Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 16, 1993 TAG: 9301160271
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SALEM DROPS ALLEGHANY
It was shake-and-bake night for Salem's basketball team Friday.First the Spartans couldn't shake Alleghany in the Blue Ridge District game. And it took them until the last minute to bake Alleghany when they opened a lead and held on for an 82-75 victory.
Salem (8-0 overall, 1-0 in the district) would open a lead. Then the Mountaineers (9-1, 0-1) would come back. When Tra Wilson hit three free throws in the final 1:13 for an 80-70 lead, that left Alleghany without time for a rally.
"We never could put them away. We'd make a few baskets, but we worked so hard to score that our defense didn't step up," said Salem coach Charlie Morgan.
It was the first crucial game of the year between unbeatens at a packed house at Salem. Mark Byington led the Salem point parade with 22 and five assists while Todd Wheatley, when he wasn't in foul trouble, scored a game-high 23 points for Alleghany.
It was Wheatley who kept the Mountaineers close. He scored 10 points in the third quarter when leading scorer Mike Hunter was on the bench with four personal fouls.
"We were going to him," said Alleghany coach Jimmy Smith. "They had Byington on him and we felt his height would work to our advantage."
There was more to Wheatley's game than baskets. The 6-foot-4 junior had four steals and two blocked shots on defense.
"They were playing me with guards much of the night. I think we would have had a chance to win if I had played better in the first half," Wheatley said.
Byington didn't have a good shooting night, but down the stretch he drove for the basket or made the right pass as he came up with a lot of big plays. The junior guard had five assists, two blocked shots and a steal.
"I was guarding Hunter and when he went out of the game, I sort of got Todd. I knew they would always make a run. I kept telling everybody if we stop their run, we'll be all right," Byington said.
Though Wilson and 6-4 Josh Pugh didn't start, they were keys to the game. Wilson fired in a pair of third-quarter 3-point goals when the Spartans were warding off a withering Alleghany rally as the Mountaineers hit 13-of-21 from the field in the eight-minute stretch.
Pugh had 14 points, including six in the third quarter, and a couple of excellent passes for assists.
"I think tonight we showed we had enough maturity this year that gives us what it take to beat a team like that," Pugh said.
Salem took the lead for good when Byington slipped in for a layup with 1:08 left in the opening quarter to make it 18-16. That started a 13-2 Spartan run, but just before intermission, Alleghany closed to within five points after Jermaine Winston hit a short jumper.
The Spartans built to a 43-28 lead early in the third quarter and Hunter picked up his fourth personal. That's when Wheatley took over.
"I'm proud because this team could have rolled over there," Smith said. "We were against the No. 1 team in Timesland playing in front of a packed house."
The Mountaineers never got closer than four. That came as Wheatley's tip-in early in the fourth quarter made it 63-59. Salem went on an 8-2 run, though, with Byington getting a pair of baskets.
"That didn't surprise me. I felt coming into the game, he'd make those kind of plays," Smith said.
The Salem guard made only 9-of-19 shots and one of seven 3-point attempts. However, he and Hunter started out guarding each other with Byington getting the Alleghany guard into foul trouble.
Salem made 35-of-63 from the floor and held a 42-33 edge on the boards as Nathan Routt had eight rebounds. Alleghany made 33-of-72 from the field and was led by Shawn Burks on the boards with 10 rebounds. \
see microfilm for box score