Highlands semis

[Beamerball 566]

Lee beat Abingdon in the first game tonight. Final score was 50-26.

[GMan 3,569]

WOW! Did Abingdon not show up??? Or, did Lee just play that good???

[Beamerball 566]

It was close throughout most of the game, Lee just went off in the 4th outscoring Abingdon 25-2. Abingdon was down just 1 at the end of third, and it was tied up at halftime.

 

Va High beat Marion in the other game, 79-45.

[Beamerball 566]

http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/sports.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2007-02-17-0007.html

BY JOSH FLOYD

 

SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

 

BRISTOL, Va.  Turns out Gary Stafford didn’t need another Ben Hur bomb during Highlands District semifinal tournament play Friday. Brother Bobby had already provided the necessary ammunition.

 

The elder Stafford nearly outscored second-seeded Abingdon on his own, pumping in a game-high 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting as Lee High posted a jaw-dropping 50-26 decision at Virginia High.

 

Lee’s victory, coupled with the subsequent VHS triumph, assured the third seed of yet another Region IV trip. It also erased Stafford’s memories of a lackluster fourth-quarter team performance against Abingdon on their home floor exactly three weeks ago.

 

"That’s a big win for us, because usually our fourth quarters have been slow  especially against Abingdon and Virginia High," said Stafford, who added eight rebounds and six assists despite picking up his third foul with 3:49 left until halftime. "But as long as we get the win, I don’t care."

 

While Lee (18-5) didn’t need a last-second buzzer beater this year, Stafford’s staggering effort on the offensive end complemented a stifling 2-3 zone defense  a defense not popular with coach Steve Collier.

 

But it certainly worked. Though the Falcons (17-6) trailed 25-24 heading into the final quarter, the team wearing white was far from solving the Generals’ defensive riddle. Uncharacteristic air balls from a bevy of Abingdon shooters demonstrated Lee’s determination at keeping the Falcons outside the paint.

 

"I told the team that this was the first time we’ve played a zone defense the entire game," said Collier. "I was itching to get out of it in the fourth quarter and go man so that they wouldn’t get any open 3-point looks.

 

"But it was working, so we didn’t change it."

 

Though Collier perhaps entered those final eight minutes with clenched teeth, his team stayed the course. All that resulted was a meager 1-for-17 performance from the Falcons over that stretch, as Lee ran away with game  and the season series  with an astounding 25-2 spurt.

 

For many years, Abingdon hasn’t had to worry about a must-win tourney game. Not only is an early Highlands exit rare for the Washington County squad, a loss of this magnitude can baffle even the most veteran coaches.

 

"I can’t really put it into words," said Abingdon coach Sam Blevins. "We didn’t react very well to their zone. We just seemed like we didn’t have a lot of energy all night. I don’t know. It sure wasn’t our night."

 

The Generals  who will travel to Magna Vista in first-round regional play Tuesday  again turned down the metronome to a successful offensive pace, while effectively winning the rebounding battle. That allowed Gary Stafford (12 points) and Chad Skaggs (11 points, nine boards) to ultimately reach double figures.

 

"Over the last few games, we’ve tried to do that," Collier said. "We’ve slowed the tempo down and tried to be more patient on offense."

 

Nick Viers had a team-high nine points for the Falcons, who shot 20 percent (10-for-50).

 

VHS 79, Marion 45

 

Top-seeded Virginia High (16-6) needed a significant second-half push to wriggle away from scrappy Marion, who resembled anything but the tourney’s fourth seed.

 

The Bearcats  who received 15 points from Randy White and 11 more from Kasey Marion  received a whopping 42 points from four different post players to set up an interesting battle with Lee tonight for the crown.

 

"At the beginning of the year, we had at least three opportunities [for titles]," said VHS coach Doug Mitchell, whose squad hosts the Tazewell-Carroll County winner in the first round of the regional tourney Tuesday. "Now, we have a chance to finish it off [tonight] and get two out of three."

 

Jordan Burrows had a game-high 16 points for the Scarlet Hurricanes (6-14)

[Beamerball 566]

The game tonight was cancelled.

[stubbycurrence 10]

Dang, that sure did melt some cheese!!!!