's two berths to the Northwestern Region tournament.
"We had spilled our guts," Pulaski County coach Pat Burns said. "We talked about going to war with them. That's what it was and I was proud because everyone went out and played like warriors."
Burns said Brown isn't afraid of late-game pressure. He had beaten Cave Spring earlier this year on a late shot.
"We had a lot of options, but there was nothing special set up," Burns said.
Pulaski County's Chris Foster and Eric Webb had been killing the Colonels inside. But when Fleming's defense backed off, Brown was left wide open and he made Fleming pay.
Both teams staged rallies and refused to fold down the stretch. The moment of truth for Fleming (14-5), the state's ninth-ranked Group AAA team, came midway through the third quarter when Tyrone Hash's short jumper completed a 14-7 run that gave the Cougars (15-5) a 50-43 lead.
The Colonels called time out and went to a press. It took Fleming 1:13 to wipe out the seven-point deficit as Carlos Rhodes made a 3-point shot and layup before Crump sank a layup.
Fleming's streak continued. The Colonels scored 13 of the next 19 points for a 63-56 lead with 4:36 left. It took Fleming nearly three minutes to score again.
By this time, Pulaski County had the lead 66-63 on a rally capped by Brown's short jumper and two free throws by Webb. This set up a see-saw finish, with Fleming taking its final lead on Crump's layup with 44 seconds left at 69-68.
"I thought we had it," Fleming coach Burrall Paye said. "But we stayed on 63 for the longest time."
Defense was a problem. The Cougars made 30 of 59 shots from the floor and got inside on the Colonels with ease.
"It was hard to find a defense we played well tonight," Paye said. "We went to the press and that got us a lead. We changed to a match-up zone and they drove at will. But Pulaski County played very well."
Fleming's offense came in spurts. The Colonels made only 31 of 66 shots from the field, including 11 of 22 in the third quarter. Rhodes, the RVD's leading scorer, had his best quarter with 10 of his 17 points. In the fourth quarter, though, he got only one shot.
Pulaski County led the entire first half, taking a 35-32 lead after two quarters. Derrick Hines kept the Colonels in the game with 10 points in the second quarter, something of an unusual shooting display for the Timesland leader in assists.
Fleming had 17 assists, with four starters having four or more. Hines led the way with six and also had three steals.