By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
YEATESVILLE — Roanoke’s 14-game winning streak and state championship aspirations came to a halt Saturday as the Camden Bruins clung to a 58-55 victory to win the sectional championship and knock the Redskins out of the playoffs for the second straight season.
Taking a timeout with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter the Redskins had one final opportunity to tie the Bruins.
Having to go the length of the court, Roanoke raced towards the basket and got the ball to Alonza Higgs, who had been hot all game. However, Camden pressured Higgs into taking a tough trey near the top right side of the court, which he failed to convert.
As the clock clicked down to zero, Dyquail Lloyd fielded a long rebound off of the Higgs’ miss and launched a last-second, off-balance 3-pointer that bounced off the rim.
Three pointers weren’t a problem for the Redskins in the first quarter as they scored their first nine points from behind the arc to take an early 9-7 lead.
Led by Ricky Krainiack, the Bruins made a late run near the end of the quarter to take an 11-10 lead.
Krainiack heated up near the end of the first and by the second he was so hot his shoes turned red.
After Roanoke pulled ahead 22-19 on a Higgs three pointer, the Bruins’ guard nailed four 3’s and totaled 15 points in the second quarter to sustain Camden’s one point lead and go into halftime up 31-30.
Higgs led the Redskins with 19 points.
Krainiack was a force throughout the game and led all scorers with 28 points.
Krainiack and the rest of the Camden shooters gave Roanoke’s zone fits all night long. The Bruins disciplined halfcourt offense did a nice job of executing and controlling the tempo.
Pittman, who’s Redskins like to run-and-gun, said Camden was successful in slowing down the game.
The Redskins wrapped up their 2000-07 campaign with a 26-3 record, and Pittman said he was proud of the work his team put into the season.
Roanoke 10 20 11 14 — 55
Camden 11 20 11 16 — 58
Roanoke (55)
Higgs 8, Dyquail Lloyd 11, Hyman 7, Griffin 7, Alonza Higgs 19, Wiggins 2, Green 1.
Camden (58)
Dodson 8, Preston Dodson 13, Ricky Krainiack 28, Broon 4, Burton 5.