Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 26, 1994 TAG: 9401260182
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FLOYD LENGTH: Medium
\ This time when Jamie Warren stared defeat in the face, defeat blinked.
The junior forward sank two free throws with 35.7 seconds left to lift Floyd County over Grayson County 63-62 on Tuesday night in a Mountain Empire District boys' basketball game.
The victory was the ninth in a row for Floyd County (9-1 overall, 8-1 district), the fifth-ranked Group A school in the state.
The Buffaloes trail idle Auburn (9-2, 8-1) by one-half game in the district going into Friday night's showdown at Floyd County.
The Blue Devils (11-2, 9-2), ranked No. 9 in the state, saw their four-game winning streak snapped. They also dropped from first to third in the district.
Warren erased some bad memories from a season-opening loss when he hit the free throws.
"I had the same thing in the game at Grayson, free throws to win it, and I missed," said Warren, who finished with a game-high 21 points. "I knew if I missed we'd lose the game. I knew I had to hit the free throws. I didn't want to lose like that again."
Grayson County had one last chance to win. It called time out with 13.7 seconds to go to set up its final play. Shane Griffith drove along the left baseline for the final shot, but his attempt bounced off the rim. After a scramble underneath, the ball bounded to half-court and the buzzer sounded the Floyd County victory.
"If we had played another quarter, it would have see-sawed back and forth another 10 times," Floyd County coach Alan Cantrell said. "Luckily, time ran out on us."
Grayson County coach John Ayers said Griffith's shot was exactly the shot his team wanted at the end.
"From my view, there was a little contact underneath," said Ayers. "But the referees aren't going to call that at the end. They are going to let the game be decided on the court."
Griffith had hit a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 14 seconds left to put the Blue Devils up by a point before Warren's free throws.
Twenty seconds earlier, Warren had faked a 3-point attempt and hit a short jumper to put the Buffaloes up 61-59.
Floyd County's Phillip Marshall had hit a 3-pointer from the left wing at the 2:15 mark to tie the score at 59.
"I'll take that shot any time," said Marshall.
The Buffaloes led throughout the first half and by 10 early in the second half. But Bryan Boyer and Keith Waterman combined for 19 points in the third period to bring the Blue Devils back. \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB