THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 24, 1995 TAG: 9512210197
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER
CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: EDENTON LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
FOR PERQUIMANS COUNTY boys basketball to win, the team needs to run. This is how it has always been and probably how it will always be.
Pirates head coach Luther Overton, in the midst of a 1-4 start, experimented with various offenses at the beginning of the season. After the Pirates knocked off Edenton-Holmes 84-67 last Friday, it became clear that Perquimans needed to install its transition offense for the entire game.
With the team playing a half-court-type game into the fourth quarter, the score was tied at 53-53. Edenton was lucky to be in the game, having made just 4 of 14 free throws in the first half.
But the Pirates' half-court offense wasn't very impressive, either. Hitting an occasional three-pointer, Perquimans struggled to maintain the tie.
Then Overton changed defenses, and the Pirates came alive. Perquimans County went on an 18-2 run over a three-minute period in the fourth quarter.
A layup by Edenton's Marquis Boston knotted the score at 53-53 with 5:07 to play. Then, the Pirates half-court trap defense took over and the Aces could not find the passing lanes.
Edenton went completely out of sync on offense, and the barrage was on. Travis Warren knocked in a three-pointer, Shelby White and Tykinston Wood both netted layups, and Lyron Welch made a long three-pointer to put the Pirates up 63-53 with 3:51 to play.
An Edenton turnover led to another bucket by the Pirates' Amos Fletcher. On their next possession, the Aces were called for an offensive foul under more defensive pressure. Edenton finally scored on a dunk by Boston, but the Pirates came back with four straight points, including a post-turnover layup by Wood, to give Perquimans a 71-55 lead with 2:23 to play.
The Pirates trailed in the third quarter, but the half-court trap defense forced four straight Edenton turnovers. The Aces went up 39-34 on a jumper by Cleve Jordon with 6:49 to play in the third. Welch sank a long three-pointer to cut the Edenton lead to 39-37. Then the Pirates scored off of three straight turnovers to take the lead and never trailed again.
``We were actually prepared for the trapping defense, but we didn't handle it well,'' said Edenton head coach Robert Woodley. ``They were playing it very aggressive and took our passing lanes away. We got a little slow-footed, and the passing lanes became long and sluggish, and we turned it over.''
The key to the Perquimans half-court trap was the three backcourt players. Warren took the ball handler, and Welch and Odell White clogged up the wings. The three were picking up steals all night.
Perquimans easily played its best game of the season. Until that night, Overton said, the Pirates have not been able to get into a rhythm.
``The first five games we'd try this and we'd try that,'' Overton said. ``We put this type of game back into our plan. I think our defense wore them down. We used three different defenses. That was really deceptive, because two of them look the same.''
Overton said the Pirates had been using the half-court trap sparingly until Friday night.
``It's a defense that you have to be aggressive to play,'' he said. ``If you're not, you can get burned.'' by CNB