Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 9, 1991 TAG: 9102090412
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN WEBSTER SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The junior guard, Timesland's fourth-leading scorer at about 21 points per game, made nine field goals, including three 3-pointers, and was 16-of-18 from the free-throw line.
"Our team made a commitment about a week ago that we were going to win our next four games and tonight was the fourth game," Fayed said of the Knights (10-7 overall, 3-2 district).
Pulaski County (8-10, 1-4) led 39-24 late in the second quarter when Fayed single-handedly got the Knights back into contention by scoring nine unanswered points. Pulaski led 46-37 at halftime after Chris Burns' 3-pointer barely beat the buzzer.
Cave Spring stormed back to lead 65-64 at the end of three quarters, but Pulaski opened a six-point lead before the Knights closed to 75-73 and Fayed was fouled with 22 seconds left. He made both ends of a one-and-one to tie the score and, after a missed Pulaski shot, Fayed was shoved under the basket.
Only five seconds remained when he added two free throws to put the Knights up 77-75. Fayed was then whistled for a foul when he tried to stop Pulaski's Kevin Alexander from driving to the basket with two seconds left. Alexander, who finished with 22 points, including 17-of-20 from the free-throw line, sent the game into OT by making two free throws.
Cave Spring took command quickly in the overtime when Fayed made a pair of medium-range jumpers and later dished a pass to Jeremy Blackstock for a driving layup, but the Cougars battled back to 84-81 and had the ball with 40 seconds left. They missed a 3-point attempt and John Rosato came up with a big rebound for the Knights. Going up in a crowd to get the ball, he was fouled on the way down. He made both free throws with 30 seconds left to ice the Knights' victory.
"In the overtime, we tried everything that we had worked on in practice," Cave Spring coach Joe Davis said. "We went to the four-corners; we went to a stall. You name it, we tried everything. But when a guy puts them in the hole like Mike [Fayed], it's much easier to just give him the ball."
Jeremy Blackstock added 15 points for Cave Spring despite sitting out most of the first half after picking up three quick fouls. He left again two minutes into the third quarter after getting his fourth foul and did not return until the final six minutes.
"He [Blackstock] is definitely a key to our team," Davis said. "You noticed that every time he came to the bench, Pulaski would pull away from us. But the ball came our way. We lost two close games this year by not getting a rebound near the end of a game; but, tonight, John [Rosato] got the big one for us."
PULASKI COUNTY (83)
Alexander 2 17-20 22, Burns 5 4-6 15, Foster 2 2-4 6, Burchett 6 1-2 17, Beverly 9 1-2 19 Lewis 1 2-3 4. Totals 25 27-37 83.
CAVE SPRING (88)
Shuck 2 0-0 5, Rosato 5 2-2 12, Blackstock 7 1-4 15, Fayed 11 16-18 41, Webb 1 3-5 5, Doughty 1 0-0 2, Whitt 1 0-0 2, Webster 0 2-2 2, Matheny 0 4-4 4. Totals 28 28-35 88. Pulaski County 163018136-83 Cave Spring 1324281211-88 Three-point goals: Burchett 4, Burns, Alexander, Fayed 3, Shuck. JV: 77-60, Pulaski County.
by CNB