Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 19, 1994 TAG: 9402190143
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The Indians, who battered the Cavaliers inside in a victory two weeks ago, singed the Cavaliers from outside in the first half and never let up in a 68-51 New River District boys' basketball game Friday night.
Combined with Christiansburg's 58-54 narrow escape against Radford, Blacksburg's victory sets up a district title showdown between the two Montgomery County neighbors Monday evening in the regular-season finale in Blacksburg.
The Indians (8-7 overall, 5-0 in the district), winners in eight of their past 10 games, trailed early against Carroll County, which employed a 2-3 zone to keep the Indians from getting the ball to big guys Tony Wheeler, Jay Safford and Ben Araman inside.
The zone achieved its desired effect, which was unfortunate for the Cavaliers because it left Mike Dowdy wide-open. The junior shooting guard scored a career-high 17 points, 13 of those in the first half when he hit three 3-pointers.
Just say he was in a zone.
"I love seeing a zone," Dowdy said. "Coach [Bob Trear] told us before the game that [the Cavaliers] would probably play zone. My job was to hit the three . . . I was feeling it, so I kept on firing."
Dowdy shared team scoring honors with Wheeler. Safford had 13 and Araman 11 as Blacksburg won its 29th consecutive game against New River District teams in regular-season and tournament play.
After Carroll County (4-12, 0-5) closed to 22-20 on an Anthony Thomas follow shot with 5 minutes, 9 seconds left in the second quarter, Dowdy connected on his third 3-pointer of the half to spark an 8-0 run that included a powerful inside bucket by Safford and a three-point play from Araman.
Dowdy's hot outside shooting "was what we were hoping for," Safford said. "They were trying to stop me and Ben, but [Dowdy] opened it up."
Its zone busted, Carroll played mostly man-to-man beginning in the second quarter.
Even with defenders draped around them like a shawl, the Indians got the ball in their hands by hitting the offensive glass and collecting 20 offensive rebounds that resulted in 22 second-chance points.
"When they packed it in so far, we automatically got the long rebounds," said Wheeler, who grabbed five of his eight boards at the offensive end.
Blacksburg outrebounded Carroll 35-21.
"What turned the game around was their second shots," said Pat Sharp, Carroll County's coach. "We practiced that [zone] for a week, and we emphasized that, more than anything, to make sure they got no second shots, no matter what defense we were playing. Even when we played man-to-man, we didn't do a good job boxing out."
John Wolford was 5-for-7 from the field - including 2-for-2 from 3-point range - to lead Carroll with 17 points. Jason Kilbourne scored 10.
The Cavaliers trailed 51-44 early in the fourth quarter, but 10 of their 26 turnovers came in the final period. Carroll County turned over the ball on five consecutive possessions against Blacksburg's press as the Indians' went on a 15-2 run to go up 66-46 with 2:29 left.
"In the second half, we really put it to 'em with the press," Dowdy said. "We got some easy baskets and put 'em away."
Added Safford: "That's the best defense we've played."
Safford hit a runner in the lane to start a 9-0 spell and capped it with a three-point play to finish the Cavaliers.
"If you let a team like Carroll hang around and hang around, they'll catch you," Trear said. "They've got some talent. We got after them a couple of times in the second half." \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB