Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 24, 1995 TAG: 9502240110
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS KING SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
And there are not likely to be any surprises tonight when Auburn and Floyd County meet for the fifth time this season - this time with the district tournament championship hanging in the balance. Regardless of the game's outcome both team will advance to the Group A Region C tournament.
In the first game of the semifinal doubleheader at Blacksburg High School, Auburn dismantled Radford 76-45. In the nightcap, Floyd whipped Giles 79-55.
Giles damaged its cause in the first half against the Buffaloes by shooting a frigid 6-of-21 from the free-throw line. To further complicate matters,four of the misses were on the front end of one-and-one's .
Free-throw shooting was not the extent of the Spartans' problems in the first half. During one stretch, Giles went 8 minutes, 2 seconds without a field goal and committed five turnovers. Meanwhile, Floyd County was operating very efficiently draw closer , scoring eight points off turnovers during the stretch to help open a 36-24 halftime lead.
``We dug ourselves a hole with poor free-throw shooting,'' said Giles coach John Howlett. ``I felt like we came out and played strong in the second half, but every time we would score they would answer back.''
To be more specific, Jamie Warren answered back. The senior scored 16 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and never allowed the Spartans to draw closer than nine points in the final 16 minutes.
``I thought Jamie turned it up a notch tonight,'' said Floyd coach Alan Cantrell. ``This was a very intense game, because it was a do-or -die situation.
``I feel very good [going into the championship game]. Tonight we shot much better from the free-throw line [16-for-20], we played better defense and executed our offense better.''
John King led the Spartans (9-12) with 18 points, and Aaron Myers, the only other Spartan to score in double figures, added 10.
In the first game, Auburn shot 10-for-32 from the field in the first half but led 28-14 by playing superior defense. The Eagles forced eight turnovers in the second quarter alone.
``At the half, I asked the guys if they wanted me to yell at them or they wanted to practice shooting,'' said Auburn coach Kevin Harris. ``They said they wanted to shoot.''
Harris' charges proved to be wise beyond their years. The Eagles connected on 84 percent of their shots (11 of 13) in the third quarter to extend their lead to 55-26.
``I thought we kept it close as long as we could,'' said Radford coach Rick Cormany. ``We kept them from scoring [in the first half], but we couldn't score ourselves. They are so quick and good with that pressure defense. They are a very talented ball team.
``One of our kids came in at the half and said he couldn't believe how poorly we were playing,'' Cormany said. ``I told them we were not playing poorly, we were just shooting poorly. Something is going right when you hold a team to 14 points.''
Terry Millirons led Auburn with 19 points, and Brad Sutphin and Jon Reed each added 12. Foster Ridpath led the Bobcats with 15.
by CNB