ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 4, 1997 TAG: 9701060057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS STAFF WRITER
THREE-POINTERS help Cave Spring sink Pulaski County on Friday.
It was as simple as 1-2-3. Three pointers, that is. Cave Spring captured its Roanoke Valley District opener over Pulaski County on Friday night with a display of perimeter shooting.
The Knights capitalized on 21 points from behind the arc while holding the Cougars scoreless from 3-point land for a 67-54 victory.
"We knew when they went zone that we needed to be patient," Cave Spring coach Billy Hicks said. "We got some good looks at the basket from some good shooters. They just didn't go down in the first half. In the second half we stayed patient and knocked them down."
After falling behind early, the Knights (8-2, 1-0) tied the score at 10 with 3:26 left in the first quarter. From there Cave Spring went on a 10-3 run over the next five minutes, sparked by Darnell Glover, who connected on back-to-back layups to cap the run.
Despite having to sit star forward Robert Rogers early in the first half with two fouls, Pulaski County responded with a 7-0 run to tie the score with 3:55 left in the half. But the Cougars (5-2, 0-1) failed to capitalize on numerous Knights turnovers, missing key layups.
Instead, Cave Spring got four quick points off fast breaks and extended its lead to nine, 32-23, with a 3-pointer from Corey Paxton at the halftime buzzer.
"We've got to cut down on our mental mistakes," Pulaski County coach Pat Burns said. "We didn't have as many turnovers as they did but we had them at key times. We were forcing things instead of being patient enough to go somewhere else."
The Knights came out firing to open the second half, quickly opening up a 15-point lead.
"We came out and hit the first six or seven points of the second half and that's a big key for us," Hicks said. "We talk all the time in practice about having to own the first few minutes of the second half ... We've got to make that first run. We did that tonight, but they're so athletic we just couldn't knock them out."
The Cougars closed to 43-37 with 1:16 remaining the the third, but would get no closer. In just his second game back from a broken collarbone, Rogers finished with 14 points, despite playing the entire fourth quarter with four fouls.
Dorian Hendricks lead the Cougars with 15 points and Ronald Branch added 12.
Ricky Dierker paced the Knights with a game-high 20 points, including three treys. Center Alex Phillips and Spencer Baird, playing in his first game back from a sprained ankle, added 12 and 11, respectively.
"Alex is one of the premier players in the league and if we can have the defenses collapse on him like they did tonight, we've got the perimeter shooters to get the job done,'' Hicks said.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 linesby CNB