Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 5, 1994 TAG: 9403050186
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BASSETT LENGTH: Medium
Nathan Hungate didn't bother to ask Martinsville if it knew shorthand. He just started dictating.
With the score tied and about 4 1/2 minutes left in Northside's Region III boys' basketball semifinal Friday night, Hungate issued the following dismissal to the Bulldogs:
Two free throws. A hang-time layup. Two more free throws. A driving layup. A 25-foot assist to Maurice Garrison. A 15-foot assist to Garrison. Two more free throws.
And, with 22 seconds left, a fast-break layup and free throw that put Northside over the top in its 83-73 victory at Bassett High School.
Hungate finished with 28 points, and he scored 13 of his team's last 21 points while assisting on two other baskets.
"I told my teammates I didn't want anything but a layup on the glass," said Hungate, who had four 3-pointers in the first half. "Near the end, it's hard to take chances on the 3s."
Northside (21-4) plays Salem, a team to which it has lost four times this season, at 7:30 p.m. today at Lord Botetourt High School.
Martinsville, which got 33 points from soft-shooting Michael Martin, had a 58-53 lead with 6 minutes, 25 seconds left but couldn't hold it and finished 18-5.
Hungate finished with an appreciation for his offensive counterweight.
"We really didn't know that much about [Martin]," Hungate said, smiling. "During the game, we figured out he's one heck of a player."
He almost carried Martinsville one round further.
"Our kids played with a lot of heart," said Husky Hall, the Bulldogs' coach. "They just had too many guns on the outside for us. And Hungate's such a good player."
Billy Pope, Northside's coach, eagerly - and thankfully - seconded that opinion.
"Anytime you're behind a Martinsville team in the fourth quarter, you've got to have a lot of concern," Pope said. "I don't think we could've played any better down the fourth-quarter stretch."
The Vikings made 10 of their last 11 free throws, including 6-of-7 shooting by Hungate.
There wasn't much difference between the teams through three quarters. Northside led by three at halftime and by one entering the fourth quarter. The Vikings built a 42-34 lead early in the third quarter, but Martinsville outscored Northside 16-7 (Martin had nine) to lead 50-49.
The Vikings' Justin Porterfield lobbed to Sam Barrett for a buzzer-beating layup and a 51-50 lead after three quarters.
Early in the fourth period, Bulldogs freshman Manti Venable tore the ball away from Barrett on the wing, scored on a layup, was fouled and made the free throw to give Martinsville a 56-53 lead. Venable's two free throws with 6:25 left gave the Bulldogs their five-point edge.
Barrett's 3-pointer tied it at 61 with 4:34 to go, and an exchange of free throws left it 62-62.
Hungate then took over. He made two free throws after a drive to make it 64-62. Martin missed two free throws, and Hungate drove the right baseline, jumped, pumped and pushed home a 2-footer with 2:50 left.
Venable scored, but Hungate made two free throws with 2:18 left to make it 68-64.
Venable hit a jumper, but Hungate drove left-handed past Todd Johnson, scored and was fouled. He missed the free throw with 1:54 left.
Martinsville's Carson Shearer scored on a follow shot to make it 70-68 Northside. The Vikings beat Martinsville's press, and Hungate zipped a long pass underneath for a Garrison layup and a 72-68 lead with 1:28 left.
Twenty seconds later, when Hungate found Garrison underneath again, Northside was on its way.
"They've got a good team. We've played them well," Pope said. "These [regional games] were the two games we had to win."
by CNB