Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 29, 1994 TAG: 9401290199
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: COVINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Mark Byington, Timesland's leading scorer, and teammate Kevin Garst each nailed five 3-pointers to lead the Spartans to an 82-77 Blue Ridge District victory at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College.
Byington and Garst topped a balanced scoring sheet with 21 and 17 points, respectively. All but one of their combined 11 baskets came from beyond the 3-point arc. Matt Woolwine added 16 points and Nathan Routt had 15.
Salem's victory offset a brilliant performance by Alleghany center Todd Wheatley, whose 29 points matched his career high. James Hughes and Shrell Bolden contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively, to the Mountaineers' total.
"We were just a couple of plays away," Wheatley said. "We tried to keep pace with them, but it's hard to trade 3s for 2s."
Alleghany (6-6 overall, 0-3 Blue Ridge) made 31 field goals to the Spartans' 27, but the Mountaineers had only three 3-pointers. One was a 27-footer by Wheatley at the buzzer.
Salem (11-0, 4-0) opened impressive leads in the first half of 18-10, 31-22 and 39-29, but Alleghany refused to fold. As the Spartans' big men, Routt and Woolwine, developed foul trouble trying to contain Wheatley, the Mountaineers continued to peck away at the lead.
Alleghany pulled even at 60 when Todd Crawford connected on a 3-pointer from a corner early in the fourth quarter.
Salem retaliated quickly when Garst, and then Byington, hit treys to put the Spartans ahead 66-60. Salem made most of its free throws down the stretch, and the Mountaineers never drew closer the rest of the way.
Salem coach Charlie Morgan felt that the Alleghany home crowd throttled its team's rally, but he said he never considered calling a timeout.
"When you're watching games on TV, and a team gets some momentum, you'll see the other team immediately call a timeout," Morgan said. "Personally, I think that can make kids panic. I believe you've got to let your team just play through it."
Jimmy Smith, Alleghany's coach, was upbeat despite the loss.
"We got down early, but we stayed in there," Smith said. "We're just not sure what it takes to win when the game's on the line."
The Mountaineers' three district losses all have come to Timesland top 10 teams - Northside, William Byrd and Salem.
"One of these days, I hope somebody's going to hate to play us," Smith said.
by CNB