ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 1, 1996 TAG: 9603010077
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
THE COLONELS ADVANCE to the Group AAA tournament with a 60-58 victory over Potomac.
If William Fleming coach Marshall Ashford wrote mysteries instead of teaching basketball, his books wouldn't be very suspenseful.
Once again, 6-foot-5 senior James Stokes arrived with the game on the line, delivered the decisive blow and put the Colonels into the Group AAA tournament.
Stokes hit two free throws with 1.8 seconds left, snapping a tie and sending Fleming (17-6) past defending Group AAA champion Potomac 60-58 on Thursday at Fleming's gym. The Colonels will play at unbeaten George Washington-Danville on Saturday for the regional title, but both teams will play in the state tournament regardless of the outcome.
``You couldn't plan for a better ending,'' Ashford said. ``To have your best foul shooter at the line, that's what you live for. James Stokes has proved it all year and he stepped up very big.''
After a Potomac turnover with 37.5 seconds left, Fleming almost gave the ball back. The ball was thrown into the backcourt as the Colonels held for a final shot, but the officials ruled it had been tipped by a Potomac player.
This time there was nothing left but to go to Stokes. He dribbled down the lane and drew a foul from Potomac's Rolan Roberts, an all-state second team selection. Stokes' first free throw hit the iron and dropped through. The second one was clean, and Sterling Tate picked off a long pass for his third steal to seal the deal.
``I love to go to the line under pressure like that,'' said Stokes, who took over Tuesday to guide Fleming past Halifax County in overtime of a first-round regional game. ``I try to shoot free throws every day, and it paid off.
``I knew I had to hit one, but it was on my mind to hit both. I could have scored if he hadn't fouled, because I went up strong.''
The Colonels trailed 24-22 at the half after Potomac (21-2), which hit only one of 11 shots in the opening quarter, went to pressure defense in the second quarter. The Panthers scored 13 consecutive points before Brian Dunleavy hit a 3-point shot.
Still, the clue to the outcome of this game came at the end of the half. Potomac played for a last shot and Willie Collins' 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining made it 24-20, but Fleming's Richard Wilson heaved a length-of-the-court pass to sophomore Rodney Morris for a layup at the buzzer.
``It was a tough one to lose at the end,'' said Kendall Hayes, Potomac's coach. ``The times we allowed them to penetrate and take uncontested shots and the times when we scored and celebrated [while they scored] all added up. If you're going to shoot poorly, then everything else has to go [right] if you're going to win.
``We gave them baskets at the end of two quarters and then the end of the game. We relaxed at the wrong times and got burned. When you play on the road in a gym where their team is comfortable, you don't allow those things to happen.''
In the second half, Fleming scored the first five points with Stokes getting three of them, to take a 27-24 lead. The Colonels ever would trail again.
``The first half, we didn't attack them. We were just trying to get the ball up the floor and that's how they got the lead,'' Ashford said.
``Coach Ashford told us to attack the pressure and it paid off,'' said Stokes, who led both teams with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
Fleming had a 58-49 lead with 4:38 remaining, thanks to Morris, who hit three key buckets in the final quarter.
``I was pulled off the junior varsity to help give the big men [Stokes and Tate] a rest,'' said the sophomore. ``I've been dreaming of this all my life.''
The Colonels were tired and Potomac tied the score at 58 on a layup by Roberts. It was only his ninth point as he had been in foul trouble for much of the game.
Stokes missed a five-footer seconds later and Roberts rebounded. Potomac went for the last shot, but the turnover ruined the Panthers' plans.
Despite the early shooting problems, Potomac hit 23 of 48 shots after the first quarter. Fleming was 25-of-58 for the game and had only five turnovers after an opening 16 minutes in which they had 16 miscues.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS/Staff. Fleming's Sterling Tateby CNBscored 10 points in the Colonels' victory over Potomac on Thursday
night. color.