Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 1, 1995 TAG: 9503010097
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The major casualty was identified as the Floyd County Buffaloes.
Pioneer District champion Glenvar scored the game's first 15 points in a 2 1/2-minute span, expanded the lead to 19-2, and went on to defeat the Buffaloes 85-60 in the opening round of the Region C tournament.
"We got in too big of a hole to get out of,'' said Floyd guard Brian Harman, who scored 11 points. The Buffaloes (15-8) charged back to within five points on several occasions, the last time (58-53) early in the final period.
"To get this far in the season and then have this happen,'' Harman said. "It's just a bad time.''
The Highlanders (17-7) will meet Lebanon on Friday night at Lord Botetourt High School.
"We played good ball tonight," said Glenvar coach Art Lawrence. "The kids are peaking right now. They want to go to state real bad.''
Four Highlanders scored in double figures, led by 20 points from junior forward Corey Willis. Jason Darnall and James Williams each finished with 16 points, and point guard Nick Varney contributed 14.
Glenvar's balance was evident from the outset, with all five starters scoring in the first two minutes.
"We knew how Floyd would play us,'' Lawrence said. "We'd seen them play. So we worked very hard on attacking their press. We knew if we could beat their initial trap, we could get some easy baskets.
"And then, in turn, we pressed them. I think that caught them off guard.''
The Highlanders held a commanding lead (31-17) in the second period, but Floyd whittled its deficit to nine (39-30) with a rally just before intermission.
"We quit running our offense,'' Lawrence explained. "We started making just one pass before a shot.''
Floyd guard Travis Cantrell, a freshman, was the Buffaloes' leading scorer with 14 points, including four 3-point goals. Teammate Ben Kiser added 13.
For the game Glenvar shot 57.9 percent from the field. The Highlanders did not miss until midway through the opening quarter.
Floyd made just 22 of 60 field-goal attempts (36.7 percent).
Floyd's coach, Alan Cantrell, did not want to discuss the game. ``You'll have to talk to my players,'' he said.
by CNB