Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Vikings empty bench in big win
varsity.roanoke.com
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Northside basketball coach Bill Pope called out the reserves Monday night.
It was not because he was in any trouble.
Pope made liberal use of his bench against visiting Blacksburg after the Vikings' first unit turned the game into a blowout that resulted in a 73-39 nondistrict victory.
Reserves scored 34 points for Northside (17-2), which entered the game with the No. 7 ranking in the latest Associated Press Group AA poll and the Blue Ridge District title already in its pocket.
The Vikings blew out to a 41-17 halftime lead against a depleted Blacksburg team and stretched its winning streak to 11 games.
"Northside's got the total package deal," Blacksburg coach Doug Day said. "They've got good guards. They've got quick guards. They've got shooters. They've got big guys. They play good defense. They're very well coached."
Blacksburg (10-10) was minus its top two inside players -- 6-foot-7 Morgan Jones and 6-5 Joe Brown.
Jones ruptured an Achilles' tendon last week against Cave Spring and underwent surgery Monday. Brown was held out of the lineup for what Day called "a coach's decision."
A third player -- perimeter threat Sam Walker -- was sidelined after breaking his nose in the Bruins' last game against Pulaski County.
"They had some unfortunate things," Blacksburg coach Bill Pope said. "I thought his guys played hard considering their circumstances.
"I was proud of my guys for not having any kind of letdown. That can be easy to do. It's easy to see which guys they were missing for sure when you're talking about their two biggest guys."
Senior point guard Adam Burroughs led Northside's balanced attack with 11 points, while wing guard Trey Smith and 6-foot-5 center Stevan Richie added 10 apiece, all in the first three quarters.
The game was never close. Northside bolted to a 13-2 lead and faced trouble only once as Blacksburg's Jack Cooper and Ricky Sowers raced for back-to-back open layups early in the second quarter that forced Pope to use a timeout.
Burroughs immediately stepped forward with a 3-pointer, a drive down the lane that started at halfcourt, two free throws and an assist to Richie.
"He's versatile," Pope said. "He can score for us. He's our leading assist guy. And he puts enormous pressure on people with his defense. He plays both ends of the floor."
Guards Terrence Travis and Dehmeh Smith led Blacksburg with eight points apiece as Day used the fourth quarter to get minutes for his bench.
Like many Timesland teams, the Bruins haven't been able to work on much in practice lately because of the snow-related school closures.
"We've had two practices in the last two and a half weeks," Day said. "It's difficult, but everybody's in the same boat."
Now the Bruins also must adjust to the loss to Jones, who was plagued with injuries throughout his career.
"You've got to be able to bounce back and keep playing, keep fighting," Day said.
BLACKSBURG (10-10)
Etuk 0 0-0 0, Sowers 4 0-0 8, Leehman 1 0-2 2, Smith 2 0-1 4, Travis 2 3-4 8, Cooper 3 1-4 8, Weber 0 2-2 2, S.Jones 2 1-2 5, Johnson 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 7-15 39.
NORTHSIDE (17-2)
Thornburg 1 2-2 4, Brown 2 0-0 4, Richie 5 0-0 10, Burroughs 3 4-4 11, Smith 5 0-0 10, Palmieri 3 0-0 7, Arnold 2 4-7 8, Gilliard 3 1-2 7, Curry 0 0-0 0, Keith 1 0-0 2, Bailey 3 1-2 7, Bowden 1 0-1 3, Amos 0 0-0 0, Beucus 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 12-18 73.
Blacksburg 10 7 8 14--39
Northside 20 20 23 10--73
3-point-goals -- Blacksburg 2 (Cooper, Travis), Northside 3 (Palmieri, Burroughs, Bowden). Total fouls -- Blacksburg 16, Northside 21. Fouled out -- none. JV -- Northside, 70-36.
