Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 3, 1995 TAG: 9503030135
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
While Hall went into the sunset as the winningest public school basketball coach in Virginia history, the Minutemen enjoyed their finest hour with an 87-60 victory in a Region III semifinal Thursday night at the Salem Civic Center.
It was apparent early that Hall, who is retiring, would see his career end with 610 victories and 177 losses. Liberty goes to the Group AA tournament next week and plays Northside for the Region III title Saturday at Roanoke College's Bast Center.
``The man is a legend,'' Liberty coach Mark Hanks said of Hall. ``I grew up in this area. I have the utmost respect for him.
``I didn't say anything to the kids [about Hall]. I had to block it out of my mind. But we weren't going to back down.''
Hall's team fell much the same way his great Bulldogs squads dominated the state in the 1980s.
``It's sad, but it's true,'' Hall said. ``I can't ever remember being down 24 points at the end of the third quarter. We couldn't get the ball to our point guard [Jeremy Wells] to get it back to Michael Martin. We were out of sync.''
Martin led Timesland in scoring during the regular season, averaging nearly 25 points per game, and Wells averaged 8.6 assists to lead area players. Against Liberty (21-3), Wells had three assists and Martin had 15 points.
Liberty's fast break was the key to its defense. The Minutemen put players on the floor in waves and the tempo took a toll on Martinsville (18-6)
``We wanted to push it, push it, push it,'' Hanks said with emphasis. ``We wanted to take Michael Martin's legs away from him. He's a great one-on-one player and we had no one to guard him.''
Liberty trotted out a pair of guards who were pretty good in their own right. Gregg Reynolds, who had been in a shooting slump, led the Minutemen with 19 points - 4-of-6 from 3-point range - and six assists. J.J. Coles added 14 points.
``My confidence has been a little down, but my coaches tell me to keep shooting,'' said Reynolds, who was Timesland's Sizzlin' Sophomore of the Year last season.
``I don't think we could be any quicker than we were tonight. We knew they only play six or seven people, and our game plan was to run their legs out.''
Liberty never trailed as Coles opened the game by nailing a jumper. When the Minutemen's guards weren't hitting, 6-foot-4 Stephen Shrader was dominating inside with 17 points. Timesland's leading shooter (77 percent) during the regular season, Shrader was 7-of-8. The one shot he missed was a wide-open layup.
Mike Padgett led a bench for Liberty that supplied some more punch. The senior scored 13 points and the bench contributed 37 points.
Liberty hit 35 of 58 shots from the field and dominated the rebounding 41-29 as Coles led with seven.
Martin never could dominate the way he did as the Piedmont District's player of the year.
``I feel sorry for our kids,'' Hall said. ``They worked hard and we accomplished our goal for the season - to win the Piedmont District [regular-season title]. I do hate to go out this way, but that's high school basketball.''
Meanwhile, Liberty becomes the first Seminole District team to make the state tournament since 1987, when Brookville earned a berth.
``We're playing well and we're playing with our most confidence,'' Hanks said. ``We don't have any real special players, but we have guys who believe in one another. That's not to say we don't have good players, because I'll put our backcourt pair with any other and that guy inside [Shrader] ...''
Hall probably would agree.
by CNB