Saturday, December 27, 2008
Salem can't stop Amponseh
Gar-Field junior Kwasi Amponseh scores 26 to lead the Indians to a comeback victory.
Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times
William Fleming's Saquan Manning (20) drives to the basket while being pursued by Osbourn's Jerell McFadden (4) during the Holiday Hoopla tournament at the Salem Civic Center on Friday night.
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So what's the big deal about a 16-4 deficit?
To Gar-Field's Kwasi Amponseh, not much.
Amponseh treated Salem's early 12-point lead in the Member One Holiday Hoopla tournament the same way he treated a doctor's misdiagnosis of cancer last winter. He shrugged it off and came out a winner.
Amponseh led Gar-Field's comeback with a game-high 26 points Friday as the Indians stopped Salem 62-55 to earn a spot against Patrick Henry in tonight's semifinals at the Salem Civic Center.
Gar-Field coach Andy Gray -- a William Byrd graduate -- was happy to get the victory. He is happier to have the services of Amponseh, a 6-foot native of Ghana who scored 12 of his points in the fourth quarter.
Amponseh's junior year was cut short after he went home in pain following Gar-Field's next-to-last regular-season game.
"He's got stomach pain and he's got blood in his urine," Gray said. "He goes to the doctor the next day. The doctor doesn't like it and says, 'I want you to go to the urologist tomorrow. You're done for the season.' "
The diagnosis? Cancer.
"I was kind of scared," Amponseh said. "I was mad because I couldn't play."
Fortunately for Amponseh, the diagnosis was incorrect.
Further tests revealed a kidney ailment that required surgery in July.
He didn't pick up a basketball until Oct. 13.
There's no rust now. Amponseh made every key shot down the stretch including a 3-pointer for a 55-49 lead and a an old-fashioned three-point play on an inbounds pass for a 58-51 lead with 1:20 left.
"If he were 6-4, the whole world would want him," Gray said. "Somebody is missing the boat. He's got a 3.5 GPA with all AP courses. He's one of the best three kids I've ever coached."
Post player Jeremiah Johnson added 14 points for Gar-Field (4-4), which gave up an 11-0 Salem run to fall behind.
"I thought that we ate at the wrong restaurant, came in the wrong direction, took the wrong highway," Gray said.
Salem's double-digit lead disappeared under an avalanche of turnovers and the inability to guard the post. The Spartans were handicapped by the absence of starting center Travis McDaniel, who will miss the entire tournament after breaking his nose in two places in a game last week against Lord Botetourt.
"That's our best post defender," Salem coach Kevin Garst said. "When you watch the games he doesn't really stand out, but when he's not playing you realize how much he's missed."
Salem, which got 14 points from guard Donte Harvey and 10 from forward Stephen Barnette, lacks a post presence without McDaniel.
"The lineup we started tonight was pretty small, but I don't think that's an excuse for turning the ball over and I don't think that's an excuse for not rebounding, to be honest," Garst said.
GAR-FIELD
Pittman 2 0-0 4, L.Johnson 5 0-0 10, Patterson 2 0-0 4, Amponseh 10 4-7 26, Pearson 0 2-8 2, Einsmann 0 0-0 0, J.Johnson 6 2-3 14, Bonds 0 2-4 2. Totals 25 10-22 62.
SALEM (4-2)
R.Barnette 2 3-4 7, Hairston 3 1-1 8, Hughes 0 0-0 0, Harvey 5 2-2 14, Carroll 3 1-2 7, S.Barnette 4 2-3 10, Tolliver 3 0-0 7, Simpson 1 0-0 2, Pendleton 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 9-12 55.
Gar-Field 11 12 17 22--62
Salem 19 8 11 17--55
3-point goals -- Gar-Field 2 (Amponseh 2), Salem 4 (Harvey 2, Hairston, Tolliver). Total fouls -- Gar-Field 16, Salem 21. Fouled out -- J.Johnson, R.Barnette.
Cave Spring 72, Brooke Point 56
Josh Henderson led four players in double figures with 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as the Knights earned a berth against unbeaten William Fleming in tonight's 6 p.m. semifinal.
Cave Spring (6-2) has not played Fleming in three years.
"They're super," Cave Spring coach Billy Hicks said. "It goes back to a big rivalry back in the old days. When I set these brackets up, I knew Fleming was in ours and I knew we'd have to win to get to them. I guess I should be careful what I wished for now."
The Knights played their fourth game without injured point guard Greg Mackey, who will be sidelined a few more weeks with a high ankle sprain. Mackey's replacement -- junior Quentin Dill -- hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points. Guard Adam Hager added 15 points, while Clay Lacy scored 11.
With notable alumni such as Tom Hagan and Tyler Lumsden in the stands, Cave Spring expanded a 38-30 halftime lead to 56-38 after three quarters.
"We have struggled," Hicks said.
"We have not been playing well. The start of the third quarter I was really pleased with."
Lanford Collins, the state's No. 11-rated football prospect by The Roanoke Times, led Brooke Point (3-5) with 13 points.
BROOKE POINT (3-5)
Smiling 3 1-2 8, Lowe 2 0-0 5, Clark 2 0-0 5, Greenhow 2 0-0 4, Robinson 3 1-2 8, Martin 2 0-0 5, Underwood 0 0-0 0, Blake 0 0-0 0, Goodman 0 0-0 0, Speed 2 0-0 4, Collins 3 5-9 13, Anotchi 2 0-0 4. Totals 21 7-13 56.
CAVE SPRING (6-2)
Overstreet 2 1-5 6, Lacy 5 0-0 11, Henderson 8 7-11 23, Dill 4 0-2 11, Hager 6 2-2 15, Jacobsen 2 0-0 4, Moore 1 0-0 2, Knuppell 0 0-0 0, White 0 0-0 0, Neighbors 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 10-20 72.
Brooke Point 16 14 8 18--56
Cave Spring 22 16 18 16--72
3-point goals -- Brooke Point 7 (Collins 2, Clark, Martin, Robinson, Smiling, Lowe), Cave Spring 4 (Dill 3, Overstreet). Total fouls -- Brooke Point 20, Cave Spring 12. Fouled out-- none. Technical foul -- Brooke Point coach Kania.
William Fleming 62, Osbourn 51
Jamelle Hagins scored 18 points to go with 13 rebounds and three dunks as Fleming stayed unbeaten. The 6-foot-7 senior had 12 points in the second half against the shorter Eagles (2-2).
The Colonels (6-0) trailed twice in the first half and head coach Mickey Hardy had his starters on the bench for considerable portions of time.
"They got under my skin so I tried to find a different avenue," Hardy said. "We came out a little flat. I thought our second group played very well."
Five-foot-seven freshman guard Miles Henderson hit two 3-pointers in the first half and finished with six assists in a reserve role.
"We just want Miles to grow each and every day in practice, and take each game as a learning process," Hardy said. "We think he's going to be a pretty good basketball player."
Robert Carter scored a game-high 20 points for Osbourn, while Chaz Bates added 12.
OSBOURN (2-2)
Bates 4 1-3 12, Lane 2 0-2 4, Elder 0 0-0 0, Turner 1 2-2 4, Carter 7 4-4 20, Nickens 0 2-2 2, Whitehead 0 0-0 0, Whitehead 0 0-0 0, McFadden 3 0-1 8. Totals 17 9-14 51.
WILLIAM FLEMING (6-0)
Daniels 3 2-2 8, Thomas 2 2-8 6, Hagins 8 2-2 18, Manning 2 1-2 5, Anderson 2 0-0 4, Henderson 2 0-0 6, Andrews 1 0-0 2, Johnson 1 3-6 5, Jones 1 0-0 2, Preston 1 0-0 2, D.Brown 2 0-0 4. Totals 25 10-20 62.
Osbourn 8 18 12 13--51
William Fleming 14 13 21 14--62
3-point-goals -- Osbourn 8 (Bates 3, Carter 2, McFadden 2, Turner), William Fleming 2 (Henderson 2). Total fouls -- Osbourn 11, William Fleming 13. Fouled out -- none.
