Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 26, 1995 TAG: 9501260093
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHRIS KING SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
For Christiansburg one of those players was Darrell Calloway. Calloway made all six of his shots from the field and drained three of four free throws while leading the Demons to a 62-41 victory over arch-rival Blacksburg during the past week of high school basketball.
The victory was Christiansburg's first over the Indians since 1990. It also provided the Indians with their first New River District loss in that time frame.
Despite his nearly flawless performance offensively in the game, Calloway was not entirely pleased with his performance.
"I don't think it was my best game because of my defense," said Calloway. "Offensively it was all right."
Even with what he called a sub-par effort on the defensive end of the court, Calloway still managed to hold Blacksburg's Tony Wheeler in check.
"He [Wheeler] scored his average, but Darrell still played good defense on him," said Christiansburg Coach Gerald Thompson. "We are real pleased with Darrell."
Thompson has good reason to be happy with the way his charge is playing. Calloway, a 6-0 junior, averages 13.5 points a game and 6.9 rebounds while shooting 64 percent from the field, dishing out nearly two assists a game and leading the team in steals.
Still, Calloway doesn't consider himself the type of player who would ordinarily accumulate such a stat line.
"I'm not one who looks for the open shot," the small forward said. "I try to rebound and score a lot on stickbacks. Defense and hustle wins games."
The Demons have played plenty of defense and provided Thompson with all the hustle he could ask for in getting off to a 10-2 start, including a 2-0 start in district play. The fast start has the Demons in line for a regional playoff berth.
"It [Blacksburg] was a big win for us," said Thompson. "It is a big county rivalry, and it gives us a good shot to make the playoffs which means we get to keep playing."
Calloway has thoughts of doing more than merely qualifying for post-season play.
"Last year we finished 12-8 and we are already almost there," said Calloway who scored 8 points a game last year while coming off the bench. "We hope to at least go to state."
Other noteable performances:
Travis Cantrell of Floyd poured in 41 points in two Buffalo victories. The freshman scored 20 points in a 91-76 victory over Radford, and then poured in 18 of his 21 points in the first half of a 95-53 victory over Fort Chiswell.
Giles' Aaron Myers buried a shot at the buzzer to defeat Galax 59-58 . Myers scored 13 of his 26 points in the third quarter.
by CNB