THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 1, 1995 TAG: 9503010628
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Bayside's gym was hot; the Marlins were not.
But everything was cool for the Indian River Braves, who surged mid-game and hit just enough free throws near the end to pull out a 61-57 victory in an Eastern Region boys basketball quarterfinal Tuesday before a standing-room only crowd in a sweltering Bayside gym.
The Braves (17-7) will meet Maury in the 6 p.m. opener of the regional semifinal doubleheader Thursday at Churchland. The Beach District champion Marlins finish at 21-3.
Guard Terry Rouse led a balanced Indian River attack with 13 points, including a 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter which broke a 50-50 tie and gave the Braves the lead for good. Indian River then made 6 of 9 free throws - after missing 12 of their first 23 - to keep the Marlins at bay.
But more than the shots the Braves made, it was the shots the Marlins couldn't make that buried Bayside. The Marlins shot just 32 percent from the field, including a pitiful 1 for 15 from 3-point range.
``We tell our guys to take the threes, but there are limits,'' Bayside coach Ron Jenkins said. ``If it's not falling, maybe we need to drive or try something else. ...
``But I don't want to take anything away from Indian River. They hit their shots, we didn't. Simple as that.''
Eric Carballo and James Carter paced the Marlins with 13 points apiece, with Carballo nailing Bayside'slone trey.
Bayside's senior-dominated lineup - all five starters are seniors - and its homecourt advantage appeared to give the Marlins an edge going in. And the partisan crowd played the sixth-man role to the hilt, booing passionately as the Braves came on the court for pregame warm-ups. That was music to the Braves' ears.
``We're used to the pressure,'' said Rouse, the lean 6-6 point guard. ``We played at Granby, at Booker T. ... We know what it's like to be in this situation. The crowd wasn't a factor.''
In addition, the combination of Tuesday's unseasonably warm temperatures, high humidity and the fact that fans were virtually sitting on top of each other turned Bayside's gym into a sweatbox.
Once again, advantage Braves.
``We've got a heat button in our gym,'' Indian River guard James Boyd said. ``We hit that, it gets even hotter than this.''
Still, the Braves opened sluggishly, and Bayside led by as many as eight in a first quarter which ended with the Marlins ahead, 17-13.
Indian River climbed back into it in the second quarter, tying things at 20 on a Boyd jumper and grabbing a 29-28 lead on a follow by Ronnie Wilson. The Braves would never trail again.
A 9-2 Indian River run turned a 31-20 halftime advantage into a 40-33 lead midway through the third quarter. But the Marlins fought back thanks to nice work inside by Carter and Riddick and pulled to within 48-46 after three quarters.
Bayside went on to tie things at 50 on a Marcus Riddick tip-in off a Shawn Blassingill trey. But Rouse splashed a trey of his own from the right wing on the Braves' next possession. Lashawn Jones (11 points) answered with a layup at the 3:18 mark, but the Marlins didn't get another field goal until Jones converted with 11 seconds remaining. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
RALPH FITZGERALD
Indian River's David Selby, left, and Jason Capel, right, put the
squeeze on Bayside's James Carter.
by CNB