Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 9, 1991 TAG: 9102090375
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B/1 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
Maher's layup with 17 seconds left lifted the Indians to a 66-65 New River District high school basketball victory. It also clinched a least a tie of the boys' district title for Blacksburg (13-4 overall, 4-0 in the district).
Just 19 seconds earlier, Maher fought his way inside to rebound Chad Phillips' missed free throw. Phillips had hit the first free throw of the two-shot foul, giving Radford (7-11, 1-3) a short-lived 65-64 lead.
"My guy went out to double-team the ball," said Maher, a 6-foot-6 junior. "And then Darren Morton did a real good job getting the ball to me."
Blacksburg had tried to go to Maher previously in the final minutes, but he did not succeed until the last basket.
"Three or four times we tried to get the ball inside," said Blacksburg coach Bob Trear. "We wanted to get the ball to Jon, let him turn and try to score. That was it."
After re-taking the lead, Blacksburg turned its attention to preserving it. Radford called timeout with 10 seconds left, but the Indians already knew their mission.
"We had to guard No. 42 - Chad Phillips," said Thompson Lester, who had 18 points and made several key defensive plays for Blacksburg. "We figured he would be the one to take the shot. We had to put pressure on him."
Phillips did take the final shot for Radford. But all the Blacksburg defense allowed him was an off-balanced hook shot that bounced off the rim with about two seconds to go. The missed shot fell into the arms of Blacksburg reserve Walter Smith and time expired.
"We were happy with what we got," Radford coach Buddy Martin of the last shot said. "We wanted to have the person dribbling take the shot [from the outside]. But Blacksburg did a good job playing defense."
Maher's heroics were necessary because the Bobcats refused to quit. They trailed by nine points after three periods, by 13 points midway through the third quarter and by 17 in the first half.
"The last five or six games we've had dead spots," said Radford coach Martin. "When you get yourself in a hole like that, no matter what you do, it's difficult to get back into the game."
But Radford kept things close. The Bobcats opened the final period with an 8-2 run, pulling to 56-53, as Brian Canaday scored five points and Phillips added three.
The Bobcats kept whittling the Blacksburg lead and pulled even at 58 on a jump shot by Willie Delaney with 5:19 to go.
"We started playing passively in the second half," said Lester. "We didn't have the intensity up. We weren't as hungry as we were in the first quarter [after which Blacksburg held a 19-9 lead]."
The Indians moved back out in front by two points twice over the next four minutes, but Radford re-tied the score on each occasion.
Finally, Delaney's driving layup put the Bobcats in front for the first time - 64-62 with 1:01 remaining.
Two free throws by Blacksburg's Smith tied the score at 64 with 48 seconds to go.
Phillips wasted little time, driving the lane in an effort to put Radford back in front. Maher tried to stop the play but fouled Phillips. With 36 seconds remaining, Phillips made his first free throw, giving Radford a 65-64 lead. But he missed the second, setting the stage for Maher.
Phillips' missed free throw in the final minute was the 15th miss in 26 free-throw attempts for Radford.
Canaday led Radford with 23 points. Phillips added 15 despite missing four minutes of the first quarter with a sprained right ankle.
BLACKSBURG (66)
McCoy 1 0-0 2, Maher 11 1-2 23, Lester 8 0-1 18, Warren 3 1-1 8, C. Smith 1 0-1 2, W. Smith 4 3-4 11, Bishop 0 0-0 0, Kohler 0 0-0 0, Morton 0 2-3 2. Totals 28 7-12 66.
RADFORD (65)
Lineburg 1 0-1 2, Delaney 5 1-3 11, Canaday 8 4-4 23, Krupey 2 0-1 4, Gravley 2 1-6 5, Phillips 5 4-6 15, Pierson 2 1-3 5, Saunders 0 0-2 0. Totals 25 11-26 65. Blacksburg 19201512-66 Radford 9211520-65 Three-point goals: Lester 2, Warren, Canaday 3, Phillips. Fouled out: C. Smith. Team fouls: Blacksburg 19, Radford 16. JV: 59-55, Blacksburg.
by CNB