ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 2, 1997 TAG: 9703030125
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
Salem played catch-me-if-you-can with Liberty, and the Minutemen did just that Saturday night.
It took nearly 32 minutes for Liberty to overhaul the Spartans, and it was overtime before the Minutemen put away the Spartans 63-60 to claim the Region III boys' basketball title at the Salem Civic Center.
Both teams advance to the Group AA tournament, with Liberty (25-1) playing a game in its home area against Martinsville, which lost the Region IV title game to Gate City 67-58. Salem (18-9) will take to the road and play Gate City in far Southwest Virginia.
The Spartans scored eight of the first 10 points and kept building on their lead throughout the first half.
Behind junior guard Herschel Thomas, the Spartans sent the Minutemen to the locker room trailing 38-22. Thomas had connected for 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
More impressive was the board work of Kwam Lewis. He had 14 rebounds and he would end up with 22.
Meanwhile, Liberty was operating behind junior center Rodney Morris, who had his own agenda. The transfer from William Fleming wanted to show his supporters in Roanoke what he could do, and he wound up with a game-high 23 points, including a short hook shot that put Liberty up 61-60 with 1:28 left in overtime.
Morris had visited Fleming on Thursday to see his old teammates dethrone defending Group AAA champion George Washington-Danville, and he didn't want to be a part of a loss for the 1996 Group AA champions.
``My family and friends were all here,'' Morris said. ``But my teammates helped me tonight.''
After Morris' hook, Thomas missed a shot and Liberty was willing to hold the ball. Robert Carson missed the front end of a one-and-one with 17.9 seconds left, but Cheney Preston somehow hustled to get the rebound for Liberty.
Preston hit two free throws with 14.3 seconds left, giving Liberty a three-point cushion.
``I saw [the player I guard] and another Salem guy go for the rebound,'' Preston said. ``I thought they might tip it, and somehow I got the rebound. Then I just tried to clear my head'' on the free throws.
Salem's last chance to force another overtime disappeared as Thomas' 3-point try bounced off the rim.
``Our kids were ready to play,'' said Charlie Morgan, Salem's coach. ``I knew Liberty wouldn't die, that they'd keep coming. But I felt like we'd make them earn it.''
Despite Lewis' rebounding efforts, Liberty held a 40-38 edge on the boards. The Minutemen also didn't commit a turnover in the second half.
Marshall Wooldridge was Salem's only consistent offense in the second half, scoring seven points in the third quarter. In overtime and the fourth period, though, the senior reserve was held to one field-goal attempt and two made free throws.
Still, overcoming an early 19-point deficit seemed to be asking a lot of Liberty. After intermission, the Minutemen hit 15 of 32 shots; Salem faded and made only five of 22 shots. NOTE: please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY STAFF. Eric Grinnell (left) of Salem and Gregby CNBMallory of Liberty watch a loose ball escape their reach.