Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 15, 1994 TAG: 9401150237
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JIMMY ROBERTSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium
Franklin County's Jason Conklin buried two free throws with 10.6 seconds left in overtime to give the Eagles a 76-75 upset victory over the Colonels, who lost their second straight overtime game.
A ferocious, second-half rally by the Colonels, led by Derrick Hines who scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, gave Fleming a chance to win in regulation.
Fleming (6-4, 0-2) had the ball with 12 seconds to go and the score tied at 72, but Keith Hampton committed a backcourt violation by throwing to Hines who had not yet crossed the halfcourt stripe.
After a Franklin County (6-5, 1-1) timeout, the Eagles' Stacy Helms threw the ball away trying to pass to Carlos Holland with two seconds left. Fleming missed a fullcourt shot attempt and the game went to overtime.
"We had the match-up that we wanted right there,"Franklin County head coach Calvin Preston said. "We just did not execute like we should have."
The Colonels jumped out to a 75-72 lead in overtime after Hampton knocked in a free throw and Will Fitzgerald, who led the Colonels with 18 points, tapped in the second free throw attempt, but they faltered offensively for the rest of the period.
After Franklin County guard guard Chad Foutz, who led Franklin County with a game-high 27 points, drove in for an uncontested lay-up, Fleming decided to hold the ball.
Foutz came out and fouled Hampton with less than 40 seconds to go, but Hampton missed the front end of a one-and-one and the Eagles had one last chance.
Holland got the ball inside and missed a lay-up, but Conklin got the offensive rebound and was fouled on the stickback attempt. He made the free throws to give Franklin County the lead.
"I knew that I had to make one, so I really concentrated on the first one," Conklin said. "I felt more confident on the second and fortunately it went in."
After the free throws, Fleming immediately tried to push the ball up the court. Hines threw the ball to Fitzgerald after bobbling it and Fitzgerald heaved a 3-pointer that barely missed the basket as time expired.
"I was desperately trying to call a timeout there," Fleming head coach Burrell Paye said. "The kids just did not see me. We panicked near the end and it cost us."
The first half was dominated by Franklin County. The Eagles raced out to a 45-29 at the half and practically did nothing wrong. The Eagles made 18 of 34 field goal attempts and forced 11 turnovers.
The Colonels, however, came storming back with their second half rally. First, a 13-1 run midway through the third quarter cut the Eagles' lead to 50-44, and then Hines led a 14-7 fourth quarter run to cut the Eagles' lead to one, 69-68.
A Fitzgerald basket gave Fleming its first lead of the game at 70-69. Foutz hit a free throw for Franklin County to tie the score, and then hit two more free throws to tie it again after Fitzgerald had made a lay-up, thus forcing the overtime.
"It feels great to win a game like this against a tough Fleming team," Preston said. "We played so poorly Tuesday night against Cave Spring, so we went back to the basics in practice and it paid off tonight."
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB