The William Byrd gym is quickly becoming the home of spectacular shots.
Only six nights removed from Terrier Marvey’o Otey’s behind-the-back 3-point basket that drew national attention, William Fleming’s Tyrell Adams provided an encore Monday night when he took an inbounds pass with :01.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter, took one dribble and promptly buried his shot from 3/4 court.
Only one problem; Adams shot didn’t count. After the ball cleared the net, the referees immediately waved off the shot for leaving Adams’ fingertips late. Bad news for the Colonels who could have used the extra 3 points.
William Byrd established a ten point lead after one quarter and held on down the stretch as the Terriers defeated William Fleming 60-58 in the Blue Ridge District opener for both teams.
“Having William Fleming in the district helps, “Byrd head coach Kevin Tuck noted of the Colonels return to the Blue Ridge this season after a long stint in the former AAA Western Valley District. “Fleming is well coached and always has a good team. Playing them never hurts.”
Fleming was at a disadvantage, down three players including standout Warren Craft.
“We’re missing players and playing undersized,” Colonel head coach Mickey Hardy said in the Fleming locker room afterward. “But, we’re playing hard. We got some good shots tonight. We’ll keep working.”
Fleming plugged away all night. They cut the Byrd lead to four points late in the first half before Terrier Koty Collier nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Terriers to the break, up 30-23.
Byrd built its lead to 46-34 after another Collier trey late in the third, but Fleming began chipping away in the final 8 minutes.
“Our man-to-man gave them trouble and took things away,” Tuck added. “Then they starting hitting threes. I thought we had some of them perfectly defended.”
Fleming made it a one possession game on a stick back with :47 left, and Adams hit a 3-pointer with :11.5 left to cut the Byrd lead to 58-56. After a timeout and foul on the inbounds pass, Collier iced the game for Byrd by sinking a pair of free throws. Fleming added a Steve Jones stickback at the buzzer for the final margin.
Collier led the Terrier scoring attack with 19 points while Otey added 16.
Jones paced Fleming with 17 points, with Adams sinking 16 including a quartet of treys.
– Bill Turner
