ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 21, 1997 TAG: 9702210071
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
It came to Travis Cantrell in a dream.
The Floyd County High School guard was deep in sleep Wednesday night when the basketball scenario unfolded:
Tight game, the clock ticking down, a slight opening in the defense through which to drive, and teammate Jason Dalton open for the pass ...
That was the dream. Thursday night's reality wasn't far from it in a Three Rivers District semifinal against Radford. With the score tied in the closing seconds, Cantrell drove into the middle and passed to Dalton for the winning layup of a 56-54 thriller.
Floyd County (21-1) advanced to Friday night's championship game against Glenvar, a 64-53 winner over Giles. Radford finished 12-10, but not without one whopper of a fight.
Ultimately, the game came down to the Dalton's last-second shot.
``I dreamed it last night,'' Cantrell said. ``We'd set up a down screen, but didn't get it. My man was sloughing off me and I didn't want to force a pass. I saw the opening in the middle and for a second, I thought I was going to have a shot. Then I saw Jason open and thought it would be better to get it to him.''
Dalton had had a fine game and the game-winning points left him with 16.
The last of his points may have been the easiest to come by.
``The kids played great defense but it was a defensive breakdown at the end that got us,'' Radford coach Rick Cormany said. "We should have never let Cantrell penetrate like that.''
For the most part, the Bobcats didn't until the end.
``They really know how to play us,'' said Cantrell, who finished with 14 points. ``They know all our plays and it makes it really hard to run our offense.''
Added Dalton: ``Most of the time, we were having to go to our second and third options.''
It must be nice to have that many. When Cantrell or Dalton wasn't open, lanky Derek Saunders was shaking loose in the post. He scored 17 points.
Radford stayed close behind John Robertson, one of two seniors who play many minutes for them. Robertson had four 3-pointers and scored 20 points. Tony Hash added 13.
``I'm tired of being close,'' Cormany said. ``It's time we find a way to get over this hump. Still, we could have been beaten by 20 tonight, but the players never gave up.''
The Bobcats did hurt themselves in several ways, particularly at the free-throw line, where they were 3-for-10.
Floyd County played just as hard, especially down the stretch. With the score tied at 52, Dalton almost put a hole in the floor diving for a steal that set up Cantrell's go-ahead basket with 38 seconds left. Robertson tied the score soon after to set the stage for the final sequence.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 linesby CNB