THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 1, 1995 TAG: 9503010629
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Like a prizefighter, Kecoughtan's Nsilo Abraham punished Granby's Comets all night with left and right hooks.
But it was his equivalent of a short jab late in the 12th round that scored the technical knockout.
Abraham's backdoor layup as time expired gave Kecoughtan a 64-62 victory over the Comets on Tuesday night in an Eastern Region boys basketball quarterfinal game at Lake Taylor High.
Kecoughtan (20-5) will meet Churchland (21-4) at Churchland on Thursday in a rematch of last year's regional final. That game will follow the Maury-Indian River semifinal at 6 p.m.
``It came down to which team had the ball last,'' Granby coach Tim Sweeney said. ``And they had it.''
The Comets (20-3), trailing 34-27 early in the second half, put on a 10-0 run as Shawn Hobson came to life with 20 second-half points.
Then, late in the third quarter, Granby began an 11-0 run that resulted in a 51-43 lead with just over six minutes remaining. The run ended with a driving layup by Toweh Ketter, who finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
A Hobson 3-pointer increased the lead to 56-46 with 5:02 remaining.
The Comets' second-half runs were ignited by a run-and-jump, double-teaming defense that flustered Kecoughtan while the Comets' offense hit high gear.
``I thought we did a heck of a job with it,'' Granby coach Tim Sweeney said.
But the Comets, Eastern District champions, couldn't slow it down when they needed to.
``We wanted to keep it going,'' said Hobson, who finished with 26 points. ``We kept pushing it when we should have pulled it back and they got some turnovers.''
Kecoughtan, the Peninsula District tournament champion, showed its resiliency and clawed back.
Abraham scored on a pick-and-roll from Brett Harper with 2:50 left to cut Granby's lead to 58-56.
Sweeney had planned to use 6-foot-7 Cliff Townes against the 6-6 Abraham, who finished with 25 points. But Townes missed the game with the flu.
Granby answered with a baseline jumper by Hobson. Then Kecoughtan's Marseilles Brown and Hobson traded midrange jumpers as the Comets held onto a 62-58 lead.
Two free throws by Harper, who had 19 points, cut Kecoughtan's deficit to 62-60 with 1:45 remaining, and Hobson was called for traveling when he was double-teamed on Granby's next possession.
``We changed our defense on them a little, which was the same thing they did to us,'' said Kecoughtan coach Revis Conrad.
Abraham scored on a baseline pass from Harper with 1:15 remaining to tie it at 62.
Hobson, who had made his previous five field-goal attempts, was off the mark with a 15-foot jumper with a minute to play.
``It was a good shot and I'd beaten my man all the way upcourt,'' Hobson said. ``I just shot it a little long. You can't make 'em all.''
Kecoughtan held for the last shot, calling time with 15 seconds left.
The Warriors put the ball in Harper's hands and the senior guard penetrated from the left wing, drawing three Granby defenders. His diagonal pass through the lane was tipped, but managed to get to its destination.
``The last time I looked at the clock, it had four seconds on it,'' said Abraham, who finished with a team-high 25 points. ``I just tried to scoop it up as quick as I could.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
RICHARD L. DUNSTON/Staff
Granby's Anthony King drives on Kecoughtan's Marseilles Brown.
Kecoughtan will play Churchland on Thursday.
by CNB