ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 1, 1997 TAG: 9703030118
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
Bigger isn't necessarily better, but it sure can be scary.
Faced with stopping the biggest player it has faced this year, Salem negated the threat and moved past William Campbell 69-53 in the Region III semifinals Friday at the Salem Civic Center.
To do so, the Spartans had to contain the Generals' 6-foot-7 sophomore talent, Travis Watson. They also had to make sure William Campbell's high-scoring guard, Chauncey Walker, didn't dominate the game.
With the victory, Salem moved back into the Group AA tournament for the first time since 1994 when it won the championship.
Tonight's task will be more difficult for the Spartans. They must beat defending Group AA champion Liberty for the Region III title in a game that tips off at 7:30. The Minutemen, who waxed Gretna 77-54 in Friday's other semifinal, have won 48 straight games against public school competition.
``I thought No.50 [Watson] is young and Eric [Grinnell] could box him [Watson] off the boards,'' said Salem coach Charles Morgan, even though his center gave up nearly four inches to the Generals' post man.
``For us to have a chance, we had to play good defense and box out,'' said Morgan. ``With these guys as quick and as athletic as they are, we had to make sure and execute our offense. We got a solid team effort from everyone.''
The Spartans (18-8), showing an unusual proficiency from the field, connected on 25 of 50 shots, made a reasonable 16 of 23 free throws and, though outrebounded 40-30, didn't really get hurt on the boards.
Watson scored 14 points, but foul problems slowed the sophomore sensation early. A key point might have come early in the fourth quarter when Watson stole the ball for what looked like a breakaway layup but instead turned it into a missed dunk. Grinnell got the rebound, then ran to the other end, where he scored to stretch the Spartans' lead to 54-41.
Watson ``was a physical player,'' Grinnell said. ``It was difficult because we've never faced a 6-7 player this year. We didn't worry about shooting. We just came in and played ball.''
Kwam Lewis was very effective against the Generals (13-12), who saw a seven-game win streak come to a halt. He scored 19 points and hauled away seven rebounds.
``Lewis is a player who runs the floor well,'' said Pat Paye, William Campbell's coach. ``He beats you to a spot and you're behind the rest of the time.
``Salem is real system-oriented. They do an excellent job at what they do. We thought our defense was solid enough to eliminate some if not all of that. But we didn't eliminate enough.''
``It was a tough, physical game,'' Lewis said. ``I tried to take it to them, draw fouls. They weren't calling fouls. So I went to the pump fake to get them off their feet.''
The Spartans also got big-time outside shooting again from Marshall Wooldridge, who had two long 3-point goals. ``I kind of thought we needed a little boost,'' said Wooldridge, who hit a big 3-pointer that put Salem ahead to stay at 10-8.
As for running a systematic offense, point guard Sam Lazzaro dealt out five assists and added eight points after tearing a contact lens and having to get his parents to hustle home to retrieve replacements. It gave a new meaning to home-court advantage.
Walker scored 14 points, but he made just two of 10 attempts from 3-point range. ``Before Travis came we were guard-oriented and under pressure situations, we resort to that,'' said Paye, who only got his center in January after he became eligible following a move from Texas.
The Generals hit just 21 of 60 shots from the floor and the difference in the way the teams ran their offenses became the real story of the game. NOTE: please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN STAFF. 1. Salem's Herschel Thomas (right)by CNBdraws the foul on William Campbell's Travis Watson during the second
half. color. 2. Salem's Andy Beach heads downcourt after grabbing a
rebound as William Campbell's Chauncey