ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, February 19, 1997           TAG: 9702190084
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: B-2  EDITION: METRO 
                                             TYPE: ROUNDUP
SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS


NORTHSIDE CLOSES ITS GYM A WINNER

Northside gave its band-box gymnasium a thrilling send-off Tuesday night as the Vikings put away Alleghany 74-66 in overtime to advance to a Blue Ridge District tournament semifinal.

Northside (7-15), which will play in a much larger new facility next season, faces top-seeded Salem (16-7) at 7 p.m. today in the first of two semifinals at the Salem Civic Center. William Byrd (17-5) will play Blacksburg (9-12) in the second semifinal at 8:30.

James Bandy had 19 points to lead Northside, which hit 12 of 18 free throws in overtime. Xavier Lee scored 14, Greg Perdue 12, Daryl Holmes 11 and Dewone Steele added 10.

Casey Burks had a game-high 31 points for the Mountaineers (7-14) . Travis Davis added 14.

Blue Ridge

Cave Spring 79, Franklin County 57: Ricky Dierker scored 18 points and Alex Phillips added 16 as the host Knights downed the Eagles in a first-round game.

Cave Spring (13-9) knocked down seven 3-pointers in the first half and went on a 14-4 run at the end of the second quarter to take a 36-27 halftime lead. Cave Spring opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run and coasted to victory.

Corey Paxton had 12 points and six rebounds for the Knights, who will face top-seeded William Fleming (15-5) at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Salem Civic Center.

Bobby Basham scored 23 points for Franklin County (4-18).

Hogoheegee

John Battle 61, Rural Retreat 55: The Trojans took an early lead, then held on to defeat the Indians in a first-round game in Bristol.

John Battle (9-12) will play the winner of the Northwood-Chilhowie game in Thursday's semifinal round. John Taylor scored 18 points, Scott Collins 14 and John Odom 11 for the Trojans.

Wayne Terry, who scored 28 for Rural Retreat (2-16), led a fourth-quarter rally that fell short.

Piedmont

Fieldale-Collinsville 44, Patrick County 36: Lamont Perkins scored 18 points to lead the Cavaliers past the Cougars in a first-round game in Bassett.

Fieldale-Collinsville (9-12) trailed 27-26 after three quarters, but outscored Patrick County 18-9 in the fourth. The Cavaliers play Magna Vista on Thursday at Bassett.

Corey Reynolds scored 19 points for the Cougars (8-13).

Laurel Park 55, Bassett 49: Jeff Slade scored 12 points as the Lancers downed the Bengals in Bassett to advance.

Corey Flood added 10 points for Laurel Park (13-7), which will face Martinsville on Thursday at Bassett.

The Bengals (5-16) were paced by Corie Manns' 16 points.

Mountain Empire

Galax 58, Pocahontas 48: Michael Shumate scored 24 points and Scott Hall added 20 to lead the Maroon Tide past the Indians in a first-round matchup in Wytheville.

Galax (14-8) hit 19 of 28 free throws overall and converted eight of 11 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

Barry Thompson scored 17 points and David Murphy had 15 for Pocahontas (2-19), which was 6-of-11 from the line.

Bland 65, Rocky Gap 50: Lee Meadows scored 25 second-half points, including 15 in the fourth quarter as the Rockets pulled away for a first-round victory in Wytheville.

Rocky Gap (4-17) took Bland (16-5) into the final eight minutes with the score tied at 35 before Meadows, who scored 28 in the game, led the Rockets on a 30-15 fourth-period explosion.

Adam Akers paced Rocky Gap with 24 points. Matthew Akers added 12.

Fort Chiswell 80, Narrows 52: All of the Pioneers who played scored as Fort Chiswell blew out the Green Wave in a first-round game in Wytheville.

Derrick Jackson scored 17 points and Ritchie Nester had 13 for the Pioneers (11-10).

Heath Fleeman had 15 and Dallas St.Clair added 12 for Narrows (9-12).

Southwest

Richlands 79, Carroll County 73, OT: Wes Wilson scored 28 points, including nine in overtime, to lead the Tornadoes to a first-round victory in Bluefield.

Jody Edwards forced overtime for Carroll County (5-16) by hitting a 3-pointer with nine seconds left, tying the score at 67.

Wilson outscored Carroll County 9-6 in overtime.

Jerry Holdaway led the Cavaliers with 20 points.

Va. Independent Conf.

North Cross 52, Miller School 50: Jeff Baetz scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Raiders (9-10) as they won a play-in game against the Miller School (4-11) in Lynchburg.

The Raiders advance to play Holy Cross at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at North Cross.

Blue Ridge Conference

Roanoke Valley Christian 70, Virginia Episcopal 32: Rebecca Bryant scored 20 points as the Eagles (22-4) coasted past Virginia Episcopal in a quarterfinal at RVC.

Gina Guthrie added 15 points and Nia Douglas helped out with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles, who will face the Lynchburg Christian-Holy Cross winner.

North Cross 54, Stuart Hall 49: Michele Hamilton recorded a triple-double for the Raiders (12-6) in a quarterfinal victory over Stuart Hall (10-7) at North Cross.

Hamilton scored 27 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and came up with 10 steals in the victory. Ann Ballenger added 11 points for the Raiders, who will play the winner of the Lynchburg Christian-Holy Cross game in a semifinal Friday at Roanoke Valley Christian.

Grace Christian 58, Roanoke Catholic 44: Krista Summer scored 11 of her game-high 23 points in the second quarter to lead Grace Christian to a second-round victory over the Celtics.

Grace Christian (20-5) went on a 23-6 run in the second quarter to grab a 30-14 lead.

Chrity Hinman led Roanoke Catholic (8-16) with 20 points, and Katie Dennehy added 10.

Monday's game

Rustburg 59, Staunton River 46: Franklin Haislip scored 16 points to carry Rustburg to a first-round victory in the Seminole District tournament.

Adam Johnson paced Staunton River with 14 points.

NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.


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KEYWORDS: BASKETBALL 
























































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