Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 18, 1995 TAG: 9502220029
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LOW MOOR LENGTH: Medium
The Spartans routed Alleghany 76-50 in a Blue Ridge District boys' high school basketball game. Meanwhile, their archrival, Northside, was losing 74-61 at William Byrd.
That left Salem and Northside tied for the top spot in the district at 8-2. They will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at Lord Botetourt High to determine who gets the district winner's berth in the Region III tournament. Northside (15-6) is 2-0 against the Spartans this season. Last year, Salem (14-7) won all six meetings - the last in the state Group AA finals.
Salem wrapped up its win over the Mountaineers (11-8, 4-6 district) with a 25-6 run in the first four minutes of the second quarter to take a 39-12 lead.
``We wanted this, we knew it would at least give us a chance for a tie,'' said Kevin Garst, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds. ``Things started out fine. We got open shots and they fell. And they [Alleghany] weren't hitting anything. So we got a little lead on them.''
Garst had 10 points during the run, while Bryan Monroe and Ryan Reeves each scored six. Garst scored from everywhere, Monroe from outside and Reeves from inside.
The Spartans were so dominating in the first half that they had more one more 3-pointer (seven) in the first half than Alleghany had field goals (six).
``They made more 3-pointers than we made layups,'' Alleghany coach Carl Watson said. ``We would work hard to get the shot inside and then we didn't even make it. Part of it was that it was Parents Night and Senior Night. They had that nervous energy. Some teams channel it toward the ball game. We channeled it toward nervousness tonight.''
The Spartans' defense didn't help matters either. Alleghany shot 24 percent in the first half and committed 11 turnovers.
``We just played defense and put a lot of pressure on the ball,'' Salem's Matt Woolwine said. ``We did the things we've worked on in practice. We doubled down on the wing. We took them out of their offense.''
Salem led by 10 points in the first quarter.
``We knew that the Northside-William Byrd game was tonight,'' the Spartans' Chad Pendleton said. ``We tried to put that out of our minds. We knew that game [Byrd-Northside] was going on but we had to go out and do what we could do. So we wanted to take them. We knew if we came out here and won big we would get the respect that we've wanted to get from the district all year.''
Salem's lead never was fewer than 20 points after the second-quarter spurt.
``Definitely, this game can help [our momentum], but it's going to take a lot in that game,'' Salem coach Charlie Morgan said. ``We just have to go out and play basketball and do the things we've been doing all season. I'm just happy to be there.''
by CNB