ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150087
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
NORTHUMBERLAND strolls past the Highlanders in a Group A semifinal.
It didn't take Glenvar long to find out it had big trouble in the Group A basketball tournament.
After Cory Willis opened with a 3-point shot for the Highlanders, Northumberland (23-3) scored the next seven points and never surrendered the lead on the way to a 71-58 semifinal victory Thursday at Liberty University.
``They looked inside a lot, trying to find the easy basket,'' said Northumberland's Marcel Jones, who had 21 points and combined with teammate Troy Taylor, who had 23, to test Glenvar's defense. ``They got it a couple of times, but then we shut it down.''
Not exactly. The first-half shot chart had Glenvar players missing 13 shots that were within a few feet and eight layups. Because of that, the Highlanders (20-7) were down 13 at the half.
``The execution of the offense was good,'' said Glenvar coach Art Lawrence. ``We can't get many better shots.''
In the second half, Glenvar threw an assortment of presses at the Indians. The Highlanders crept within six points midway through the third quarter when Josh Williamson, who led the Highlanders with 19 points, hit a layup to make it 39-33.
``At that point, I thought we had them where we wanted them. I saw a little fatigue setting in, and if we could shut them down, that would have been important,'' said Lawrence.
Northumberland took time, inserted 6-foot-5 reserve Dennis Webb for the first time. He got a quick basket inside as Glenvar hadn't expected the Indians to go to a new player.
``I didn't have a set play. We weren't looking for him, but he worked to get free,'' said Northumberland coach Jimmie Jett.
That thwarted the Highlanders for the moment.
Starting the final period, Willis' layup made it 43-39. That was as close as Glenvar got, though. The Highlanders started making turnovers and missing free throws as the Indians began to pull away.
``I told the kids that if they worked hard and got on the boards, we'd win. The kids did that,'' said Northumberland coach Jimmie Jett.
Northumberland was able to stave off any comebacks by dominating the boards 45-39. Twice the Indians missed free throws in the final period, rebounded and got a basket.
``They kept the lead, and they could dictate the game, sit back in the zone. We wanted to get them out of that,'' said Lawrence.
Willis and James Williams combined for 21 points, about seven fewer than they have scored each game. Williams had nine rebounds, but at the half Williamson, the point guard, was the leading rebounder for the Highlanders He wound up with just one less than Williams.
For Williams, it was a case of battling the flu in his last game for the Highlanders.
``I've been sick for about two days and had a temperature of 101,'' said Williams. ``I couldn't get my breath. I kept feeling like I was out of shape.''
Glenvar came into this game as the team to beat after finishing as the state runner-up a year ago.
``We weren't really nervous,'' said Willis. ``We were just rushing our shots instead of taking our time like we usually do.
``We played real up tempo instead of our games and then we missed a lot of easy shots.''
Lawrence said being the favorite might have been expecting too much for a team that lost three starters despite having several veterans back.
``I could sense a little pressure on our kids,'' Lawrence said. ``Maybe people expected too much. They expected them to win the state, and you don't ever know what was said to the kids. Maybe on a different night, we could have won and gotten to the finals.''
NORTHUMBERLAND(71)
A.Taylor 0-1 0-0 0, Booth 2-3 6-11 11, Gordon 2-7 3-5 7, Jones 8-15 3-5 21, Diggs 1-3 2-2 4, T.Taylor 10-18 3-6 23, Redmond 1-1 1-4 3, Webb 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-49 18-33 71.
GLENVAR(58)
Evans 3-13 1-2 9, Kawa 0-1 0-0 0, East 4-12 0-0 8, Williamson 7-15 4-4 19, Henderson 0-1 1-2 1, Willis 5-14 0-2 11, Twine 0-2 0-0 0, Williams 5-13 0-2 10, Taylor 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-72 6-13 58.
Northumberland||17-14-12-28---71
Glenvar||10--8-19-21---58
Three-point goals-Northumberland 3-9 (Taylor 0-2, Booth 1-2, Gordon 0-1, Jones 2-4), Glenvar 4-15 (Evans 2-9, Kawa 0-1, East 0-2, Williamson 1-1, Willis 1-2). Rebounds-Northumberland 45 (Taylor 14), Glenvar 39 (Williams 9). Assists-Northumberland 15 (Booth 7), Glenvar 15 (Willis 6). Team fouls-Northumberland 13, Glenvar 24. Fouled out-East, Willis.
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY/Staff. Glenvar's Cory Willis (34) shootsby CNBabove Northumberland's Troy Taylor (43). color.