Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503210065
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium
It might have looked that way because Nansemond River ran the Vikings through a threshing machine as the Warriors hammered Northside 84-57 to win the Group AA boys' basketball title.
Porterfield had been in the biggest war of the day when he was assigned to defend the Warriors' super sophomore, guard Antoine Willie.
Willie, perhaps the state's best player, scored 30 points and, in so doing, wiped the names of Bryant Stith and Walt Derey from the record books.
Willie's 30 points gave him 91 for three games. That easily surpassed the record of 83 owned by Stith, a University of Virginia star now with the Denver Nuggets, and Derey, a former Northside player who is on the UVa football team.
Willie wasn't the only gun for the Warriors (26-2) trying to shoot down the Vikings (21-8). Nansemond River, which gets off shots quicker than a gunslinger, fired up 81 field-goal attempts to tie a state tournament record. Junior forward Montorian Valentine added 23 points for the Warriors.
It was 39-32 at halftime after Northside's Ben Peete, who led the Vikings with 20 points, made a 3-point shot from a corner and took a hard foul from Nansemond River's Maurice Fofana.
Peete staggered to the free-throw line and missed. That was the last time Northside was that close. Valentine and Willie scored five points early in the third quarter to start the rout.
``We like to play aggressive man-to-man defense,'' Willie said. ``We weren't doing that the first 16 minutes. We came out more aggressive the second half.''
Peete acknowledged Northside had difficulty adjusting to the pressure.
``They had a real good press, and we had trouble getting the ball in,'' Peete said. ``They forced us out of our offense. They're a good team. It's not that we ever thought they were bad. We played them as hard as we could.''
``I think we were playing at about 70 percent of our ability today,'' said Spencer Mayfield, Nansemond River's coach. ``We haven't played at 100 percent this year. If we ever do, it'll be someing to see,''
``You have to give [the Warriors] credit for the way they did the boards,'' Northside coach Billy Pope said of a 59-38 rebounding advantage for Nansemond River. I say that because our guys worked hard. For whatever reason, they're very tough on the boards.''
Still, Northside didn't yield.
``We're down 18 with six minutes left, but we can get a couple of 3-pointers and it's a game,'' Pope said. ``I don't think any guy in our huddle didn't think that we were still in the game.''
Essentially, Nansemond River shut down the Vikings' inside game. Dana Gibson was held to one field goal, and Maurice Garrison had only three among the tall trees that included 6-foot-8 James Parker, who had 10 rebounds, and 6-3 Valentine, who grabbed 14.
Peete and Porterfield scored 37 points between them, but the quick Warriors also forced 17 Vikings turnovers.
Then there was Willie, who made 11 of 29 field-goal attempts on his way to the scoring record.
``He's a tough matchup,'' Pope said. ``He gets out on the break, and we wanted to have a guard on him so he wouldn't get the cherry picks. We took that away from him.
``We thought if we made them play five-on-five, it was our best chance. But whenever they missed, they'd get the rebounds.''
Willie said the record was not important, though he had heard about Stith's mark.
``I wasn't thinking about the record,'' Willie said. ``We won the state as a team. But it is a great compliment, and I feel happy right now.''
``Willie is a pretty tough player,'' said Porterfield, a junior guard. ``They played tough, and we did too. But I tip my hat to them; they're a very good team.''
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by CNB