Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 14, 1994 TAG: 9412140148
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The last time Northside played Patrick Henry in boys' basketball, the Patriots were nationally ranked and on their way to the 1988 Group AAA title.
George Lynch was a PH star, not a Los Angeles Laker, and the Patriots destroyed the Vikings by margins of 36, 28 and 25 points. The reunion of these teams Tuesday went in favor of Northside as the Vikings whipped the Patriots 70-53 in a non-district game at PH's gym.
The Patriots may struggle to contend when they open play next week in the Roanoke Valley District, while Northside has visions of winning a Group AA championship.
The Vikings hadn't beaten PH since 1986. The lapse is easy to explain, because Northside dropped out of the Roanoke Valley District after the 1988 season and also stopped scheduling the Patriots.
``I know they must be saying this is not the same team that won the state championship, but to us it's Patrick Henry,'' said Billy Pope, the Vikings' coach. ``It was a great feeling around school today. People were talking about playing PH. You play one of the best programs in Virginia and it felt neat to play here.''
Northside (2-0) took a quick lead on two 3-point shots by Chad Brammer. That forced the Patriots out of a triangle-and-two defense as the Vikings took an 11-2 lead. PH (2-3) really never got back into the game.
Northside's Justin Porterfield just missed a triple double. The Vikings junior had 13 assists, 17 points and eight rebounds. His running mate at guard, Ben Peete, had 13 points and center Maurice Garrison added 17.
Porterfield was shocked by the Vikings' fast start.
``We were supposed to come out and make five passes. We wanted everyone to touch the ball,'' he said. ``But we wanted to try and jump on them quickly.''
Coach Woody Deans, whose PH team split four games during an eight-day visit to Hawaii, wasn't surprised at Northside's shooting.
``But they beat us on the boards,'' he said. ``I was impressed with the way they rebounded, but I wasn't happy with our effort. We were down by six points in the third quarter, and they got two offensive rebounds and stick-backs right in a row.''
The Vikings opened a 37-34 rebounding edge despite 6-foot-61/2 Dana Gibson sitting for much of the game with foul problems. He grabbed 10 rebounds before fouling out.
The Patriots trailed 34-21 at halftime, but came back when 6-6 Chris Combs led a 12-4 spurt to start the second half as he scored 10 of his game-high 20 points.
``I was impressed with Combs. He's really strong,'' Pope said. ``I think the key was that we controlled Patrick Henry inside.''
The Vikings also shot well, making 29 of 50 from the field while PH struggled and made only 19 of 58.
by CNB