THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 10, 1996 TAG: 9603100179
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PENN LAIRD, VA. LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
Damon Tillery and John Ricks combined for 48 points as Lakeland High School rallied past Fort Defiance 74-72 in the Group AA state basketball quarterfinals Saturday at Spotswood High School.
The Cavaliers (18-9), in the state tournament for the first time since the school opened in 1990, will play Northside in the state semifinals Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the Vines Center at Liberty University in Lynchburg.
Northside ousted Virginia, 68-39, Saturday in another quarterfinal.
The 6-foot-4 Tillery, who finished with 20 points, and 6-7 Ricks, who had a game-high 28, teamed up for 12 points in the third quarter as the Cavaliers chipped away at a 7-point halftime deficit.
A Tillery jumper with 7:20 remaining in the game gave Lakeland its first lead since the first quarter, 53-52.
A pair of Nathan Hale free throws briefly put Fort Defiance back in front, but a Ricks jumper followed by a Ricks steal and a feed to Tillery for a 3-point play put Lakeland ahead to stay.
The Lakeland lead was 9 with 1:13 left, but a late Indians rally combined with some shaky Cavaliers free-throw shooting made Lakeland sweat out the final seconds.
Fort Defiance's Mike Allen hit a 45-footer with 10 seconds left to cut the deficit to two. Tillery calmly drained a pair of free throws at the other end, but Warrenton Wilson fouled a 3-point shooting Allen with one second left.
Allen made two, then missed the third intentionally, before joining in a futile attempt to corral the rebound as time expired.
Hale led Fort Defiance (23-4) with 23 points and Allen added 22.
Lakeland coach John Fuller credited Tillery and Ricks with carrying the Cavaliers into the semifinals.
``Ricks has been tremendous in the playoffs and Damon's been strong all season,'' Fuller said. by CNB