ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, December 4, 1996            TAG: 9612040042
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: B-2  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER

FAST START FOR CAVE SPRING HICKS' 1ST GAME AS KNIGHTS' COACH IS 57-42 VICTORY

The Cave Spring High School boys' basketball team made sure its new coach had a relatively stress-free debut.

The Knights ushered in the new administration of coach Billy Hicks with a 57-42 non-district victory over guest Alleghany on Tuesday night.

The Knights led most of the game.

``Typical opening game,'' Hicks said. ``I was pleased with the effort. Obviously, the execution must improve. It will.''

Alleghany gave a spirited performance, but never could catch up to the Knights, who ran every chance they could.

Cave Spring gained control of the proceedings shortly after Wally Kern connected on a 3-pointer with two seconds left in the first quarter to put the home team up 11-6.

From that point, the home team dictated the tempo. Cave Spring proved difficult to defend because it was able to score from the inside and the outside.

The main inside threat was 6-foot-6 Alex Phillips, the leading returning scorer on a relatively inexperienced team. Phillips, who scored 11 points, was allowed some room to operate inside because of good perimeter shooting by the Knights, particularly Ricky Dierker.

Dierker sank four 3-pointers on the way to a team-high 13 points.

Travis Davis paced the Mountaineers with 17 points, eight of those coming before intermission.

The game afforded both teams ample opportunities to shoot free throws. It's a good bet both Hicks and his Alleghany counterpart, Carl Watson, will be giving their teams ample opportunities to visit the stripe in practice in coming days. Cave Spring went 12-for-27 and Alleghany was a chilly 6-for-15.

Hicks applauded his team for making enough free throws in the fourth quarter to keep the Mountaineers at bay. ``But it's obviously a weakness,'' he said. ``We saw it in the preseason and we work on it daily in practice.''

Cave Spring guard Spencer Baird had the most success at the stripe for the Knights, going 5-for-9 on the way to scoring nine points.

The Knights do not appear to lack for depth or athleticism. Nine players saw duty and there wasn't much ,if any, drop-off when Hicks dispatched a substitute.

Alleghany has good overall quickness, but it was nothing Cave Spring couldn't handle. Next up for the Knights is a Saturday matchup with William Byrd, which also is expected to have a quick-footed team. Both games should provide Cave Spring good preparation for its Roanoke Valley District schedule.

NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.

LENGTH: Medium:   58 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  NHAT MEYER\Staff. Alleghany's Travis Davis (left) tries 
          to steal the ball from Cave Spring's David Harms as Alleghany's 
          David Puckett (right) looks on during Tuesday night's game at Cave 
          Spring.