Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 28, 1995 TAG: 9502280097
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
It will be a busy night for Timesland basketball teams in regional competition and a feast for fans.
For the main course, Liberty takes on William Byrd in an opening-round Region III game at 7:30 p.m. at the Salem Civic Center.
Liberty will be trying to bounce back from losses in two of its past five games. Byrd hopes to continue a two-week run that includes two victories over Northside, the second in the Blue Ridge District tournament championship game.
``They have three all-district players, and there will be some tough matchups for us,'' said Mark Hanks, Liberty's coach. ``Our pressure defense hasn't been up to snuff, and our half-court defense has been awful the past few games. It's a matter of us losing our focus.''
The Minutemen don't have a dominant scorer, but they have a number of players back from a squad that rallied before losing a heartbreaker to Northside in the 1994 Region III tournament. In that game, Liberty guards J.J. Coles and Gregg Reynolds got hot from outside to lead the comeback.
Byrd is led by Chris Childress, the Blue Ridge District's player of the year. Jeremy Obenchain and Michael McGuire also were all-district choices, yet the Terriers lost two league games to Salem during the regular season and finished third.
``We have to play smart and well. Liberty does a lot of things with their half-court defense that Salem does, and athletically, they're a lot like Bassett,'' said coach Paul Barnard, whose team wiped out the Bengals twice by big scores.
In the Region III appetizer at 6 p.m. in Salem, improving Laurel Park of Timesland faces an Altavista team coached by Buena Vista native Mike Cartolaro.
Altavista lost 38 points per game in scoring from last season's team - most notably Hunter Hoggatt, who took his 24-point average to Staunton River as a transfer - and still made the regional tournament.
Laurel Park benefited from the arrival of a transfer, 6-foot-6 Rashad Wall from Madison, N.C., at the semester break. Wall averaged 10 points a game.
``He's made a difference with our depth, rebounding and scoring,'' said Frank Scott, the Lancers' coach.
Laurel Park won the Piedmont District tournament and can put Timesland's biggest team on the floor if Scott decides to use Wall, 6-6 Girard Foster and 6-4 guard Warrick Scott at the same time.
Also on the menu is the Northwestern Region boys' tournament, where William Fleming is home tonight against Stafford, which has a 10-12 record. The Colonels have been up and down this season, but the two-time defending regional champs have to be considered heavy favorites with Derrick Hines at the point. The senior guard has been as consistent as any player in Timesland this year.
Pulaski County is at Woodbridge, where the Cougars will try to wash away the bitter taste of two losses to Fleming last week - in a playoff for the Roanoke Valley District regular-season title and in the district tournament championship game. Pulaski County has two of the RVD's top five scorers in Eric Webb and Tyrone Hash, who combine to average 37 points.
In the Northwestern Region girls' tournament, the region council decided Monday to correct an error in this year's pairings by going to next year's matchups. That will hurt Cave Spring, which won the RVD tournament championship over Pulaski County.
Had the council decided on the revision presented by the RVD or left the pairings as they were announced two years ago, the Knights would have been in the bracket opposite unbeaten Gar-Field. Now, Cave Spring faces a second-round trip to Dale City should both teams win tonight.
The Knights are prohibitive favorites over visiting E.C. Glass, which lost twice to Pulaski County by big scores, twice to William Fleming by close margins and split with Franklin County.
``I think we've been playing better the last two or three weeks,'' said coach Linda Long, whose Cave Spring team defeated Pulaski County 63-57 in the RVD final.
Pulaski County's girls are at Albemarle, facing a team they have beaten twice, but the Cougars haven't played well lately.
In Region IV boys' action, Blacksburg is at Graham, a team it beat twice during the regular season. Christiansburg is home to Lee-Jonesville. If both teams win, they face Thursday trips to Gate City and Richlands, respectively.
In the Region C boys' tournament, four first-round games are highlighted by Floyd County's trip to Glenvar, which finally is playing the way coach Art Lawrence had predicted the Highlanders would early in the season.
``We went through a slump. A couple of kids were injured and sick,'' Lawrence said. ``Kids' confidence levels can drop and it takes a while to get it back.''
In the other Region C games, George Wythe is at Auburn, Parry McCluer visits Grayson County and Narrows is at non-Timesland school Lebanon.
One Timesland team, Carlisle, starts state tournament play today. The Chiefs are home to Shenandoah Valley Christian in the opening round of the Virginia Independent Schools Division II tournament.
by CNB