ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 4, 1997 TAG: 9701060090
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
TYPE: HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS
Grayson County held off a Narrows run in the fourth quarter to win a Mountain Empire District boys' opener 72-71 on Friday night in Independence.
The Blue Devils (6-1) led by as many as 10 points in the fourth before Joe Shipbaugh tried to bring Narrows (4-2) back. He scored 17 of his 23 points in the quarter and made a 3-pointer at the buzzer that accounted for the final margin.
Grayson County's Chad McMillian had a huge game, with 28 points, six assists and four steals. Brad Elkins contributed 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Wes Self scored 11 and Travis Archer had 10 for the Blue Devils, who won despite missing 10 free throws in the final period.
Jason Mullins scored 12 for Narrows and Jason McCroskey added 10.
Liberty 70, Staunton River 50: The Minutemen's offense was off, but it didn't matter. Their defense was on and it led Liberty (7-1, 2-0) to a Seminole District victory over the Golden Eagles (4-5, 1-2) in Bedford.
The reigning Group AA champion Minutemen held Staunton River to two points in the first quarter and 15 in the first half. They also outrebounded the Golden Eagles 35-18 overall.
Peanut Arrington led Liberty with 17 points. Eric Nichols paced Staunton River with eight points.
Floyd County 59, Fieldale-Collinsville 55: Travis Cantrell scored 24 points, and the Cavaliers (3-6) committed 23 turnovers as the Buffaloes (8-0) held on for a non-district victory in Collinsville.
Fieldale-Collinsville cut its deficit to three points twice in the closing minutes behind 17-point scorer Joey Taylor, but Floyd County hit its free throws to seal the victory.
Derek Saunders had 13 points for the Buffaloes. Philip Hairston had 12 for the Cavaliers.
Shawsville 56, James River 44: The Shawnees decreased their turnovers and increased their victory total from zero to one. After averaging 30 turnovers a game, Shawsville had 16 in a non-district victory over the visiting Knights.
Lynden Ryan led the Shawnees (1-6) with 14 points.
Travis Blankenship led James River (3-6) with 14 points.
Galax 51, Pocahontas 50: Jay Bryson made one of two free throws with 27 seconds to play, giving the Maroon Tide a Mountain Empire District victory over the Indians in Pocahontas.
Bryson's conversion was a rarity in the fourth quarter. After scoring 24 points in the third quarter, Pocahontas (0-4, 0-2) did not have a field goal in the fourth. It also was 3-for-10 from the free-throw line in that period.
Galax (4-4, 1-0) wasn't much better, scoring 11 points and also going 3-for-10 in the fourth.
Barry Thompson attempted a potential game-winning shot, but Michael Shumate blocked it at the buzzer.
Shumate led Galax with 16 points. Thompson led the Indians with 17 points.
Northside 83, Rockbridge County 67: The Vikings recorded their first victory of the season as five players scored in double figures in a Blue Ridge District game at Northside.
The Vikings (1-7, 1-2) broke open a tight game in the third quarter to take a 55-41 lead. Dwon Steele led Northside with 17 points.
Jaymie Terrell scored 17 for Rockbridge County (1-6, 1-2).
Lord Botetourt 69, Alleghany 49: Sean Osborne scored 29 points to lead the Cavaliers to a Blue Ridge District victory in Daleville.
Osborne was eight for 10 from the floor as Lord Botetourt (6-2, 1-2) shot 54 percent.
Casey Burks led Alleghany (3-5, 1-2) with 13 points.
Highland 57, Tygart's Valley (W.Va.) 52: Bryan Werner scored 19 points as the Rams (5-0) downed Tygart's Valley in a non-district matchup in Monterey.
Werner scored 15 points in the second half as Highland outscored Tygart's Valley 34-27.
James Markley led Tygart's Valley with 13 points.
Parry McCluer 60, Glenvar 49: David Downs hit two 3-pointers, and the Fighting Blues made their fourth-quarter free throws to top the Highlanders in a non-district matchup in Buena Vista.
Downs led Parry McCluer (7-0) with 13 points. Chris Evans had 15 for Glenvar (3-8).
George Wythe 64, Chilowie 46: The Maroons treated the Warriors as if basketball is a two-quarter game. After halftime, George Wythe held Chilhowie to 13 points in their Hogoheegee District matchup in Wytheville.
Senior point guard Justin Borne was the Maroons' key man, scoring 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting and dishing out five assists. Brian Barnes led George Wythe (5-3, 2-1) with 16 points, Lance Goff had 13 and Damien Taylor added 11.
Giles 90, Craig County 40: Adam Jones scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Spartans (5-3) coasted to a non-district victory over the Rockets (1-4) in Pearisburg.
Jason Edwards added 10 points, six assists and five steals for Giles.
Ben Elmore had 17 points to lead Craig County.
Gretna 60, Bassett 57: Darrio Scott scored 18 points as the Hawks (5-4) held on for a non-district victory over the Bengals (3-5) in Gretna.
The Hawks broke a halftime tie by outscoring Bassett 18-10 in the third quarter. Corie Manns scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Bengals.
Carroll County 63, Richlands 58: Scott Goins, who scored a team-high 22 points, hit a big basket in the closing minutes to give the Cavaliers the lead for good as Carroll County defeated the Tornadoes in a Southwest District game in Hillsville.
Carroll County (3-7) trailed by three heading into the final period, but rallied to win its district opener behind the play of Goins and Jeremy Ogle, who scored 14 points.
Wes Wilson hit seven 3-point field goals and scored 23 points to lead Richlands (2-3, 0-2 ).
Fort Chiswell 66, Rocky Gap 58: Derrick Jackson scored six of his team-high 18 points in the pivotal third quarter as the Pioneers handed the Eagles a Mountain Empire District loss in Rocky Gap.
The Eagles (3-6, 1-2) carried a two-point lead into the second half before being outscored 16-8 in the third quarter. Rocky Gap cut its deficit back to four points late in the game, but Fort Chiswell hit its free throws to seal the victory.
Freshman Adam Akers scored 20 points and Matthew Akers added 10 for the Eagles, who missed 11 of 19 free throws.
Heath Bralley added 13 points for the Pioneers (3-3, 1-0).
Covington 61, James Monroe (W.Va.) 57: Boo Stewart scored 14 points, going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line to help the Cougars (2-5) defeat the Mavericks (3-1) in Covington.
Stewart came up with one of his four steals with less than a minute to play when James Monroe had a chance to tie or lead, then made some big free throws to ice the victory. Erwin Twitty led the Cougars in scoring with 18 points.
Neil Dunlap was the big man for the Mavericks, scoring 26 points.
Gateway Christian 58, Pipestem (W.Va.) 45: Brad Duncan scored 17 points to lead the Crusaders (4-4) past Pipestem in a non-conference game in Blacksburg.
Allen Surface and Chris Kirtner scored 15 and 12 points, respectively, for the Crusaders. Scott Perfater added seven points and 12 rebounds.
Roanoke Catholic 67, Carlisle 59: The Celtics knocked off the defending private-school state champions behind a 25-point performance from Chad Wall in a Virginia Independent Conference game.
Wall made seven of eight 3-point attempts. He scored 15 points in the first quarter on four 3-pointers and a 3-point play off a basket and free throw as Roanoke Catholic (2-6, 1-1) went up 25-12.
Carlisle (2-3, 1-2) cut its deficit to five in the third quarter, but the Celtics made three 3-pointers to go up 56-43. Brendan McCarthy scored nine of his 20 points in the period.
Chad Martin led Carlisle with 19 points.
Girls
Halifax County 45, Franklin County 37: Tasha Williams led the Eagles (3-5) in a non-district loss to the Comets in Rocky Mount.
Franklin County came back in the third quarter to lead 30-29, but Halifax outscored the Eagles 16-7 in the fourth period.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Long : 157 linesby CNB