THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 18, 1995 TAG: 9503180361
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
For 28 minutes, Indian River had the country's 25th-ranked team on the ropes Friday night.
Then Potomac pulled a rope-a-dope.
The Panthers, ranked 25th in the country by USA Today, rallied behind senior forward Tinail Harris to pull out a 63-58 victory and advance to tonight's Group AAA boys championship game.
Potomac (27-1) will meet either James Robinson or Kecoughtin at 8:30 p.m. at Liberty University's Vines Center.
Harris, who finished with team-highs of 18 points and 12 rebounds, scored six points during the Panthers' decisive 10-1 run in the fourth quarter as Potomac charged from a 53-48 deficit to take a 58-54 lead with just under a minute left.
After that, the Panthers hit 5-of-6 free throws to hold Indian River at arm's length.
Those six free throws just added to what Indian River coach Freddie Spellman termed a ``ridiculous'' Potomac advantage at the foul line.
Potomac attempted 40 free throws, 31 more than the Braves.
``It wasn't consistent,'' Spellman said. ``How, in a championship game with both teams pressing, can one team go 7-for-9 at the line and the other 24-for-40?''
The Braves owned the first half as freshman Jason Capel, who finished with team-highs of 15 points and 15 rebounds, established himself inside.
``I'm telling you he's the best all-around player in Tidewater,'' Spellman said. ``Any other coach can bring me any other player and offer a trade and I'll have to apologize to them. I won't do it.
``I'll take Capel. And he's only a freshman.''
The quick-thinking Capel capped an outstanding first half when he hit James Boyd with a 70-foot inbounds pass and Boyd converted a reverse layup at the buzzer as the Braves (20-8) took a 35-27 advantage.
``It was a matchup problem in the first half with Capel,'' said Harris. ``I didn't even know who he was, then they put me on him in the second half. It seems like he was doing a lot of damage in the first half.''
Capel was unavailable for comment afterward, making a quick exit with family members to catch his father's Old Dominion University squad, which beat Villa-nova in the opening round of the NCAA tournament on television.
In the second half, the Panthers, who had surrendered a 23-15 advantage rebounding in the opening half, became more aggressive on the boards. Particularly Harris at the offensive end.
Mike Neal ``started shooting the ball for them and the two big guys (Harris and Rolan Roberts) got into the game,'' Spellman said.
An alley-oop dunk by Roberts, who finished with 15 points, seemed to give the Panthers an emotional lift near the end of the third quarter. But Potomac coach Kendall Hayes was still sweating on the sidelines,
``Was I worried? Yeah, for the first 31 minutes and 50 seconds,'' Hayes said. ``Our backs were against the wall. My stomach was churning.
``These kids have hearts like lions. They refused to give up.''
After falling behind 58-54, the Braves played score-and-foul in hopes that Potomac would miss at the foul line. Capel scored on a backdoor play to cut Potomac's lead to 58-56 with 43 seconds remaining, but the Panthers' Erskin Fox hit two free throws with 32 seconds left.
Capel made two foul shots with 18 seconds remaining to cut it to 60-58, but Fox again answered on a one-and-one with 16 seconds remaining.
When Indian River's David Selby missed a running jumper with eight seconds left, Neal rebounded and added a free throw with four seconds remaining for the final count.
``That national ranking is nothing but politics to me,'' said Indian River's Terry Rouse. ``As far as I'm concerned, they didn't show us anything.''
The Braves, however, showed the state that they could be the team of the future. Their top four scorers - the 6-foot-7 Capel, 6-6 Rouse and sophomore guards James Boyd and Selby - return next season. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
TAMARA VONINSKI/Staff
Indian River's Jason Capel gets ready to challenge Potomac's Mookie
Felder (10) and Tinail Harris during Friday night's semifinal Group
AAA game in Lynchburg.
by CNB