ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 6, 1996 TAG: 9601100036
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DUBLIN
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
Cave Spring High basketball coach Chris Carr wasn't expecting high art on his team's visit to Pulaski County, nor did he see much.
Carr was, however, interested in results and from that perspective, there was beauty in the Knights' 53-45 Roanoke Valley District victory over the stubborn but flawed Cougars.
``This is one tough place to play and any time we can come out of here with a victory, I'm ecstatic,'' the second-year Knights boss said.
Events went relatively well for the Cougars (3-4 overall, 0-2 RVD) in the first half as they dictated a slow tempo and threw up defensive roadblocks as the Knights (7-5, 2-0) grew increasingly impatient.
``We just couldn't get into the groove,'' said Cave Spring's Billy Frantz. ``It's hard to play in this gym with these rims and this background for shooting.''
There really isn't another gym like it in the district, what with the lighting and wide-open spaces.
``We tell our players that they have to play good defense when they come here because we know we're not going to shoot well,'' Carr said.
Nobody shot well in a first half that ended with the Knights in a tenuous 18-17 lead. The action shifted in the second half as the Knights picked up their defense.
``Pulaski County dictated the tempo in the first half,'' Carr said. ``We wanted to dictate the tempo in the second half.''
Cave Spring did so behind two of the several football players it has, Jeff Lang and Frantz. Despite a difficult case of the flu, Lang had 16 points. Frantz shook off a twisted ankle late in the first half to score 13 including a dunk and a 3-pointer.
It was the second dunk of the year by the not-so-tall Knights, both of them by Frantz.
Pulaski County isn't exactly towering itself with no starter much taller than 6-foot-2. As a result, it behooves the Cougars to play cleverly. This they did not do on Friday, according to their coach, Pat Burns.
``They play hard,'' Burns said. ``But they don't always play smart. Too many mistakes. Sometimes it looks like they've forgotten what they're supposed to do. The thing is, except for our freshmen, most of them have been in the system for three or four years.''
Two quick turnovers to start the second half and the Cougars were down 25-18 before they knew it. The deficit would be as many as 15 points before the Cougars started to put it together late.
The 21 fourth-quarter points were only three fewer than the other three quarters combined.
Jamar McNair scored 17 to lead Pulaski County. see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Cave Spring's Billy Frantz (left) puts up a shot overby CNBPulaski County's Dorian Hendricks. ALAN KIM/STAFF