by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com
(804) 240-2191
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One defensive stop.
Benedictine got it and sealed a 79-76 victory over John Marshall Saturday night in Slamfest IX’s mythical City Championship at VCU’s Siegel Center.
The Cadets held a 72-70 lead as time dwindled close to 90 seconds remaining. The Justices looked inside to Travis McKie, as his post ups were creating open men or layups for the Wake Forest recruit.
But Benedictine forced a turnover, a rare event in a game full of potent scorers.
The Cadets then went 7 of 8 from the charity stripe in the final 47 seconds for the win.
“I’m not happy with our defensive effort, but I thought offensively we’ve been preaching since we got blasted by Petersburg that we be unselfish,” Benedictine coach Sean McAloon said. “I think all of the kids passed up open shots for better shots. What you witnessed was [79] points. Just a great job moving the ball.”
Nearly every starter scored in double figures for Benedictine.
Slamfest MVP Michael Gbinije (9 for 15 from field) had 29 points, Trey Davis and Erik Moody (5 of 6) put in 15 each, and R.J. Price and Kevin Gill both scored nine.
McKie had a monster game, with 37 points and 15 rebounds, five on the offensive end, and shot 14 of 20 from the field.
Willie Mangum chipped in with 16 points, Tahir Little 12 as John Marshall found offensive consistency, but couldn’t douse Benedictine’s firepower.
“We know we can score with the best of them. But defense won the game,” McKie said. “They started having more defensive stops than we did. And we just couldn’t stop them.”
Benedictine 21 19 18 21 – 79
J. Marshall 15 22 19 20 – 76
Benedictine (16-4): Moody 15, Davis 15, Gill 9, Price 9, Gbinije 29, Thurston 2, Tiller 0, Pilot 0. Totals: 24 23-28 79. 3-point goals: Moody 3, Gbinije 3, Davis, Gill.
John Marshall (14-4): Mangum 16, Little 12, McKie 37, Lampkin 3, Jenkins 0, Bullock 0, Payne 8, Mundin 0, Vaughan 0, Conyers 0. Totals: 27 16-22 76. 3-point goals: Mangum 2, McKie 2, Payne 2.
OTHER SLAMFEST IX SCORES
Atlantic Shores 68, Deep Run 62
* Brandon Britt poured in 30 points for AS. Jay Johnson led Deep Run with 15 points.
Phoebus 84, Dudley (N.C.) 76
Potomac 55, L.C. Bird 50
* Brandon Williams dropped in 19 points as Bird gave one of the state’s best all it could handle.
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