ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 21, 1997 TAG: 9702210069
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
THE COLONELS SURVIVE a gritty effort by Cave Spring to win in double overtime.
Cave Spring saved its best for last, but it just wasn't enough.
The Knights, hoping to spring the upset of the season, fell 54-50 in double overtime to William Fleming in the Roanoke Valley District boys' basketball tournament semifinals Thursday at the Salem Civic Center.
Cave Spring had the final shot of the first overtime but a long jumper by Corey Paxton was off the mark.
In the second overtime, guard Spencer Baird tried to send the game into a third overtime and saw his layup attempt roll off the rim. R.J. Reynolds then sank two free throws with five seconds remaining to end the suspense.
The Colonels (16-5) will face Patrick Henry tonight at 9 in the RVD final. The winner will get the district's top seed in the Northwest Region tournament next week while the loser will be the lower seed and play a first-round game on the road. Fleming had just beaten the Knights 48-38 last Friday in the final regular-season game. Still, Fleming coach Roland Lovelace expected the kind of test his team experienced Thursday night.
``I knew it would be tight,'' Lovelace said. ``Cave Spring is a real good team. They play aggressive and when you play a team that plays hard, you get a game like this."
It was the end of the first campaign for Knights' coach Billy Hicks, who took over a program that has struggled in recent years against RVD competition.
``I'm so proud to be the coach of the Cave Spring basketball team,'' Hicks said. ``I had people tell me I was crazy to take this job. People have no idea the heart these kids have.''
Reynolds' free throws ended a frustrating night at the line for his team. Fleming made only 14 of 27 shots, which wasn't good because the Colonels went to a delay offense midway through the fourth quarter trying to nurse a two-point lead.
``They were playing a box-and-one on Brad [Dunleavy] and we weren't doing real well against it,'' said Lovelace. ``I thought if we pull it out we might get some easy shots.''
Dunleavy led Fleming with 13 points, but he failed to score in the second half until he hit a short jumper with 51 seconds left to tie the score in the first overtime. He also tied the score in the second extra session after David Harms gave the Knights (13-10) a lead with a basket off the tip.
``Patrick Henry has used it against me every time we've played,'' said Dunleavy. ``We had practiced against it. We knew it was coming.''
``We tried it twice last Friday against them and then put it away for use at another time,'' said Hicks.
Cave Spring's bid for the upset started with 6-foot-6 Alex Phillips. He had 11 of his game-high 16 points in the first half.
Foul problems hampered him in the second half, and he didn't score after hitting a late field goal in the third quarter.
``They stepped up their defense toward the end and made it difficult to get me the ball inside,'' Phillips said. ``At the beginning of the game, there was one man on me. Later, they were doubling down.''
However, Paxton and Ricky Dierker stepped up the scoring, getting nine points between them off the bench in the last quarter and extra sessions.
The Knights were very deliberate, taking only 29 shots and making 14 for the game. They also converted 18 of 20 free-throw attempts to keep it close.
In overtime, the Colonels had missed four free throws when Reynolds hit what amounted to the clinching shots. Before that, Jaron Walker and Richard Wilson each converted the first of two free throws, giving Fleming a 52-50 lead.
``Coach Lovelace told me to relax, take my time,'' said Reynolds of his shots. ``I don't think our minds were in the game tonight, but Cave Spring played really well.''
Phillips was the game's top rebounder with eight, but Fleming commanded the boards 27-24. The Colonels didn't shoot very well, though, making just 19 of 46 shots.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN STAFF. 1. Ricky Dierker (left) of Caveby CNBSpring and Richard Wilson of William Fleming battle for a loose
ball. color. 2. David Harms (left) of Cave Spring tries for a steal
as Brad Dunleavy of William Fleming protects the basketball. KEYWORDS: BASKETBALL