Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 14, 1995 TAG: 9501160080
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
After his Cave Spring boys' basketball team shot 36 percent from the floor and 61 percent from the free-throw line and edged Patrick Henry 61-55 on Friday night, the Knights' coach accentuated the positive.
``Under the circumstances, it was a very pretty win,'' Carr said, ``because it puts us 3-0 in the [Roanoke Valley] District, and we're in the driver's seat.
``Now, it may be a very short drive, because we've got William Fleming on the horizon, but we're going to enjoy this one.''
Matt Matheny led Cave Spring with 21 points, including three 3-pointers. Jeff Lang and John Finnerty contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively. But the Knights, known for their outside shooting, frequently misfired.
James Irvin made only two of nine field-goal attempts, and Finnerty was 3-of-12. Cave Spring missed its first five shots and was 4-of-14 (29 percent) in the first quarter.
``When you're playing in a foreign gym in front of a full house it makes you tight and nervous,'' Carr said.
Patrick Henry also shot poorly at the start (33 percent in the first half) and trailed by 33-22 at intermission after the Knights' Dusty Beekman found Doug Cullinan for a layup at the buzzer.
Cave Spring (9-5) opened a 15-point lead early in the second-half, but the Patriots, led by Chris Combs and Brian Jackson, gradually closed the gap.
Two breakaway layups from Jackson in a 12-second span pulled PH to 40-34 with 3 minutes, 36 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Knights maintained their distance until late in the final period. The Patriots' David Barker hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds left to again put the margin at six, 57-51. PH called timeout, then quickly fouled Irvin.
Irvin missed the front end of a one-and-one, and the Patriots went inside to Combs to make it 57-53 with 38 seconds left.
Irvin, Finnerty and Matheny converted their free throws down the stretch.
``I wasn't sure we'd won until the buzzer sounded,'' Carr said. ``I wasn't surprised how well they played us. I think Woody Deans is one of the best preparation coaches in the valley, if not the best.''
``We played hard,'' Deans said. ``I was proud of the way we came back. They are a very good outside-shooting team, and I imagine we held them below their season average on 3-pointers.''
The Knights made seven of 20 shots (35 percent) from beyond the arc.
Combs finished with a game-high 24 points, including seven free throws, but failed to convert three free throws because he stepped over the line. Jackson added 13 points.
by CNB