ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 19, 1997 TAG: 9702190090
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
THE TERRIERS escape a late charge by the Wildcats en route to a 71-67 overtime victory.
With two basketball games to play in as many nights, William Byrd probably would have been better off playing someone besides Rockbridge County.
The Wildcats, who have been playing for respect all season, earned a full measure of it in Tuesday night's Blue Ridge District tournament opener on the Terriers' floor.
Rockbridge County scored 18 points in the last 3:03 of regulation to force overtime, but Byrd held fast in the extra period. The Terriers scored the last six points of the game on the way to a 71-67 victory.
Byrd takes on Blacksburg tonight in the second game of the tournament's semifinal round at the Salem Civic Center.
The Wildcats' Jonathan Haston, who had buried a trio of 3-pointers, had a shot for the lead that was a shade firm with eight seconds left.
``He had a good look at it,'' said David Miller, the Wildcats' coach.
Forced to foul, Rockbridge County chose Byrd point guard Mayo Wilson, who calmly buried a pair of free throws in the final seconds for an all-but-insurmountable four-point lead.
Rockbridge County's 6-15 final record wasn't much to look at, Miller conceded, but there was more to it.
``We were in so many games this year, just like that one,'' he said. ``We've been laughed at in this league for the past four years. Maybe they aren't laughing so much anymore.''
The clincher on the Wildcats' stampede into overtime was a 3-pointer that Rockbridge County point guard Ricky Wright banked high off the glass from the right wing. Wright closed the final game of his career with a team-high 22 points.
``I couldn't believe that shot,'' said Paul Barnard, Byrd's coach. ``We had a man on him. In fact, we were trying to foul him. We had one to give.''
Just what Byrd needed was four more tough minutes to play. The Terriers had been in a grueling 46-34 loss to Salem the previous night in a one-game playoff for the regular-season title.
``We were mentally tired more than physically tired,'' Byrd's Kevin Stump said.
The folks who must have been really tired were those in charge of keeping up with Stump defensively. The big guy got great offensive position on the low block all night and scored a career-high 35 points.
``I got some good screens and my teammates kept getting me the ball,'' he said. ``Some days you feel like you're going to hit everything you shoot.''
Wilson was the target of a box-and-one defense in which four players are deployed in a zone and the fifth guards a particular opponent man-to-man. Nevertheless, Wilson was patient enough to score 12 points, eight of them at the free-throw line.
``We're looking forward to'' tonight's game, said Barnard, who was just getting over the fright from his brother Willie's mild heart attack the previous day. ``You know you play all year to finish either first or second in the district like we did. Then you still have to play three games in a row.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 linesby CNB