ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 20, 1996 TAG: 9601210009
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
THE COLONELS USE defense and rebounding to beat Cave Spring 58-46.
It wasn't a stylish boys' basketball game, but it was effective for William Fleming.
The Colonels employed tough defense and strong rebounding Friday to come away with a 58-46 Roanoke Valley District victory over visiting Cave Spring.
That leaves Fleming (9-4 overall, 2-0 district) in first place. The Colonels won't have long to enjoy their lofty status, though, because they face Science Hill of Johnson City, Tenn., the nation's third-ranked high school team according to USA Today, in a Crestar Classic game at the Salem Civic Center at 3 p.m. today.
Fleming also had a tough Friday when longtime coach Burrall Paye submitted his resignation. Still, the Colonels stepped up in the third quarter by shutting out the Knights for the first 6:12 in building an 18-point lead.
Cave Spring (7-6, 2-1) was prime material for a good defensive job, since its scoring leader, Jeff Lang, missed the game with a badly sprained ankle.
Besides defense, Fleming's board work was big as the Colonels outrebounded the Knights 41-19. The big man for Fleming was Charles Burnette, a junior forward, who scored a game-high 16 points and snared 10 rebounds.
Burnette's work was important, because Cave Spring's defense held Fleming's senior scoring leader, James Stokes, to seven points. Stokes did get nine rebounds and had one play when he blocked a shot, grabbed the rebound and fed a teammate for a basket at the other end.
``We wanted to put pressure on them, especially when we heard that Jeff Lang wasn't going to play,'' said Marshall Ashford, Fleming's interim coach. ``We wanted to pick up the intensity and make it an up-and-down game.''
The Colonels hit 23 of 50 shots and their defense kept the Knights at 40 percent (16-of-40). Cave Spring's only consistent scorer was 6-foot-5 junior center Alex Phillips, who had 12 points and five rebounds.
When Phillips and Fleming's 6-6 Sterling Tate were called for a double foul with 3:19 left, it provided an odd twist to the game. Both players - each wearing number 54 - fouled out on the same call. It hurt Cave Spring worse than Fleming, leaving the Knights without their only major scoring threat.
``Fleming came out with a lot of defensive intensity in the third quarter. We had a couple of shots that didn't go in,'' said Chris Carr, Cave Spring's coach. ``Still, games are won on the boards and we didn't control the rebounding.''
The Knights did a good job defensively and stayed close until just before halftime, when Fleming scored the last five points - Tate getting three of them. That carried into the second half as the Colonels added 10 more to complete a 15-0 run.
``We knew if we came out, applied pressure and played man-to-man defense, we could hurt them,'' Ashford said. ``Now we'll go to work in practice and look for ways to improve offensively.''
CAVE SPRING (46)
Boitnott 0 0-0 0, Frantz 1 0-0 2, Phillips 4 4-7 12, Johnston 4 1-1 10, Shirley 0 2-2 2, Baird 0 2-3 2, Dierker 3 1-2 8, Harms 4 0-0 10. Totals 16 10-15 46.
WILLIAM FLEMING (58)
Stokes 3 1-3 7, Burnette 7 2-5 16, Tate 2 3-4 7, Dunleavy 2 1-2 6, Wilson 3 0-0 7, Reynolds 2 0-0 5, Pannell 1 0-1 2, Jackson 1 0-1 2, Morris 2 2-3 6. Totals 23 9-19 58.
Cave Spring 12--12---4--18-46
William Fleming 16--16--14--12-58
Three-point goals: Harms 2, Johnston, Dierker, Dunleavy, Wilson, Reynolds. Team fouls: Cave Spring 17, William Fleming 17. Fouled out: Phillips, Tate.
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. 1. William Fleming's Charlesby CNBBurnette (right) looks to shoot against Cave Spring's Chris Johnston
during their game Friday night. Burnette scored 16 points as Fleming
won 58-46. color. 2. William Fleming's Rodney Morris (right) grabs a
rebound against Cave Spring's Alex Phillips on Friday night at
Fleming.