ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 26, 1997 TAG: 9702260101
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE
SOURCE: CHRIS LANG STAFF WRITER
MEMO: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.
THE HIGHLANDERS show the Maroons that basketball isn't the only game they play.
Glenvar High School played an almost perfect game of keep away Tuesday night in the waning seconds of its Region C quarterfinal boys' basketball game at George Wythe.
And it was just enough to preserve a Glenvar victory.
Sophomore forward Seth Noonkester sunk two free throws with 3.2 seconds remaining to ice a 58-54 Highlanders victory over the Maroons.
The Highlanders (13-10) opened up a four-point lead at 56-52 after a Josh Williamson basket with 1:41 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The homestanding Maroons (20-4) would not fade. A layup by forward Damien Taylor, who led the Maroons with 15 points, cut the lead back to 56-54 with 49 seconds left.
The Maroons came back out trying to trap Glenvar guard Bryan Fasnacht in the backcourt, but he was able to get it over the timeline and force a foul by Maroons guard Lance Goff.
It was just the Maroons' fifth team foul, and Glenvar took the ball on the sideline. Wythe guard Robert Fowler stole the ball and raced the length of the floor for a layup, but was called for a charge with 0:23 left.
That's when the game of keep away began.
``Coach just kept on saying `pass it, pass it,''' Williamson said. ``We milked the clock and it worked well.''
The Highlanders passed the ball around for 20 seconds until Wythe forward Brian Barnes could finally foul Noonkester with 3.2 seconds left on the clock.
``We had some kids with four fouls,'' Wythe coach Al Copenhaver said. ``Each one was trying to foul, but they got around us. You don't want to necessarily send those kids to the line because they shoot so well.''
Indeed, Glenvar hit 19 of 22 free throws on the evening, including the last two by Noonkester, which sealed the victory.
``It didn't bother me,'' Noonkester said, referring to the Maroons' attempts to ice him by calling timeouts. ``The only thing that was on my mind was to knock those down and put George Wythe away.''
Glenvar appeared to be in trouble in the first half when both Williamson and Noonkester got into foul trouble.
Even so, the Highlanders outscored the Maroons 22-10 in the frame to take a 32-24 halftime lead.
``I think at this point and time that is important,'' Glenvar coach Art Lawrence said. ``We've got to have eight or nine kids to play if you're going to win.''
Wythe twice battled back from 10-point deficits in the second half behind the hot shooting of Taylor and Justin Bourne. The tide appeared to turn the Maroons' way when Glenvar guard Chris Evans picked up his second technical foul of the game with 4:26 to play. His first was for shoving Wythe's Bryant Jones. The second technical was called because Evans cursed at a referee after a charging call.
``It's hard to say what something like that does to us,'' Lawrence said. ``It think it was unfortunate, but I think it might of actually fired up our team a bit.''
Glenvar will meet Parry McCluer in the Region C semifinals on Thursday night at Radford University's Dedmon Center. NOTE: please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 linesby CNB