THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 22, 1995 TAG: 9512220551
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Tallwood coach Johnny Pope found himself in two contests Thursday night, one with Cox and one with the officials.
The third-ranked Lions used some deadly free throw shooting in the fourth quarter to pull away from the No. 5 Falcons 65-51 and move into a first-place tie with Green Run in the Beach District.
But that wasn't enough to appease Pope, whose agitation with the officials left him in no mood to celebrate.
``You saw it. Write what you saw,'' he said, dismissing further comment with a flick of his wrist.
Tallwood (4-1, 3-0) played fabulously in stretches, especially the first 13 minutes when it bolted to a 27-10 lead.
But the Lions made only one of their next 10 shots as Cox slowly climbed back in it. The Falcons, who switched from a zone to man-to-man defense late in the first quarter, crept to within 34-30 on a baseline drive by Ben Green with 4:41 left in the third quarter.
Then Tallwood took off again. Neil Roberts, who scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed seven rebounds, fueled a 14-6 run with seven points that pushed the lead back to 48-36.
Then it was Cox's turn again. The Falcons ran off eight straight points, capped by Green's 3-pointer from the right corner to make it 50-47 with 3:05 to play. A missed free throw by Tallwood's Rian Everett returned the ball to Cox with a chance to tie, but Carl Lentz missed a 3-pointer.
``That was a good shot by Carl,'' Cox coach Kenny Edwards said. ``It just didn't go down.''
Tallwood responded with a a 13-2 run, scoring but all but two points at the line. Everett was 4 for 4, Roberts 4 for 5 and Phil Clay 3 for 4.
Tallwood improved to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the district. The Lions shot only 37 percent from the field, but attempted 19 more shots than Cox and forced 28 turnovers.
Cox slipped to 3-1 in the district and is tied with Salem and Ocean Lakes for third. The Falcons played without center Jason Donahoe, whose ejection against First Colonial in the Falcons' previous game drew an automatic one-game suspension, and lost Lentz on fouls trailing 53-47 with 1:46 left.
``We lost a little leadership at the point when Carl fouled out,'' said Green, who led Cox with 22 points. ``But our big problem was we didn't come out strong enough. We're not going to get down over this.''
Edwards spread the same message.
``It's still early and I like our chances as much as anyone's,'' he said. ``These kids showed tonight they won't quit.'' ILLUSTRATION: CHRISTOPHER REDDICK /The Virginian-Pilot
Phillip Clay of Tallwood, left, tries to protect the ball from Cox's
Carl Lentz. Tallwood won to move into a first-place tie with Green
Run in the Beach District.
by CNB