ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 27, 1995 TAG: 9512270100
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
Northside and William Fleming don't meet in basketball often, but when they do, it's usually a memorable occasion.
The first basketball meeting in three years between the two schools that are less than two miles apart resulted in another Northside upset as the Vikings' patient offense was the key to a 55-46 victory in the first round of the NationsBank Holiday Hoops Classic at the Salem Civic Center Tuesday.
Nearly overshadowing the Vikings' effort was the ejection of Fleming coach Burrall Paye after two technical fouls on the Colonels' bench. Paye left early in the fourth quarter with his team behind 39-26, and the ejection means he'll miss today's consolation game against Franklin County that is set for 1 p.m. Meanwhile, Northside engages Riverside of Durham, N.C., in the semifinals tonight at 6.
Paye began arguingwith officials in the first half, saying Northside players were walking with the basketball. And Paye couldn't have been happy with the foul discrepancy, which showed the Vikings shooting 35 free throws to just one for Fleming.
Northside's Justin Porterfield, who scored a game-high 22 points, was 16-of-19 from the line. He would have had two more chances, but he had to leave with a bloody elbow, and Spence Peters got the attempts instead.
All of Porterfield's free throws came in the last 16 minutes, and much of the unbalanced foul totals could be attributed to Fleming's attempts at wiping out a 15-point deficit.
Paye, who was ejected last year in a game at Albemarle, said Northside wasn't called for walking, while his team was.
``We didn't have any trouble the first half of the season, but we have the last three games,'' he said. ``I've never had as many walks called against a team.''
``We tried to speed up the tempo, but every time we pressed, we got called for fouls. Billy's slow-down hurt us,'' Paye said about the strategy of Northside coach Billy Pope. ``Everything we did was out of sync. If we didn't walk with the ball, we'd get a three-second call.''
The Vikings upset Fleming 76-65 at a holiday tournament in Bristol in 1992. This time, the Vikings didn't run with Northside, but spread the floor and looked for openings. Fleming led 5-3 early, but Northside (3-2) finished the first quarter with a 9-0 run as the Colonels (5-3) went the last 5:40 without a point.
``We were by no means holding the ball, but we had to let our guys do some things they do well,'' Pope said. ``It's one thing to say what you want to do, but the hard part is executing it, and the players did that beautifully.''
Northside shot 25 field-goal attempts and was successful on 14. Fleming, trying to increase the tempo, was 20-of-53 from the field.
Northside's Ben Peete scored 13 points, with 10 coming in the first half to put the Vikings on top.
``We wanted to look for the open man,'' Porterfield said. ``We wanted to control tempo and we did the whole game.''
Fleming's James Stokes scored 12 points and had 12 rebounds.
``We had to talk a lot on defense, how he flashes to the paint at the high post,'' Porterfield said.
After Paye left, Fleming rallied and made it a two-possession game when R.J. Reynolds' third consecutive 3-point shot cut Northside's lead to 52-46 with 41.3 seconds left. Then, Fleming's Richard Wilson, who had seven assists, got a steal. Reynolds missed a 3-point attempt, however, sealing Northside's victory.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: WAYNE DEEL/Staff. Fleming coach Burrall Paye watchesby CNBfrom a distance after being ejected from Tuesday night's game in the
fourth quarter.