Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 1, 1992 TAG: 9202010234
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: HILLSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
BLACKSBURG VICTORIOUS IN 2OT
After being held in check most of the game, Darren Morton found his opening and took it.The Blacksburg senior guard drove toward the basket in the closing seconds of the second overtime Friday night. And as the buzzer sounded, his layup was swooshing through the hoop to give the Indians a 46-44 New River District victory over Carroll County.
The victory allows Blacksburg (10-4 overall, 3-0 in the NRD) to remain alone in first place halfway though the district season. It holds a two-game lead with three games left.
After the loss, Carroll County (1-2, 10-6) finds itself tied for second place with the other two teams in the New River - Radford and Christiansburg.
With the score tied at 44, Blacksburg called a timeout with 10 seconds left in the second overtime to set up its last shot.
"We had two posts on the box and two guards on the wings," said Morton. "Usually I just drive and then I either dish it off or take a shot. But Kevin [Schug] set a pick - it was a real nice pick. They had to respect Jon [Maher] inside. So it left it wide open."
The Cavaliers had been trying to set up for the final shot but Matt Smith came up with a steal with about half a minute to go to give Blacksburg its final opportunity.
Morton had a chance to win the game at the end of the first overtime, but his 3-pointer from the top of the key bounced away with one second left.
"We felt we could play defense against them all night," said Carroll County coach Pat Sharp. "Morton hadn't been getting the penetration. But he got the penetration against us that time."
Carroll County led by 18 points at the end of the first quarter. But Blacksburg responded by going on a 33-6 run, starting with 5:35 left in the second quarter and lasting 5 1/2 minutes into the second half.
"We've done that before," said Blacksburg coach Bob Trear about his team's tendency to fall behind early. "There was no use in getting upset. They [the players] weren't getting upset. And that's what you have to be on the lookout for."
Trear's patience paid off and the Indians closed to 23-22 by halftime. Smith came off the bench and keyed the rally with 10 second-quarter points.
"When I get in there with Darren, it's just fireworks," said Smith, who finished with a game-high 19 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. "I can't hold my emotions back. . . . All you need to do to get back into the game is hit some 3-pointers. I hit a couple and we were back in the game. We've got so many people on this team who can hit 3-pointers that I feel like we're never out of a game."
Slowly after Blacksburg built its large lead, the Cavaliers closed the gap. Over the final two minutes, they scored six unanswered points while Blacksburg twice missed the front end of one-and-one free-throw chances.
Finally, Kris Richardson tied the score at 42 with one second left in regulation when he hit the second free throw of a two-shot foul. He was fouled by Maher while attempting a 14-foot jumper from the left wing.
"The kids showed a lot of character coming back," said Sharp. "And Kris Richardson showed a lot coming back and making that second free throw to send it into overtime after missing the first one badly."
Jason Stockner led Carroll County with 19 points. He had seven in the first quarter surge as well as the Cavaliers only points in overtime.
Each team played without a double-digit scorer and part-time starter. Chris Smith of Blacksburg did not dress because he had missed practice this week while awaiting the outcome of his exams. He has missed several games but is scheduled to be in uniform tonight against Salem. The Cavaliers' Ben Sumner was ill with the flu. \
see microfilm for box score