THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 18, 1995 TAG: 9503180351
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DENISE MICHAUX, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
The Nansemond River team that took the floor to start the game left the gym at halftime. Which was a positive sign for the Warriors.
A better version showed for the second half, breaking open a close game with Liberty High and winning, 78-68, Friday afternoon to advance to today's Group AA boys final.
Nansemond River (25-2) will meet Northside (21-7) at Liberty University's Vines Center at approximately 2:30 p.m. It's a rematch of the 1992 final, which Nansemond River won.
Northside, of Roanoke, beat Caroline, 64-62, Friday to advance.
Liberty managed to run with the Warriors for a half and the teams went to the locker rooms tied at 36.
But the Warriors' third-quarter blow-out routine, one they have perfected down the stretch, ousted the Minutemen.
The Warriors used a 15-4 run in the third quarter to open a 12-point lead with 2:54 left in the period.
Antoine Willie sparked the surge when he sandwiched a pair of three-pointers around a jumper by Liberty's J.J. Coles. Coles answered with another short jumper to close the gap to 46-43 with 5:01 to play in the third.
From there, Nansemond River rolled behind a pair of buckets from Maurice Fofana, baskets from Leshawn Pugh and Montoria Valentine and a foul shot from Willie, which made it 55-43.
The Warriors weren't seriously challenged again.
``Those threes loosened it up,'' Willie said. ``It gave us a cushion we could play with and probably helped our defense more than our offense because it hyped us up.''
The Warriors may have been too hyped in the first half.
``It wasn't nerves really,'' Fofana said. ``There were butterflies in the beginning of the game, but the first minute the butterflies should be gone and mine weren't.''
The Minutemen (22-5) had control of theirs and did exactly what they set out to do: Get Warriors center James Parker in foul trouble early. He had two quick ones in the first period. And Valentine and Pugh headed into the locker room at the half with three apiece.
``That's what we planned to do,'' said Liberty's Stephen Schrader, who led all scorers with 32 points. ``We got (Parker) on the bench quickly, but we couldn't capitalize on it.''
Both teams were high in the turnover department in the first half with Nansemond River committing 14 and Liberty 13, but again the Minutemen could never break away.
``We didn't finish a couple of plays,'' Liberty head coach Mark Hanks said. ``But we didn't think they'd be able to get back.
``The coaches and I talked at halftime and said, `Why aren't we up by six or eight points?' '' Hanks said. ``We came out in the second half and grabbed a couple of rebounds, but then we gave it right back to them.''
Schrader, a 6-4 All-Region III center, got all of his points inside, while the team went 0-for-13 from beyond the 3-point stripe - a big problem for a team that averages nine treys a game.
``We don't usually score inside on anybody,'' Hanks said. ``Schrader got tired. He was working so hard to get to the ball it finally wore him down.''
Willie paced the Warriors with 26 points, while Fofana added 17, well above his 6.8 average. ILLUSTRATION: TAMARA VONINSKI/Staff
Nansemond River's Antonio Jackson, left, and Liberty's Raymond
Arrington vie for the ball Friday.
by CNB