ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 18, 1997 TAG: 9702180121
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: SPORTS EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DALEVILLE
Each boys' basketball season, Salem seems to find a team it can dominate.
The Spartans beat Northside six times on the way to winning the 1994 Group AA championship.
Whether Salem goes as far this year remains to be seen, but the Spartans seem to have found another team they can beat at every crucial turn. Salem topped William Byrd 46-34 on Monday in its most important game of the season, clinching the Blue Ridge District regular-season title and a spot in the Region III semifinals.
It was Salem's fourth victory in four tries against Byrd, and it was important because the Spartans (15-7) need to win only one Region III game to make a return trip to the state tournament.
``I don't know how many times we can dodge the bullet,'' said Salem coach Charlie Morgan. ``I try not to make the game bigger than it is. I feel it boils down to mental toughness.''
It was a particularly frustrating setback for William Byrd (16-6), because the Terriers have not lost to another Blue Ridge District team. In the second quarter, the Terriers lost a chance to end Salem's dominance by scoring only one point. Byrd went more than eight minutes without a point of any kind and more than 10 minutes without a field goal before Kevin Stump hit a short jumper in the third quarter.
``I don't know whether it was Salem or it was the pressure of the game,'' said Terriers coach Paul Barnard, who knows how Northside coach Billy Pope felt in 1994 when his only losses - including one in a Group AA semifinal - came against Salem. ``The pressure of the game caused us to miss easy shots and take off-balance shots.''
Byrd starts the Blue Ridge District tournament with a home game tonight against Rockbridge County and must win again on Wednesday to have any hope of making the Region III tournament. Salem, which also must play two consecutive days, is home against Christiansburg. The difference is there is no pressure on the Spartans.
``Salem played very well,'' Barnard said. ``We tried too hard and now we have to regroup.''
Byrd failed to make a 3-point shot in 16 attempts. The Terriers' leading scorers, Stump and Mayo Wilson, combined for only 10 points.
Byrd nearly won anyway because Salem couldn't make free throws. The Spartans missed eight shots from the line in the third quarter alone. That helped Byrd take the momentum and twice cut its deficit to four points.
Stump hit a free throw with 2:29 left to make it 36-32. Salem point guard Sam Lazzaro then made a move for a layup and drew a foul. He cashed in the free throw with 1:52 left to make it 39-32.
``I saw my man overplaying me, so I just drove the lane to see what I could create,'' Lazzaro said. ``I was looking for Kwam'' Lewis.
After Josh Wheeler countered with a layup for Byrd, Lazzaro made two more free throws with 1:01 left to lock up the game.
``I get on the kids so that when they come into a game like this, it's just another day,'' Morgan said. ``Someone asked Sam Lazzaro early in the year when I got on him how he could handle it. He said, `Because it'll make me a man.'''
The junior said: ``I've played for him four years. He gets on the junior varsity as much as he does the varsity. It's a learning experience, but it makes you mentally tough at the end of the game and gives us a slight edge.''
Salem connected on 14 of 32 field-goal attempts, and Herschel Thomas had all five of their assists. Byrd saw its shots spin out the entire night and made only 14 of 50 from the field.
Morgan said the Spartans didn't put in any new defenses for the Terriers, again going with some matchup zone and man-to-man looks.
``But we made sure we knew where Mayo Wilson was, not let him get any touches,'' the Salem coach said. ``I didn't want him to stand out there burying 3-point shots.''
Byrd had a 31-29 edge in rebounding as Stump got seven. Eric Grinnell had the same total for the Spartans.
Foul problems plagued Byrd as Stump picked up two quick personals and went to the bench. When Salem opened a 10-point lead in the second quarter, Barnard had to hustle his center back into the game to keep his team close for a second-half run.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 79 linesby CNB