Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 16, 1995 TAG: 9503160059
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Mike McElroy came off the bench, scored 21 points and pulled in 10 rebounds for Parry McCluer in the 1994 Group A championship basketball game against William Monroe at University Hall in Charlottesville.
It wasn't enough. William Monroe stopped a Parry McCluer rally to win 51-43.
It's a little over a year later and McElroy is starting. The teams are the same, Parry McCluer against William Monroe, only this time it's a Group A semifinal game at the Vines Center on the Liberty University Campus in Lynchburg tonight.
It'll be the second game of a doubleheader that features two Pioneer District schools trying to meet in a third consecutive tournament championship game this season.
Glenvar, which beat Parry McCluer in the Pioneer District finals and then lost to the Fighting Blues in the Region C championship contest, plays Nandua in a semifinal tonight at 7 p.m. Parry McCluer (21-7) meets William Monroe (25-2) at 8:45 in the other semifinal.
If the two Timesland teams survive, they'll battle for the state championship Saturday at 1 p.m.
McElroy was the sixth man last year when the Fighting Blues made their way to the championship game.
``We're a better rebounding team this year and have more height,'' said McElroy, comparing this year's Parry McCluer team to last year's edition.
The 6-foot-5 McElroy is joined on the front line by a pair of 6-6 players, Carl Sanderson and Brandon Garrett. This trio has accounted for 1,227 points.
Do they have enough firepower to overcome the defending state champions, who closed off Parry McCluer a year ago after the Fighting Blues trimmed a 12-point deficit to 47-43 late in the game?
``Parry McCluer is a good team, does a lot of good things and won't beat themselves,'' said William Monroe coach Randy Michie. ``They're different from last year in that they rely on getting the ball to the big people.''
His team is different from last year's outfit that won its final 24 games.
``We're much slower so we're about the same to Parry McCluer
speed-wise,'' said Michie. ``They're bigger than last year and rely on getting the ball to their big people. Sanderson and Garrett [give] them a lot of added punch with smooth, good jump shots in the painted area.''
McElroy has been the Blues' pacesetter. ``I'm quicker as a player and shooting a little better than last year,'' said McElroy, who averages 20.6 points a game.
One reason for his improvement was that he played every day over the summer. Another was the tougher schedule that coach Nelson Fox planned for the Blues. Parry McCluer played in the NationsBank Holiday Hoops Classic in Salem against Group AA and AAA competition.
``Playing those bigger teams showed us how [good] other clubs can be and how much quicker we need to be in order to win,'' said McElroy, who made a key block to preserve a victory over Fieldale-Collinsville, which finished third in the Group AA Piedmont District.
If Parry McCluer is to win, the Blues must stop Percy White, a 6-7 center who scored 20 points and had 13 rebounds in the championship game last year.
White has been phenomenal in the tournaments. In three Region B games, he scored 79 points and had 73 rebounds. In the first-round state tournament game against Surry, White scored 30 points and had 23 rebounds as William Monroe won 59-48.
Parry McCluer is playing well now after slumping in the middle of the season and finishing fourth in the Pioneer District regular-season race.
``We're peaking at the right time,'' Fox said. ``We 're keeping our turnovers relatively low. That's been a big plus. We've also got some kids who have stepped it up a notch.''
by CNB