Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 18, 1992 TAG: 9201180307
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bob Teitlebaum SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
VIKINGS HARASS SPARTANS 77-53
Northside's defending champions showed Salem that it's not quite ready to play with the contenders for the Blue Ridge District boys' basketball title.The well-drilled Vikings jumped on Salem early and cruised to a 77-53 victory Friday in the Spartans' gym, a place where Northside teams have struggled in past years.
Four Vikings scored in double figures, but the key statistic was 28 turnovers committed by Salem.
"You won't win many games like that," said Salem coach Len Mosser.
Northside is a team proficient in the art of producing turnovers. The quick Vikings play a helter-skelter defense in which there always seem to be arms and hands harassing and distracting the opposition.
Offensively, the Vikings passed the ball with the precision of a well-practiced juggler. Sometimes it looked as if the passes wouldn't get there, but they always found their mark as the Vikings came up with 13 assists on 30 baskets.
"We played real well offensively," Northside coach Billy Pope said. "We did a nice job all the way through. We'd make the extra pass and find the open man."
The Vikings (10-2 overall, 1-0 in the Blue Ridge) were motivated because two nights earlier they had lost 65-62 at Carroll County. That ended a seven-game winning streak.
Jim Porter led a balanced attack with 16 points and Matt Hill followed with 15. Aaron Burford came off the bench to score 11 points after he had missed the Carroll County game because of illness.
"We were setting screens to open it up [inside] and the guards were looking for us," said Porter, a 6-foot-1 1/2 forward. "It was an inside-outside game. They'd get the ball into us and if we weren't open, we'd kick it back out."
Northside scored four 3-point goals to one for Salem (3-3, 0-1). And though the taller Spartans outrebounded Northside 43-31 - thanks to Nathan Routt with 10 rebounds and Josh Pugh with nine - that statistic was offset by Salem committing 18 more turnovers.
Northside opened a 22-8 lead in the first quarter, but the Spartans rattled off 12 consecutive points with Routt scoring seven of them. By the half, the Vikings were ahead by 11 and they maintained their lead in the third quarter before pulling away in the final period.
Routt, who had 11 points at the half, got only one shot at the basket after intermission. Mark Byington, Salem's usual high scorer, was shut out the first half and came back with 13 points in the second.
"Matt Hill," said Pope in response to who stopped Byington. "He does a good job and he had some good help."
Northside hit 30-of-66 shots after getting off to a cold start. On the other side, Salem made only 19-of-52.
"They just jumped on us early and found that cushion," said Mosser. "They got to all the loose balls and penetrated. And we just turned the ball over too many times to be effective." \
see microfilm for box score