ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601220118
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
THE VIKINGS CONTROL the tempo but not the game in a 51-22 loss to Petersburg at the Crestar Classic in Salem.
Billy Pope might have figured he was choosing an unpopular strategy when he ordered his Northside team to hold the basketball Saturday night against Petersburg.
Pope's interest was in winning a game, not in entertaining the masses.
As it turned out, the first objective was not achieved. As for the entertainment value, in polite terms, that depends on individual taste.
Petersburg put progressively more distance between it and the deliberate Vikings as the game wore on in winning the finale of the four-game Crestar Classic 51-22 at the Salem Civic Center.
Northside (6-5) didn't reach double figures on the scoreboard until Justin Porterfield's layup with 1: 39 left in the third quarter. Perhaps unbelievably, the Vikings still were in the game at that point, trailing 21-11. But then Petersburg's Don Brooks hit a pair of 3-point shots in the last 1:23, including one just north of midcourt seconds before the quarter break to make it 28-11. Brooks had four of his team's seven 3-pointers
The Crimson Wave basically ran off and hid after that, outscoring Northside 23-11 in the last eight minutes. Petersburg improved its record to 7-6 and gave its coach, Bill Lawson, his 553rd victory in 20 years of coaching.
As you might expect, he's seen similar tactics to the ones Northside employed. As a matter of fact, he saw them in a loss to Prince George earlier this season.
``Northside must have gotten a scouting report from them,'' Lawson said.
This, Pope denied.
``We do a variation of what we did tonight for every game,'' he said. ``We wanted to control the tempo and we did that. But if you control the tempo, then you must shoot well from the floor and from the free-throw line. We didn't.''
Northside missed 17 of 20 shots on the way to scoring eight first-half points and finished 7-of-40 for the game. Porterfield's seven points led the team. Two other capable scorers, Ben Peete and Spence Peters, were shut out.
Petersburg's bus was three hours late and the team had 15 minutes at its motel before it had to report to the civic center. The players arrived without their supper, which left them rather ill-humored.
Said Lawson: ``So was their coach.''
PETERSBURG (51)
Brooks 5 0-0 14, Lyons 1 0-0 2, Campbell 1 0-0 3, Pope 1 0-0 3, Johnson 3 1-2 7, Bonner 5 3-3 13, Ridley 1 0-0 2, Banks 1 0-0 2, Jefferson 1 0-0 2, Triche 1 0-0 3. Totals 20 4-5 51.
NORTHSIDE (22)
Porterfield 3 0-2 7, Lee 1 2-2 4, Wimmer 1 1-2 3, Gray 2 4-7 8, Peete 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 7-13 22.
Petersburg -7---8--13--23-51
Northside -4---4---3--11-22
Three-point goals: Porterfield, Brooks 4, Campbell, Pope, Triche. Total fouls: Petersburg 14, Northside 7.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 linesby CNB