Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 26, 1994 TAG: 9402260171
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JIMMY ROBERTSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium
The Minutemen used a balanced offense and a big third quarter to blow past Buckingham County 74-55 on Friday night in a Seminole District boys' basketball tournament semifinal at the Vines Center at Liberty University.
The second-seeded Minutemen advanced to the championship game this afternoon at 2 against top-seeded Jefferson Forest. Both teams advance to the Region III tournament, with Liberty facing Northside on Tuesday night and Jefferson Forest getting a first-round bye.
"I am glad that we are going to the regionals," Liberty coach Mark Hanks said. "The kids, especially the seniors, have worked hard this year and battled through so much. They deserve to go."
The Minutemen left no doubt about who was the better team Friday night. Craig Colemen sank two 3-point shots and scored eight of his 14 points in the first quarter. Stephen Schrader knocked in six of his 10 points in the quarter as well. Liberty went ahead 18-10 and never looked back.
Liberty lead 22-17 midway through the second quarter. Greg Reynolds, who scored a game-high 16 points and dished out 10 assists, sparked a 12-6 run with two 3-pointers and a layup to give Liberty a 34-23 lead at halftime.
"They were packing it in, so we had to loosen them up some," Reynolds said. "Once we started hit a few 3s, we opened up the inside for our big people."
Any hopes of a Knights comeback ended when the Liberty big men started what turned out to be a 24-point third quarter. David Ross scored six of his 11 points in the quarter and Brian Long added a couple of baskets to give the Minutemen a 58-40 lead going into the fourth quarter.
"We have been working on getting the ball inside more," Ross said. "We tend to go through spurts where we don't do anything, but we were able to move the ball around, be patient and look for the open shot."
The Knights cut the lead to 62-49 in the fourth quarter, but Liberty called a timeout and then proceeded to go on a 9-0 run that put away the game.
"I think that our late-season losses may have helped us," Hanks said. "We were really tight at the end of the season and those losses showed our weaknesses. Tonight was our biggest game of the year, and the kids came out relaxed. I'm glad we showed some killer instinct."
The Knights, who were led by Frederick Jackson's 14 points, made 21 of 47 shots and committed 17 turnovers. Liberty made 29 of 60 shots and held Buckingham's leading scorer, Franklin James, to eight points.
"We need to play defense like that against Jefferson Forest," Hanks said. "They try to create mismatches with their quickness whereas we try to create mismatches with our size, so it should be interesting." \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB