Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 10, 1994 TAG: 9403100095
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
William Fleming's chances of giving the Roanoke Valley District its third Group AAA title in seven years nearly disappeared Wednesday when a metal fragment flew into the face of Colonels point guard Derrick Hines during a shop class, causing an eye injury.
Hines, who figures to be the key for William Fleming on Friday when it battles South Lakes in a semifinal at 8:45 p.m., seems to be all right after nearly giving coach Burrall Paye a heart attack.
"I'm going to take a lot of medicine and I might have blurred vision, but the doctor said I should be well [in two days]," Hines said. "I'll shoot around in practice today [Wednesday]. At first, I was real nervous and a lot of people around here got upset real quick."
Meanwhile, Northside coach Billy Pope is battling a bad cold as the Vikings prepare to play Salem for a sixth time this season. Tip-off is 2:45 p.m. Friday.
Before those three schools continue what they hope will be a successful march to a state title, Parry McCluer battles 1993 champion Twin Springs at 8:45 p.m. today in a Group A semifinal. Nelson Fox, the Fighting Blues' coach, has a case of laryngitis, but is more relaxed after his team warded off Honaker for a 66-64 overtime victory in a first-round game Tuesday in Radford.
Salem (23-1) and Northside (22-5) command the most attention in Timesland. The Spartans have had all the best of the first five meetings, with a whopping edge in statistics and on the scoreboard.
Northside has lost only to Salem this season, and the defeats have come in all varieties - from blowouts to overtime. If the Vikings win Friday, they'll have taken the biggest game of the season between the two and all the statistics in a series that seemingly will go on forever will make little difference.
"I think we know so much about each other, the thing we have to do is play the [same kind of] game we have all year," said Charlie Morgan, Salem's coach. "If they make changes, we'll try and make the adjustment.
"The pressure is on them. We have an edge in having beaten them five times, but then every game is different. I would like to have played somebody else, just from the standpoint of us knowing so much about each other."
Northside isn't likely to have time to change strategy.
"We played pretty well in most of the games, a couple of them we didn't," Pope said. "It's a matter of refining a few things and having a few days to prepare for Salem.
"We have to focus on this game and not [the ones] in the past. That's one of the beauties of sports. That's why you play each game."
Pope feels that for the teams to meet a sixth time is a credit to both squads.
"Some people acted like it was a guarantee; it wasn't," said the Vikings' coach. "They had to win a lot of tough games and we had to win a lot of tough games to make that happen. I don't think the teams would have advanced if they hadn't played well."
Salem is coming off an 89-32 victory over Graham in the first round of the tournament. The margin of victory is believed to be the largest in Virginia High School League tournament history, topping the 91-36 victory by Highland Springs over Gate City in the Group AAA tournament in 1960.
The Spartans are ranked No. 1 in the state, while Northside is rated No. 6. The other semifinal features unranked Louisa County (18-5), with high-scoring Ohio State signee Robert Shelton, going against seventh-ranked Nansemond River (18-5) at 1 p.m. Friday.
South Lakes (22-6) is no stranger to state tournaments, having made the Group AAA championship event four of the past six years. Fleming (19-5) is in a semifinal for the second year in a row.
Last year, South Lakes had heralded big man Joey Beard, now playing for Duke. This season, the Seahawks have balance, led by 6-foot-5 wing Troy Allen (18.5 ppg.).
Wendell Byrd, South Lakes' coach, may use a deliberate offense against Fleming, something Hayfield tried in a first-round game. Byrd isn't likely to go to extremes and hold the ball if his team is down by 15 in the third quarter as the Hawks did.
"We're going to have to control tempo. We trailed [GW-Danville] in our first-round game, but we came back and developed a tempo that enabled us to win the game [56-52]," Byrd said.
Fleming is playing extremely well with all five starters - Hines, Reggie Reynolds, Keith Hampton, William Fitzgerald and James Stokes - averaging double figures in points.
In the other semifinal, top-ranked Meadowbrook (26-2) takes on Petersburg (23-6) in the fourth meeting between those two schools.
Parry McCluer continues a hectic pace. The Fighting Blues won three games in four days to qualify for a state semifinal. After enjoying an off day Wednesday, Parry McCluer (23-2) is the first Timesland team back in action.
"I know I scouted games at Emory & Henry last Friday. I've been on a bus or in a car about 25 total hours since that night," said Fox, who is slowly getting his voice back.
Parry McCluer has balance with 5-9 Kris Carter, 6-2 Nathan Baker and 6-3 Mike McElroy all averaging around 14 points a game. The Blues are bigger than Twin Springs (25-1) and may have to take it inside against a team that shoots very well from the perimeter.
In the first Group A semifinal today at 7 p.m., No. 1 William Monroe (23-1) takes on fifth-ranked Franklin (23-4).
by CNB