Central Region | Archive | December, 2007

The 1st Annual DigitalSports 3-Point Shootout was won in improbable fashion by Deep Run guard Antone Exum.

“I was uncertain there for a minute,” Exum said. “But I got in it. Me and Harry ended up being the last ones. That’s my friend, but I had to get the victory on that one.”

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by Seneca Contomanolis
DigitalSports Richmond

Hermitage’s one-point loss to Mills Godwin to begin the season sent the Panthers into an 0-4 tailspin.

Now at full strength with their football players in basketball mode and completely healthy, Hermitage avenged that defeat Friday night with a 58-45 victory in the championship of the Henrico Holiday Hoops Tournament, sponsored by DigitalSports.

“I wouldn’t call it revenge,” Hermitage coach Joe Coulter said. “We wanted to play better. We wanted to improve on how we played in the first game. These kids have been through a lot of adversity after starting 0-4.”

The Panthers have won five of their past six to get to .500 for the first time all season. Gabe McNeal led Hermitage with 16 points, Manny Winston had 13 and tournament MVP Wesley Simmons added 12 against the Eagles.

Hermitage’s offense may have been productive but it was their defense that could be credited with giving the team the advantage. The Panthers held Mills Godwin’s two main offensive threats, Fletcher Lumpkin and Kefentse Budd, to 11 and 10 points, respectively.

In the first two games of the tournament the 6-6 center Budd scored 27 and 22 points. Against Hermitage he was held to two points in the first half and only had five entering the fourth quarter.

“It was team defense,” Coulter said. “It started with Duan [Perez-Means] and everyone else collapsed around him.”

Mills Godwin coach Hunter Thomas agreed with that assessment.

“You gotta give credit to Hermitage,” Thomas said. “They took Budd out of the game. We weren’t looking for him as much as we have been but we had opportunities to get him the ball and we didn’t.”

The first quarter was played at a ferocious pace as both teams ran up and down the floor choosing to try and score on fast breaks rather than set up a half court offense.

Lumpkin looked unstoppable early as he scored eight quick points in the opening period and Patrick Oley (13 points) had six. McNeal countered with eight points of his own, including two 3-pointers, and Hermitage had a three-point cushion after one.

Hermitage pulled away in the second quarter by opening with a 13-0 run and holding the Eagles to only four points for the entire period. Winston came off the bench to score eight in the quarter.

The Panthers’ full-court pressure flustered Mills Godwin’s guards, forcing them into numerous turnovers and not allowing them to set-up their offense. When they did get open looks the Eagles couldn’t knock down their shots.

“Our guards couldn’t hit from the outside tonight,” Thomas said. “They [Hermitage] hit their shots tonight and we knew they would have to hit their shots to beat us. Hermitage played much better then the last time we played them.”

In the third and fourth quarters the Panthers’ lead would balloon to as much as 18 points. Mills Godwin tried to make a run as Budd began to find a little rhythm on offense but Lumpkin was held to only one point in the second half and the closest the Eagles would get would be 11.

Simmons, who scored 27 and 21 in the previous two games, and McNeal were both named to the all-tournament team. Coulter was quick praise them for their play in the tournament.

“We got great leadership from our seniors McNeal and Simmons,” Coulter said.

Hermitage    17 18 11 12 – 58
Mills Godwin 14   4 11 16 – 45
Hermitage (5-5): McNeal 16, Winston 13, Reid 0, Clark 0, Blount 2, Simmons 12, Lewis 0, Norman 4, Clayton 0, Parker 2, Perez-Means 9, Kinard 0. Totals: 15 10-13 58. 3-point goals: Winston 3, McNeal 2, Simmons.
Mills Godwin (7-5): Caine 0, Mattioli 0, Crouch 3, Parker 0, Van Arsdale 0, Lumpkin 11, McColley 2, Reynolds 4, Oley 13, Parsons 2, Budd 10, Wood 0. Totals: 14 14-23 45. 3-point goals: Crouch.

All-Tournament Team
Wesley Simmons, Hermitage, MVP
Gabe McNeal, Hermitage
Fletcher Lumpkin, Mills Godwin
Kefentse Budd, Mills Godwin
Jarrett Wansley, Henrico

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THIRD-PLACE GAME
HENRICO 65,
ST. CHRISTOPHER’S 53

The Warriors jumped out to a 32-8 lead before taking the third-place contest.

Jamar Cooper was a monster on the offensive glass, scoring 10 of his 14 points first-half points on putbacks. He stayed at that point total for the contest, however, as St. Christopher’s started to concentrate on keeping him off the glass and limiting their turnovers.

The Saints had 11 of them in the first quarter, ending up with 20.

St. Chris ended the second quarter on a 13-2 run, sparked by reserve Luke Erickson (10 points). He put in eight points in the run, six on two 3-point bombs.

Teddy Mitchell was also tough in the second quarter, scoring nine of his game-high 21 points.

Mitchell’s free throws at 5:44 of the fourth quarter sliced the lead to eight, then Charlie McCann (12 points, all in second half) sliced the lead to seven three minutes later.

But the Saints would get no closer as Trey Davis (13 points) and Jarrett Wansley (12 points, all in the second half) knocked in free throws to take third place in their tournament for the first time after winning the first three annual events.

Henrico             18 16 11 20 – 65
St. Christopher’s  4 17 15 17 – 53
Henrico (6-4): Davis 13, Folden 9, McNeil 8, Wansley 12, Cooper 14, Jones 5, Zavelsky 2, Holmes 2. Totals: 23 16-18 65. 3-point goals: Davis, Folden, Jones.
St. Christopher’s: Mitchell 21, McCann 12, Vozenilek 3, Klein 0, Jackons 0, Priddy 2, Cobb 0, Stillwell 0, Jennings 0, Hart 5, Erickson 10. Totals: 18 13-18 53. 3-point goals: Erickson 2, McCann, Vozenilek.

FIFTH-PLACE GAME
MATOACA 80,
CHESTERFIELD COMMUNITY 70

SEVENTH-PLACE GAME
ARMSTRONG 56,
CLOVER HILL 55

The Wildcats overcame a 12-point deficit to take seventh place in the Henrico Holiday Hoops Tournament.

Armstrong placed three players in double figures, led by Nat Taylor (13). Quentin Christian (12) and Eric Adkins (11) also led the way.

For the Cavaliers, Sean Cavanagh and Jeremy Gross both had 11 points. Darius Hayes put in 10 points.

Clover Hill   18 13 19  5 – 55
Armstrong 15 13 12 16 – 56
Armstrong (2-3): Adkins 11, Christian 12, Johnson 4, Benjamin 9, Muhammad 3, Chavis 4, Taylor 13. Totals: 19 14-30 56. 3-point goals: Adkins 2, Benjamin, Muhammad.
Clover Hill (0-8): Bailey 2, Hayes 10, Cavanagh 11, Yates 4, B. Hayes 2, Harrison 8, Gross 11, Lewis 2, Tatum 5. Totals: 22 4-7 55. 3-point goals: D. Hayes 2, Harrison 2, Cavanagh, Gross, Tatum.

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by Seneca Contomanolis
DigitalSports Richmond

For the first time in the four year history of the Henrico Holiday Hoops Tournament the Warriors will not be hoisting the championship trophy.

Mills Godwin defeated Henrico 57-42 in the semifinals of the tournament sponsored by DigitalSports on Thursday night.

Kefentse Budd scored a game-high 22 points, Fletcher Lumpkin had 14 and Patrick Oley added 13.

“We did a nice job of screening and being unselfish with the ball,” Mills Godwin coach Hunter Thomas said. “We were willing to make that extra pass to get a layup.”

The Eagles will meet Hermitage in the championship on Friday night at 7:15 p.m. The Panthers beat St. Christopher’s 70-59 in the other semifinal. Henrico, the winner of the tournament the past three years, will play the Saints at 5:30 for third place.

The Warriors led 9-7 midway through the first quarter but that would be the last lead they would hold as an Oley basket sparked a 9-0 Mills Godwin run.

Henrico stayed close in the first half by outscoring the Eagles 11-9 in the second quarter. Senior Jarrett Wansley hit two 3-pointers in the period and the Warriors only trailed 23-20 at halftime.

Mills Godwin put the game away in the third quarter, holding Henrico to only six points. Budd scored seven points in the quarter as the Eagles broke the Warriors’ press time and time again to setup easy layups for themselves.

“We got rid of the ball well,” Thomas said. “When the double team came we found the open guy. We didn’t do a lot of dribbling.”

The Eagles pulled further away in the fourth quarter with Budd and Oley combining for 16 of Mills Godwin’s 20 points in the final period.

Henrico struggled throughout the contest on the offensive end as it seemed numerous times no matter what they did the ball would just not go through the basket.

“We couldn’t quite put together two possessions consecutively where we could score,” Henrico coach Vance Harmon said. “You’ve got to give credit to Godwin’s 2-3 zone. They packed it in. We got clean shots but we just couldn’t score.”

Eric Folden led the Warriors with 10 points, Wansley scored eight and Sa’ad McNeil had seven.

Mills Godwin defeated Hermitage 57-56 earlier in the season but that was the Panthers first game of the year. Thomas knows his team will have their work cut out for them.

“We played them once and beat them by one,” Thomas said. “They are a team that is already improving and now they have all their football players ready. We will have to pick it up a level. We’ve got to be ready to play.”

Mills Godwin   14  9 14 20 – 57
Henrico            9 11  6 16 – 42
Mills Godwin (7-4): Caine 6, Mattioli 0, Crouch 0, Parker 2, Van Arsdale 0, Lumpkin 14, McColley 0, Reynolds 0, Oley 13, Parsons 0, Budd 22, Maher 0. Totals: 18 9-13 57. 3-point goals: Lumpkin 2, Oley, Caine.
Henrico (5-4): Summers 3, Davis 6, Folden 10, McNeil 7, Wansley 8, Cooper 2, Jones 6, Zavelsky 0. Totals: 10 4-11 42. 3-point goals: Folden 2, Wansley 2, Jones 2.

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by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond

Forget Where’s Waldo? Hermitage coach Joe Coulter was going to start Where’s Winston?

Right before he put out a search party for Manny Winston, his talented junior poured in all 12 of his points in a 29-point fourth quarter that keyed the Panthers’ 70-59 victory over St. Christopher’s.

The Panthers advanced to the championship of the Henrico Holiday Hoops Tournament, sponsored by DigitalSports. They’ll face Mills Godwin at 7:15 Friday night for the hardware. The Saints will play Henrico at 5:30 for third place.

That bid was in doubt as St. Christopher’s led most of the contest before going down 41-39 at the end of the third quarter.

That’s when Hermitage (4-5) went on a 13-0 run keyed by Winston and star Wesley Simmons.

Simmons knocked down a short jumper with sick hangtime. Then Winston found Simmons in the Saints’ backdoor for two more.

Then Simmons, who scored a game-high 21 points, played playmaker, rebounding a Saint miss and leading the break to find Duan Perez-Means (10 points) for a bucket.

Winston got back into the act a possession later.

He’s struggled from the land of trey all season, but knocked in a dagger from the left corner on a feed from Gabe McNeal (20 points, 10 in each half). Hermitage’s bench went nuts.

“I had to introduce Manny to the team after the game,” joked Coulter. “He stayed positive and kept working hard.”

Said McNeal of Winston: “It feels real good. He’s got a good stroke. All shooting is is confidence. He thinks he found his stroke back.”

Simmons added another score and the damage had been done. The Panthers stroked free throws down the stretch to keep the Saints at bay.

“We played well for a short time,” Saints coach Chris Brown said. “We can’t give up 50 in a half and expect to win. I give Joe and his staff a lot of credit. They did some different things in the second half with ball screens. The whole tone of the game changed.”

Hermitage was playing St. Christopher’s pace in the first half, and it worked for the private school.

Their methodical offense was getting looks for Charlie McCann, who delivered 19 points and five 3-pointers on the night.

Teddy Mitchell (14 points) was hot as well. His baseline jumper gave St. Chris its largest lead at 21-14.

The Saints were denying Simmons the leather the whole half as Wednesday night’s hero Mac Jennings played wonderful defense.

With Simmons quiet, McNeal picked up the slack slashing into the Saints defense. That was before Simmons got going, which found Winston.

“You know he’s a great player,” Brown said of Simmons. “He just plays and you love it.”

St. Christopher’s 17 10 12 20 – 59
Hermitage           13   7 21 29 – 70
St. Christopher’s: Mitchell 14, McCann 19, Vozenilek 0, Klein 0, Jackson 0, Priddy 8, Hardy 0, Dalton 0, Jennings 4, Hart 6, Erickson 8. Totals: 24 2-2 59. 3-point goals: McCann 5, Priddy 2, Erickson 2.
Hermitage (4-5): McNeal 20, Winston 12, Blount 2, Simmons 21, Lewis 0, Norman 0, Clayton 5, Parker 0, Perez-Means 10, Kinard 0. Totals: 24 20-24 70. 3-point goals: McNeal, Winston.

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CHESTERFIELD COMMUNITY 50,
ARMSTRONG 41

David Copeland came off the bench to score 11 points leading Chesterfield Community to a 50-41 victory in the consolation bracket of the Henrico Holiday Hoops Tournament, sponsored by DigitalSports.

Armstrong led 8-3 early, but the Eagles went on a 22-5 run that Armstrong point guard Eric Adkins ended with a 3-pointer at the half as the Wildcats (1-3) trailed 25-16.

Nat Taylor (13 points) put in a three-point play to slice the lead to one, 34-33 with 4:15 left in the contest. But Armstrong would get no closer as the free-throw line was their Achilles heel, going 8 for 21.

The Eagles will face Matoaca in the fifth-place game Friday at 5 p.m. Armstrong will take on Clover Hill at 2:30 p.m. for seventh place.

Armstrong      8   8 12 13 – 41
Ches. Comm. 14 11  8 17 – 50
Armstrong (1-3): Adkins 5, Christian 8, Benjamin 8, Taylor 13, Battle 0, Johnson 6, Wilson 0, Winston 0. Totals: 16 8-21 41. 3-point goal: Adkins.
Chesterfield Community: Able 6, Grant 5, S. Allen 7, J. Allen 8, Robinson 6, Copeland 11, House 4, Perry 3. Totals: 18 10-16 50. 3-point goals: Able 2, Grant, Copeland.

MATOACA 76,
CLOVER HILL 54

Matoaca jumped out to a 40-12 lead cruising to a consolation win over Clover Hill.

Roy Gailliard poured in 20 points, 16 in the first half, to pace the Warriors, ranked 10th in the DigitalSports Top 10. Traore Benefield (12) and Aaron Hudgins (12) also reached double figures.

Donnell Yates led Clover Hill with 13 points, 10 coming in the second half. He hit three 3-pointers. Jeremy Gross had 11.

Clover Hill 12   9 19 14 – 54
Matoaca   23 25 12 16 – 76
Clover Hill (0-7): Bailey 5, Clanton 0, D. Hayes 6, Cavanagh 4, D. Yates 13, B. Hayes 3, White 2, Harrison 4, Gross 11, Lewis 0, Tatum 6, Keeder 0. Totals: 17 11-22 54. 3-point goals: D. Yates 3, D. Hayes 2, Cavanagh, Gorss, Tatum, Bailey.
Matoaca (5-1): Smith 0, Lyons 2, Benefield 12, Coleman 7, Manns 0, Watson 0, Hudgins 12, Holloman 8, Stith 5, Reid 4, Gailliard 20, Pegram 0, Irving 6. Totals: 32 12-19 76.

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by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond

The string of close games ended with the nightcap, as Henrico defeated Clover Hill 71-53 Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the Henrico Holiday Hoops Tournament, sponsored by DigitalSports.

The Cavaliers (0-6) stayed close early as they got out on the fast break and earned easy baskets. The Warriors were busy doing the same thing as the game was knotted at 15 going into the second quarter.

Then Henrico’s strength inside took over. The Warriors outscored Clover Hill 43-20 over the next two quarters.

Jarrett Wansley (14 points), David Zavelsky (15), Jamar Cooper (eight) and Torin Holmes (six) started to flex their muscles inside, earning numerous second-chance points and limiting Clover Hill to one shot a trip, usually from long range.

“They started dominating the offensive glass,” Clover Hill coach Casey Cason said. “Second shots killed us. They’re size just wore us down. They just beat us up inside.”

The lead grew as big as 26 points on Zavelsky’s bucket that made it 58-32 before A.J. Clanton nailed a near halfcourt shot for the Cavaliers, who were led by Jordan Gross‘ nine points, all in the first half.

But Henrico coach Vance Harmon wasn’t thoroughly pleased though his Warriors tallied 71 points.

“We didn’t execute the way we wanted to offensively,” Harmon said. “You can’t throw the no-hitter defensively and win games [without good offense]. You’ve got to give the other end support.”

Up next for the Warriors in the semifinals is Mills Godwin, a 63-60 overtime winner over previously unbeaten Matoaca.

“It’s going to be tough,” Henrico coach Vance Harmon said. “They beat Hermitage. They gave John Marshall a tough time. We’ll see what happens.”

Clover Hill  15  8 12 18 – 53
Henrico     15 21 22 13 – 71
Clover Hill (0-6): Bailey 7, Clanton 4, Hayes 0, Cavanagh 5, Williams 0, D. Yates 2, B. Yates 6, White 0, T. Hayes 3, Harrison 8, Gross 9, Lewis 0, Tatum 4, Keeder 5. Totals: 20 7-12 53. 3-point goals: Harrison 2, Bailey, Clanton, Cavanagh, Keeder.
Henrico (5-3): Prentiss 0, Davis 6, Robinson 2, Folden 8, Taylor 0, McNeil 12, Wansley 14, Cooper 8, Jones 0, Zavelsky 15, Holmes 6. Totals: 32 6-14 71. 3-point goals: Folden.

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by Seneca Contomanolis
DigitalSports Richmond

Mills Godwin coach Hunter Thompson is starting to get used to seeing his team win close games.

The Eagles’ 63-60 overtime win over Matoaca Wednesday night in the Henrico Holiday Hoops Tournament was Mills Godwin’s fifth out of six victories by four points or less.

“That’s the way we have won so far this year,” Thompson said. “Every win seems like it has been by two or three points.”

Early in the contest it didn’t look like it would be that close and the Eagles’ Kefentse Budd had a lot to do with that. Budd scored 10 of Mills Godwin’s 12 points in the first quarter by going 5 for 5 from the field. The Eagles (6-4) led 12-5 after the first quarter.

“It was fun,” Budd said. “We got off to a fast start. The guards just kept pounding the ball inside to me and Fletch [Fletcher Lumpkin].”

It was more of the same in the second quarter as Budd and Lumpkin scored five each. Matoaca (4-1) began to answer on the offensive end but couldn’t make up and ground and trailed by eight at halftime.

The Warriors began their comeback in the second half by applying pressure full court. The pressure did not allow Mills Godwin to work the ball inside causing the team to have a little trouble on the offensive end. Matoaca’s Aaron Hudgins found his stroke and scored 10 points in the third quarter to help pull the Warriors within one point after three quarters.

“They started to press us and the guards couldn’t run the offense because they were all up on them,” Budd said.

Traore Benefield gave Matoaca the lead at the start of the fourth with a basket but the Eagles countered with an 8-2 run to push their lead to 49-44. The Warriors would not quit though and responded with a 12-2 streak to lead by five with 30 seconds remaining.

Mills Godwin’s Adam Caine then scored a basket and after Matoaca’s Corey Manns missed the front end of a one-and-one, Lumpkin nailed a 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining to force overtime.

“It was really exciting when Fletcher made that clutch three,” Budd said.

In overtime the Eagles outscored the Warriors 7-4 with Budd accounting for three of the points. The 6-6 center finished the contest with a game-high 27 points.

“Being a senior he has done a nice job,” Thompson said. “He finishes around the basket much better then last year. When we get him the ball it makes it much easier for Fletcher and our guards.”

Fletcher added 16 points for Mills Godwin and Caine had nine. Matoaca’s Benefield, Hudgins, Darrell Stith and Roy Gailliard all had 10 points.

Matoaca         5 13 22 16 4 – 60
Mills Godwin 12 14 15 15 7 – 63
Matoaca (4-1): Lyons 4, Benefield 10, Coleman 5, Manns 2, Watson 10, Holloman 6, Stith 10, Reid 1, Gailliard 10, Irving 2, Watson 0. Totals: 23 11-20 60. 3-point goals: Benefield.
Mills Godwin (6-4): Caine 9, Mattioli 5, Lumpkin 16, Oley 5, Parsons 1, Budd 27, McColley 0. Totals: 23 11-20 63. 3-point goals: Oley, Lumpkin.

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by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond

Wesley Simmons didn’t play football for Hermitage’s Central Region, Division 6 champions.

But he played pitch-and-catch with DigitalSports player of the year Ju-Ju Clayton to give Hermitage a 47-45 victory over Armstrong in the quarterfinals of the Henrico Holiday Hoops Tournament Wednesday night, sponsored by DigitalSports.

With 1.9 seconds remaining in the game, Clayton threw an inbounds pass to Simmons coming off a double screen. Simmons gathered in and layed in his 27th point to move Hermitage to the semifinals.

“We’ve got the All-Metro player of the year,” Simmons said of Clayton. “I could’ve been a wideout. I give all the credit to the quarterback.”

Simmons is being modest. Most of the credit for Hermitage’s win should go to him.

The lanky 6-3 senior scored 27 of Hermitage’s 47 points, 17 in the second half and nine of Hermitage’s 11 points in the deciding fourth quarter.

He feasted on open-court situations, as Hermitage’s guards broke Armstrong’s full-court pressure and gave Simmons room to work.

Simmons also lived on short jumpers and was lethal in the paint with layups and jumpshots.

“He’s our go-to guy,” Hermitage coach Joe Coulter said of Simmons. “It took him a quarter to get going. We had a nice talk at halftime. They responded well.”

Armstrong actually led most of the minutes, including 17-10 at 4:30 of the second quarter on Caleb Johnson‘s old-fashioned three-point play.

It stayed steady as Nat Taylor (14 points) knocked in a jumper to start the second half giving Armstrong a 24-18 lead. Hermitage then went on an 8-0 run to take their first lead since it was 6-4 in the first quarter.

They contined to hold the Wildcats (1-2) off until they went on a 5-0 run, capped by an Eric Adkins (nine points) free throw.

Simmons responded with a personal 7-0 run as Hermitage (3-5) led 43-39. Adkins knocked in two free throws and Taylor a layup a minute later to tie the game.

Then Clayton scored on his only shot of the contest as Gabe McNeal gave him a nifty no-look pass in the lane.

But Taylor came back once again, knocking in two pressure-packed free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining, setting up Clayton’s heave to Simmons.

The game wasn’t without controversy, though.

Armstrong coach Darryl Watts believed Clayton’s pass was tipped upon release, which should’ve prompted the clock to start earlier than it did when Simmons gathered the pass.

The officials conferred but decided the basket would count, giving Armstrong a heartbreaking defeat.

“I was pleased with our effort,” Watts said. “We played hard, but we didn’t always play smart.

“I told them in life we’re going to be faced with adversity. Situations like this will make you stronger and make you work harder in the long run.”

Hermitage  6 12 16 11 – 47
Armstrong 9 13 10 13 – 45
Hermitage (3-5): McNeal 8, Winston 0, Blount 2, Simmons 27, Norman 2, Clayton 2, Parker 0, Perez-Means 6, Kinard 0. Totals: 20 7-12 47.
Armstrong (1-2): Adkins 9, Christian 9, Benjamin 4, Taylor 14, Battle 0, Johnson 9, Wilson 0. Totals: 14 15-21 45. 3-point goals: Christian 2.

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by Seneca Contomanolis
DigitalSports Richmond

Usually known for his defensive prowess, Mac Jennings‘ offensive play was the difference in the Saints’ 71-70 overtime win over Chesterfield Community in the Henrico Holiday Hoops quarterfinals.

The scored knotted at 70 with 10 seconds left in the extra period, St. Christopher’s came out of a timeout with a play designed to give them the last shot.

The Saints got a good look at the basket but the shot rimmed off and Jennings crashed the boards looking for a put back. He was fouled on his attempt with 1.2 seconds remaining and preceded to hit one of two free throws to secure the victory.

“He is our best defensive player,” St. Christopher’s coach Chris Brown said. “But he shattered his career high for points today. He just does the right things all the time. He is completely unselfish.”

Not normally a starter, Brown started Jennings so he could guard the Eagles’ best offensive players. Jennings’ played tough defense like he normally does but the senior also finished with 11 points.

“I felt good today,” Jennings said. “For some reason I couldn’t sleep last night. But today I stepped up and played loose.”

Charlie McCann led the Saints with 20 points, which included four 3-pointers, and Tom Hart and Sam Priddy both had 10. The Saints finished with 11 3’s.

St. Christopher’s came out hot and led 17-7 after the first quarter. The Saints hit three 3-pointers in the first, two by Jennings.

The Saints increased their lead to 23-8 early in the second quarter on a McCann 3-pointer. Chesterfield Community finally found some momentum behind strong full court pressure that led to turnovers and some easy baskets. A 21-12 run to close the half, that included nine points from Jerrod House, closed the gap for the Eagles to six at intermission.

“We hit some big shots early but their pressure started to bother us,” Brown said. “We had to make some adjustments.”

By the end of the third quarter Chesterfield Community had brought themselves to within three points with a defense that contained the Saints’ outside game. They could have been closer had it not been for their poor free throw shooting. The Eagles were 2 for 10 in the period.

Chesterfield Community took their first lead since they led 3-0 at 49-48 on a Jerrod Allen free throw with 6:27 remaining in the contest. The Eagles lead was at three with 1:09 left when St. Christopher’s Hart converted a 3-point play to tie the score at 63. Hart sent the game into overtime on the defensive end when he blocked a David Copeland drive as time expired.

Jennings gave the Saints a 70-68 lead in the overtime and then after Cori Grant tied the score for the Eagles, Jennings’ heroics won it for his team.

“Mac doesn’t get to start a lot which is a shame,” McCann said. “If you saw how hard he works at practice you would understand. He works his rear end off on defense.”

House led Chesterfield Community with 19 points and Copeland added 17 points.

St. Christopher’s strength is their outside shooting but the team does not want to have to rely on that alone for victories.

“It is something we are good at,” McCann said. “But we want to try and win games on the defensive end. Obviously Chesterfield Community was more athletic then us but we know what we are trying to do. We just try to execute our stuff.”

The Saints will now play Hermitage on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the semifinals. The Panthers beat Armstrong 47-45 in another quarterfinal.

Chesterfield Community    7 22 14 20 7 – 70
St. Christopher’s             17 18 11 17 8 – 71
Chesterfield Community: Able 2, Grant 9, A. Allen 9, J. Allen 10, Robinson 2, Copeland 17, House 19, Perry 2, Hunt 0. Totals: 26 15-36 70. 3-point goals: Copeland.
St. Christopher’s: Mitchell 9, McCann 20, Vozenilek 3, Klein 2, Priddy 10, Jennings 11, Hart 10, Erickson 6. Totals: 11 16-20 71. 3-point goals: McCann 4, Jennings 2, Erickson 2, Priddy 2, Vozenilek.

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