Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 6, 1991 TAG: 9103060166
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: RAY COX SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BASSETT LENGTH: Medium
"They were saying,`Hey sophomore, hey sophomore. These are some pretty big free throws,' " said Johnson, a 6-foot-3 wing player. "It made me want to make the free throws, but I didn't want to show them up or anything."
"Yes you did," an onlooker said.
Johnson shut them up by drilling the first shot of a bonus free throw with one second left to propel the Colonels to a 58-57 victory over the Mountaineers in the first game of the Group AA Region III tournament at Bassett High Tuesday night.
The Colonels (19-5), the surprise victors in the Seminole District tournament and the winners of four-straight games, face Piedmont District champion Laurel Park, the state's top-ranked team, in the semifinals 7:30 p.m. on the same court on Thursday.
"Hey, we lost eight seniors and only had nine points coming back to start the year," Altavista coach Stu Richardson said. "We probably shouldn't be here."
Nor should they probably have won this game. Alleghany blew a 13-point third quarter lead then fell into a black hole offensively. The Mountaineers (14-9) made one field goal in the last 8:45 and were outscored 17-7 in the final quarter.
"We missed some shots, turned it over a little bit, and lost our poise," Alleghany coach Jimmy Smith said. "When they're making a run at you, you have to have somebody step up and want the ball. You have to be able to meet that run and we weren't able to do it."
Nevertheless, the Mountaineers almost rose from oblivion to force an overtime. After being pushed around all over the place in the fourth quarter, Alleghany somehow managed to stay in the game to the end. When the Colonels' David Johnson and Matt Jordan missed the front ends of one-and-ones at 1:18 and with 23 seconds left, that left Alleghany just enough of an opening.
With his team trailing 57-55, Alleghany's Darren Wheatley barged into the lane to sink a 12-footer with six seconds left, giving him 10 points and knotting the score at 57.
But then as Altavista hustled the ball up the court, Wheatley bumped Mark Johnson near midcourt going for the basketball.
"They had to call that," Smith said. "There was too much contact. It was a good call, but it should never have come down to that."
Johnson missed the second free throw and was 3-for-5 from the stripe for the evening. He finished with 17 points.
"He's one of the best sophomores around," Richardson said. "He's carried us in some games. He's also shot us out of some games."
Johnson had four of the team's five 3-pointers. But it was that free throw that made the difference. Johnson had to sink it despite some rowdy noise-making by the Mountaineers' fans and the chatting of their players.
"I was nervous," he said. "I knew from my release that my follow-through wasn't going to be right. When I made it, it dawned on me that that was a pretty big free throw."
Richardson said the difference in the game was that Altavista managed to force a second-half tempo that suited it better.
"We picked up the pace a little bit and it got [Alleghany] running up and down the court and making a few more mistakes than they wanted to," he said. "We can't get in a half-court game with a team that has that kind of size."
Altavista plays what is essentially a four-guard offense. Alleghany has a team that revolves around 6-foot-7 pivot man Jason Buzzard, who had 10 points and 12 rebounds, and 6-3 freshman forward Todd Wheatley. The younger Wheatley scored 14 points to go with eight rebounds as the Mountaineers outrebounded the Colonels 45-38.
Michael Hunter added 17 points for the losers.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB