Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 17, 1995 TAG: 9502170057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
With one night left in the regular season, it's a new race for the Roanoke Valley District boys' basketball title.
Pulaski County created a three-way tie for first place Thursday night by beating preseason favorite William Fleming 60-54 for the second time this year.
Fleming, Pulaski County and Cave Spring all have 5-2 district records. The Cougars play at Franklin County tonight and the Colonels are home against Cave Spring. If Pulaski County wins, there will be a tie for the title and a playoff next week.
The Cougars (16-3) operated with an uncanny efficiency on offense in the final quarter to put Fleming (14-5) away. Pulaski County scored on eight of its first 11 possessions, failing to score only because of three turnovers.
The turning point, though, came when Tyrone Hash zipped in a 3-point goal to put Pulaski County ahead 52-49 with 5 minutes, 1 second left. After Fleming's Sterling Tate missed and the Cougars' Bryan Ratcliff rebounded, Pulaski County went to a delay game to force Fleming back into man-to-man defense.
``They scored 20 points in 11 possessions on man-to-man and 40 points in 44 possessions against our zone,'' said Colonels coach Burrall Paye, displaying a chart that showed the importance of Hash's field goal.
``We've been doing this well [on offense] for a while,'' said Pulaski County coach Pat Burns. ``It's something we've worked on and it's paid off.''
Hash's 3-pointer was part of a barrage as the Cougars hit eight of 10 shots from beyond the arc, including four by Ratcliff.
The only time Pulaski County lost control was in the third quarter when Tate and Keath Hampton gave Fleming point guard Derrick Hines some offensive help with 15 points.
The Colonels went ahead 33-30 on a 3-point goal by Hampton and stayed in control until Hash hit a jumper to make it 49-47 for the Cougars and added his 3-pointer 38 seconds later.
``We kind of got excited and we had to slow it down, stay focused,'' said Hash. ``It's a very exciting thing to beat Fleming twice in one season.''
When Hash wasn't hitting jumpers, Eric Webb was going through the middle of Fleming's defense for layups. On defense, Webb had two blocks and a steal.
``Our outside shooting gets them off me inside,'' said Webb. ``Bryan and Ty were killing them.''
Every Pulaski County player had at least one assist, with Hash and Ratcliff each getting four. The Cougars hit 24 of 44 shots.
Fleming's offense, though, wasn't bad and the Colonels hit 21-of-43 for the game. The Colonels were hampered when Hampton got in first-half foul trouble, but he came back in the third quarter to hit three of his four second-half 3-pointers.
Where the Colonels broke down was trying to come from behind. Fleming was only 5-of-15 shooting in the final quarter.
``Our team was real, real patient,'' said Hash. ``Derrick Hines is a great floor general and we knew if we let him have the ball, that would give them more opportunities to score.''
Hines did get the ball a lot in the first half, scoring 12 of his 19 points including an off-balance shot at the end of the first quarter to pull Fleming back within a basket. In the second half, though, Hines was never able to take over the game.
Both teams have little time to relax.
``We have to get regrouped,'' said Paye. ``This has been the toughest club I've coached. They're young and have a lot of natural ability, but we don't have a lot of savvy yet.''
Hash has no worries about getting up for Franklin County.
``They beat us the first time and left a sour taste in our mouths. So I think we'll go take care of business,'' he said.
by CNB