The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, January 14, 1996               TAG: 9601110176
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST           PAGE: 18   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER, CORRESPONDENT 
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY                     LENGTH: Medium:   70 lines

MANTEO COMES ON STRONG, DUMPS NORTHEASTERN 65-60 THE REDSKINS' PERFORMANCE IN THE CLOSING THREE MINUTES OF THE GAME HELPS THE TEAM DELIVER A VICTORY.

Teams that play well in the last three minutes of basketball games usually prove to be winners.

Last weekend, the Manteo Redskins proved why they are the premier boys basketball team in the Albemarle area.

The Reskins used a strong inside game and a clutch performance in the final three minutes to dump Northeastern 65-60.

Remember the names Chris Sillis and Jason Summerton. Chances are you will hear a lot about them in 1996.

Sillis, the center, and Summerton, a power forward, both scored 15 points to lead the Redskins.

Both players were dominant on the inside over a smaller Northeastern squad.

The game was close throughout and neither team held more than a five-point lead.

With 3:19 to play, Northeastern's Shamon Green made a layup to cut the Manteo lead to 58-56.

After a Northeastern timeout, Summerton grabbed a rebound and put back a layup at 2:54 to give Manteo a four-point lead. On the other end, Green missed a jumper, but Northeastern regained possession on Manteo's lost ball and Roronzee Hinton came up with a big jumper at 2:36 to put the Eagles behind by two at 60-58.

Both teams missed scoring opportunities on their next possessions. Danny Davis misfired on a jumper with 2:05 to play and Eric White also missed a jump shot for Northeastern with 1:51 to play.

With 1:43 to play, Summerton drove strong through the lane and missed a layup but was fouled by White.

Summerton sank one free throw to put Manteo up 61-58.

The Eagles did not give up. On their next possession, Steve Christian threaded the needle to Hinton for a layup with 1:24 to play and the Eagles trailed by just one point.

Manteo then slowed down to a half-court game for the key possession of the contest. Working the ball around for nearly a minute, Davis hit Sillis under the basket for a layup with 35 seconds to play to put Manteo up 63-60.

The Eagles called timeout with 28 seconds to play. On the return, Hinton missed a jumper and the ball went out of bounds to Manteo.

With 21 seconds to play, Hinton fouled L.C. Thrash who sank one free throw. Thrash missed the second attempt but Manteo regained possession and Summerton was fouled by Christian. With seven seconds to play, Summerton hit the final free throw for Manteo.

Being able to adjust to different situations is also the key of a winning team. Manteo changed its usual game plan when Northeastern threw a ``box and one'' defense at it. Manteo head coach Bud Hendrix said that Northeastern was keying on point guard Darius Collins, Manteo's leading scorer, with the box and one. In the middle of the game, he moved Collins to number two guard and brought in Ashley O'Neal to run the point.

``I've been boxed a few times this year,'' Collins said, ``so I've been playing number two (guard) a little this year. I'm just trying to get the ball to someone else to score.''

Another important factor of a winning program is depth. Manteo has it this year. Hendrix praised his second team, particularly O'Neal and Ian Lassiter, for allowing the starters to rest.

``Our second team has a lot of role players,'' he said. ``Lassiter had some big shots.'' by CNB