Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503130085
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Trailing by a point with 5.1 seconds left in overtime Friday night, the Fighting Blues had used their last timeout to set up an inbounds play underneath Council's basket. But the Cobras had Parry McCluer's top two scorers - Mike McElroy and Brandon Garrett - well-covered.
Just when it appeared the Fighting Blues would turn over the ball on a five-second call, Carl Sanderson emerged unimpeded in the middle of the lane. He took a pass and made the game-winning shot shot with three seconds left.
That's how the Fighting Blues won their quarterfinal game in the Group A tournament, edging Council 70-69 at Virginia Tech's Cassell Coliseum.
Parry McCluer (21-7), ranked No.10 in the state at the end of the regular season, is one of the final four Group A teams. In a semifinal Thursday at Liberty University's Vines Center, the Fighting Blues will play the winner of Saturday night's William Monroe-Surry County contest.
Meanwhile, second-ranked Council (24-2) saw its season end on a shot the player who launched it didn't think was going in.
``I wanted to get open, and when I got to the middle, there was no one there,'' said the 6-foot-5 senior, who had four of his 16 points and three of his team-high 10 rebounds in overtime. ``When I shot, I was kind of slipping. I thought it was short. Luckily it went in.''
Nelson Fox, Parry McCluer's coach, had more confidence in Sanderson's late-game shooting touch.
``Council did a good job taking away options 1 and 2,'' Fox said. ``Carl did an excellent job of getting open. And as soon as he let the ball go, I knew it was in.''
Once Sanderson got open, someone had to get him the ball. Guard Nathan Floyd was the trigger man on the inbounds play. He showed keen eyesight in spotting Sanderson. Floyd showed keen judgement in making the right pass.
``McElroy was half-open, but I didn't want to force the ball in,'' said Floyd, who finished with a team-high six assists. ``Then, I saw Carl cutting for toward the middle. I passed it to him and he went in for the shot.''
Sanderson got so open because all the Cobras were concerned with McElroy. The 6-foot-5 senior forward was the leading scorer for Parry McCluer, with 21 points, and came into the game averaging 20.
``We knew they wanted to go to McElroy and we had him doubled,'' said Ricky Goodman, Council's coach. ``Mike [Ratliff] even went down off his man and made it a triple. But we weren't ready for what happened.''
While Sanderson's shot decided the outcome, it didn't end the game. Council called its final timeout with 2.4 seconds remaining. There was concern on the Fighting Blues' bench that they might have scored too quickly.
``With two or three seconds left, they had enough time to hit one at the buzzer,'' Fox said.
But McElroy helped allay those fears. After inbounding the ball, Council tried a long pass to half court. McElroy went for it and, though he didn't come up with the interception, he knocked it out of bounds with 1.8 seconds left on the clock.
``I was the safety on that play and I had the man who was back,'' McElroy said. ``I saw they were trying to get the ball to him. I went for it and got my hand on it.''
Out of time outs, the Cobras had to immediately set up an inbounds play more than 60 feet from the basket and find a way to get off a good shot in less than two seconds. They got the ball inbounds, but the only shot they managed was a half-court prayer by Chris Tiller at the buzzer. The attempt fell short.
``We've lost one with two seconds left and one with three seconds left,'' said Goodman, alluding to Council's season-ending back-to-back losses. ``At least this time we had enough time to get the last shot.''
After 36 minutes, which team would move on came down to those final five - actually 5.1 - seconds. And fortunately for the Fighting Blues, they had more options at the end when it counted.
\ see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB