Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 23, 1993 TAG: 9302230146
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
COLONELS CLAIM TITLE COUGARS FALL 61-51 IN RVD BOYS' PLAYOFF
William Fleming coach Burrall Paye has added another president to his list.The Colonels, under Paye, have gone to the Group AAA Northwestern Region every year since Jimmy Carter was the nation's chief executive. Now he's established his first visit to the regional under Bill Clinton.
Fleming pulled together in the second half to beat stubborn Pulaski County 61-51 Monday night at Cave Spring in a playoff for the regular-season Roanoke Valley District boys' championship.
The victory assures Fleming of a berth in the region tournament next week. Whether the Colonels will get the RVD's top seeding depends on this week's district tournament. The team that wins the four-game tournament will play at home in the first round of regional action while the other squad plays on the road.
Both teams are off until Friday night. Fleming will play the winner of tonight's first-round game between Cave Spring and Patrick Henry while Pulaski County faces Franklin County in the RVD semifinals at the Salem Civic Center.
The two teams finished the regular season win 7-1 league records after the Cougars won 70-69 last week.
Fleming broke a 27-27 tie midway through the third period with seven straight points by spreading its offense. The Colonels (16-5) scored 22 points in the third quarter, which was one more than they got in the first half. Both teams were in foul trouble, but Pulaski County (16-6) had more serious damage with high scorers Chris Foster and Eric Webb picking up three first-half fouls.
Fleming's Reggie Reynolds, David Hutchinson and Phil Lacey each had three personals in the first half.
What turned the game was the shooting of Carlos Rhodes, the RVD's leading scorer. The senior guard hit a 3-pointer at the end of the first half, his only good one in nine early attempts. In the third quarter, he went 4-for-6 from the field, including two more 3-point goals to help open the lead.
"I was just rushing it a little bit. I just had to calm down and let the game come to me," Rhodes said.
Derrick Hines, a sophomore, was the other reason Fleming prevailed. He dealt out 10 assists to add to his total as the Timesland leader.
"We were a little tight the first half, but we came out calm and relaxed the second half," Hines said.
Neither team played well in the first half, which ended tied at 21.
Foster picked up his fourth personal with 2:19 left in the third quarter when he and Fleming's Vic Harper were called for a double foul. The Colonels led by seven at the time and increased that margin to 13 early in the fourth period before Foster came back. This time, the 6-foot-5 senior lasted only a couple of minutes before Rhodes drew a foul from Foster on a layup. Rhodes completed the three-point play to make it 53-40 with 3:29 left to ice Fleming's victory.
"I don't know if you can say what determined the game," Pulaski County coach Pat Burns said. "Certainly it hurt when they [Foster and Webb] sat down and we led by five. Rhodes getting hot could be a turning point. Then Fleming's a good team and you have to be on top of your game for 32 minutes against them."
Fleming hit 16 of 28 second-half shots; Pulaski County, 10-of-28, never did warm up. The Cougars remained as close as they did because Webb hit two 3-point goals and Montie Brown one during the final period. Webb finished with 18 points to lead Pulaski County.
Rhodes finished with a game-high 21 points for Fleming.
Fleming had a 36-33 rebounding edge, led by Jemare Crump's 11. Foster had seven rebounds to lead Pulaski County.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL