Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 9, 1991 TAG: 9102090472
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ray Cox/Sportswriter
DATELINE: BUCHANAN LENGTH: Medium
Again.
The Knights, whom nobody figured would amount to much this year after a state Group A runner-up campaign in 1989-90, won their ninth-straight game by beating the feisty guests from Glenvar 55-48 Friday night.
James River is neither as big nor as bad as it once was, but at 12-3 in the league and 12-5 overall it is still very much a factor in the title chase.
"This team has amazed me all year long," said James River coach John Shotwell, who has won 398 games with the Knights since 1961. "They've continued to do things that I never thought they could do before the season started."
Against the Highlanders (10-6 overall, 10-5 in the district), the Knights put together what has been for them a typical game.
The shooting lacked artistic merit, but it did seem to get better when it most counted. The Knights were a chilly 33.7 percent from the floor (18-of-53) but did manage to sink six of their last nine field-goal attempts. What James River did do nicely was handle the ball (10 turnovers) and shoot free throws (17-of-23). They also battled Glenvar to a virtual standstill, 39-38, on rebounding.
Those efforts have landed James River in a first-place tie with Covington in the district. The Cougars were upset 66-58 by Parry McCluer on Friday night.
"A lot of people were still talking about last year's team before the season started," James River junior Ryan Shotwell said. "They were acting like we weren't going to do anything at all. I thought we were going to be pretty good. I thought we could win the district."
Nobody doubts James River's possibilities now, especially after the versatility it showed Glenvar. Highlanders coach Art Lawrence, whose team had been incinerated by a combined 46 points from Knights Derek Jones and Melvin Christian in a 63-58 loss to James River earlier this year, vowed not to be so victimized again.
Thus, the Highlanders used a sort of hybrid combination of a man-to-man and zone defense to shut down that pair. Lawrence's scheme was highly successful. Jones, who had 27 points previously, had but two and did not score a field goal. Christian was continuously frustrated and ended with eight points.
Far from being thwarted, the Knights looked elsewhere. Those they found included Shotwell, whose father, the coach, said he had a "career game" with 18 points, and the trio of Clint Barlow, Greg Wilhelm, and Chad Caldwell, who teamed for 25 points.
"Before the game, Dad told us they'd be playing our big scorers [Christian and Jones] with something special," Ryan Shotwell said. "I knew I was going to have to put it in the hole if I was open."
Barlow went 7-for-9 from the free-throw line, including six-straight in the span of 52 seconds as the Knights were erasing an 11-point deficit at the end of the third quarter. Shotwell hit a jumper from the lane with one second left in the quarter to cap an 8-0 run that made it 41-38.
It was a bitterly disappointing loss for Glenvar, which missed nine of its last 11 shots and committed six of its 16 turnovers in the fourth quarter.
"We weren't patient with staying in our offense," Glenvar coach Art Lawrence said. "We knew what we had to do to protect the lead and attack the basket. . . . We got panicky. We had defensive breakdowns."
Perhaps the biggest of those was a three-point play by Barlow with 22 seconds left. With Glenvar trailing 50-48, the Highlanders' press yielded a long Jones inbounds pass to a wide-open Barlow, who promptly laid it in while being fouled by Frank Thomas.
Thomas had his moments, going 10-for-13 on free throws en route to a game-high 22 points. Forward Scott Wagstaff added 15 for Glenvar.
Lawrence said that wasn't the whole story, though.
"We kept getting the ball down where we wanted it," he said, "we just couldn't convert offensively."
GLENVAR (48)
Spinner 1 0-0 2, Willis 1 0-0 3, Ashworth 1 0-0 2, Wagstaff 5 4-7 15, Highberger 1 2-2 4, Thomas 6 10-13 22. Totals: 15 16-22 48.
JAMES RIVER (55)
Christian 4 0-1 8, Barlow 1 7-9 9, Jones 0 2-2 2, Rodgers 1 0-0 2, Shotwell 6 5-7 18, Wilhelm 3 3-4 9, Caldwell 3 0-0 7. Totals: 18 17-23 55. Glenvar 149817-48 James River 8141617-55 Three point goals: Glenvar, Willis, Wagstaff; James River, Shotwell, Caldwell. Total fouls: Glenvar 17, James River 16. Fouled out: Wagstaff.
JV score: 51-39, James River.
by CNB