ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 6, 1996 TAG: 9601100035
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: FLOYD
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS STAFF WRITER
BRIAN PORTER hits seven 3-pointers to lead the Blue Demons to a 93-75 victory over the Buffaloes.
Some basketball players wait a lifetime to reach "the zone", but Christiansburg High School guard Brian Porter only had to wait four minutes.
That's when Porter knocked down the first of his seven three-pointers on the evening, scoring 21 points and leading Christiansburg to a 93-75 win over Floyd County in a non-district boys' high school basketball game.
"I knew I was going to have a big night because I was hitting everything in warm-ups,'' Porter said.
The Blue Demons (9-1) connected on 9 of 14 3-point attempts, while the Buffaloes (6-2) could manage just 2 of 16.
"That's the kind of game we play,'' Christiansburg coach Gerald Thompson said. "We shoot the 3s and run the ball. Tonight we did both well.''
The Blue Demons opened the second half with a 9-2 run, giving the visitors a 56-43 lead.
The Buffaloes answered with one of their own. Floyd County went on a 16-4 spurt, taking advantage of four Christiansburg turnovers and six Buffaloe free throws.
Trailing 60-59, Floyd County had a chance to take the lead with 2:15 left in the third quarter, but Derek Saunders missed a layup, sending coach Alan Cantrell scurrying into the stands in disbelief.
That was as close as the Buffaloes would get.
Five Blue Demons scored in double figures. Darrell Calloway led Christiansburg with 16 points. Saunders paced Floyd with 20.
Christiansburg built a 47-41 halftime lead despite committing 13 turnovers to Floyd County's eight.
Blue Demon reserve point guard Ricky Williams offset the poor ball handling, sparking the offense with five assists in the opening half.
"Ricky was key for us in the first half,'' Thompson said. "He got a lot of assists and he handled their pressure really well.''
With the score tied 37-37 and 1:27 left in the first half, Saunders sparked a 10-4 Christiansburg run when he picked up a personal foul and a technical foul for arguing the call, sending the Blue Demons to the free-throw line.
The Blue Demons converted all four free throws and Porter connected on a 3-pointer from the left wing, turning Saunders' gaffe into a 7-point play.
"The technical was a big swing, because we made our free throws and a three, and all of a sudden instead of being tied, we're up seven,'' Thompson said.
CHRISTIANSBURG (93)
Porter 7 0-0 21, Williams 2 1-2 5, McFarland 2 3-4 8, Lucas 3 0-1 6, Calloway 7 2-4 16, Stone 6 0-0 13, Morgan 3 7-8 13, Kazee 3 3-4 11, Totals 34 16-23 93.
FLOYD COUNTY (75)
Osbourne 1 0-0 2, Cantrell 4 2-2 12, Dalton 5 4-5 14, Underwood 1 0-0 2, Stuart 2 0-0 4, Harris 1 0-0 2, Erchull 3 0-0 6, Slusher 6 1-1 13, Saunders 7 6-7 20, Totals 30 13-15 75.
Christiansburg 23-24-18-28-93
Floyd County 17-24-18-16-75
Three-point goals: Porter 7, McFarland, Stone, Cantrell 2. Team fouls: Christiansburg 12, Floyd County 20. Fouled out: None; Technical foul: Saunders. JV: Christiansburg, 35-28.
LENGTH: Medium: 67 linesby CNB