ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 19, 1997 TAG: 9701210038
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
This time against Cardinal District opposition, Patrick Henry's rally came up short.
A young Woodbridge team kept PH's Ronnie Kasey and Boo Battle from dominating and held off the Patriots for a 54-51 victory in the Crestar Roundball Classic at the Salem Civic Center on Saturday.
Earlier this season, PH had come from behind to bump Gar-Field and it appeared the same thing might happen again when Battle's layup with 1:12 left tied the score at 51.
The Patriots got the ball back when Woodbridge's Andy Hewlett missed a shot, but Umar Bowers got a steal with just over 50 seconds left for the Vikings.
Woodbridge (11-3) played for a final shot and Bowers barged down the lane. His shot was blocked by Battle, who was called for a personal foul. Bowers converted a free throw with five seconds left.
PH (9-4) tried a full-court pass that sailed out of bounds and the Vikings scored when Anthony Neal got a layup with 1.2 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
The story of this game came as Woodbridge held Battle and Kasey to 29 points. Kasey scored only one basket after halftime. The Vikings also caught PH flat and opened a lead of 21-7 in the second quarter before Kasey hit a 3-point shot that started the Patriots' comeback.
``We tried to take the ball out of Kasey's hands as much as possible,'' said Woodbridge coach Will Robinson. ``We knew he and Battle are half their offense.''
Robinson debated about which defense to use. He finally let Victor Blocker take on Kasey, who burned him for 13 points in the opening half.
``We're a young team and we made some mistakes, but we held on down the stretch,'' said Robinson. ``Blocker is a sophomore who works hard.
``We debated about playing a zone defense all day, but really, we're not a zone defense team.''
The Patriots tried pressure defense and couldn't stop the Vikings. Frequently Nick Clay got loose on the break and the 6-foot-5 forward scored a game-high 26 points. He also had seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots in leading a Woodbridge team that lost five starters from last year's squad.
``When we'd get close, we'd make a turnover or a bad decision. We couldn't capitalize on anything,'' said PH coach Jack Esworthy.
Esworthy was less happy about his team's first half effort. ``I told the kids we didn't have any intensity [the first half]. I told them I'd go with the five players who came out to play, put it on the line,'' said Esworthy
``Against Cave Spring [last week] we had all five people in the game. We definitely didn't have five people when we needed to have a total team effort. It's easy to concentrate on taking two players [Kasey and Battle] out of a game when it's like that.''
Woodbridge hit 25 of 43 shots and had a 24-21 rebounding edge. PH connected on 21-of-44, but six turnovers in the fourth quarter really hurt the Patriots.
Colby Leftwich scored three baskets early in the fourth period to put PH in a position for its comeback. Then Raymond Johnson's bucket with 2:02 gave the Patriots a 49-48 lead, the only time they were ahead.
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY STAFF. Patrick Henry's Boo Battle (34) isby CNBfouled by Woodbridge's Maurice Watkins (20) in the Crestar Roundball
Classic. color.