Saturday, January 24, 2009
Knights stifle Spartans
Cave Spring thwarts Salem's comeback attempt to move to 5-0 in the River Ridge District.
Photos by Jared Soares | The Roanoke Times
Stephen Barnette pulls down a rebound for Salem during a loss to Cave Spring on Friday.
Cave Spring's Josh Henderson puts up a shot against Salem's Reggie Barnette (10) and Travis McDaniel (42).
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Last year, they probably would have lost this one. On the road, with the opponent surging, watching their big lead dissolve.
But this year, the Cave Spring Knights are different. Older. Wiser. And they steeled themselves against the challenge, staying perfect in district play.
Josh Henderson scored 21 points to lead three Cave Spring players in double figures, and the Knights rebuffed a spirited second-half rally to defeat host Salem 60-50 on Friday night.
The Knights (13-3, 5-0) completed their first run through the River Ridge District unscathed, but rarely had they been challenged liked this. The Spartans (8-6) cut a 15-point deficit to one in the fourth quarter before Cave Spring responded with a 10-1 run to close the game.
"That's a very talented team that we just played," Cave Spring coach Billy Hicks said. "They came after us, and we responded. We had a little bend in us in the second half, but we didn't break ... This time last year, playing with sophomores, we would have broken."
Those sophomores are now play-making juniors. After Salem's Stephen Barnette muscled inside and scored to slice the deficit to 50-49 with 2:13 remaining, Erik Jacobson responded with a driving layup to bump the lead back to three. The 6-foot-11 Henderson hit a jump hook on Cave Spring's next possession to make it 54-49.
"He just single-handedly controls the game in so many different ways," Salem coach Kevin Garst said of Henderson, who scored six of his points in the fourth quarter. "We never get easy looks at the rim against him, and they're getting stickbacks and laying them in. A lot of the time we're one and done, because he's getting the boards."
Perhaps Henderson's most impressive role was leading the offense against Salem's full-court press late in the game. A fluid player for a big man, he calmly helped advance the ball up the court while providing a safety net for his teammates when they got trapped.
"I don't know any other 6-11 kid who can break the press like that," said Cave Spring wing Clay Lacy, who scored 10 points. "We put him there because he's a big target, he makes good passes, he has great floor vision. That's why we wanted to put him there -- we knew he'd come through."
Once again playing without injured point guard Greg Mackey, the Knights built a 42-25 lead midway through the third quarter. But the Spartans began to push the tempo, and Reggie Barnette (25 points) starting attacking the rim.
Salem ended the third on a 11-2 run to set up an exciting finish.
"They are by far the quickest team we've played all year," said Cave Spring guard Adam Hager, who scored 14 points. "I probably had the most turnovers I've had in my entire career tonight, and they were all off passes I normally complete."
Stephen Barnette finished with eight points for Salem, which had a two-game winning streak snapped.
"We've got to continue to get better and try to peak come tournament time," Garst said.
CAVE SPRING (13-3, 5-0)
Dill 2 0-0 6, Overstreet 2 0-0 4, Hager 5 2-2 14, Lacy 5 0-0 10, Henderson 8 5-5 21, White 0 0-0 0, Jacobsen 2 0-0 5. Totals 24 7-7 60.
SALEM (8-6, 2-3)
Harvey 1 0-2 2, Carroll 2 0-0 4, Hairston 3 0-0 6, Tolliver 0 0-3 0, McDaniel 2 1-2 5, R. Barnette 7 11-17 25, S. Barnette 3 2-3 8. Totals 18 14-27 50.
Cave Spring 17 15 12 16--60
Salem 12 9 17 12--50
3-point goals -- CS (Hager 2, Dill 2, Jacobsen). Fouled out -- None.
JV -- Salem 52-39.
