THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 22, 1995 TAG: 9502220592
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Granby High's Shawn Hobson arrived just 20 minutes prior to tip-off. But his game showed up with time to spare.
Hobson, whose only trouble Tuesday night was finding a ride to the game, finished with a 36 points as the third-ranked Comets beat Lake Taylor, 69-53, in the semifinals of the Eastern District boys basketball tournament.
Hobson had 20 points in the first half and sparked a 27-12 run by the Comets that resulted in a 37-30 halftime advantage.
The Comets switched to a 2-1-2 zone in the second half and the Titans never got any closer.
``I think we weren't focused at first,'' said Hobson, who finished the night one point shy of 1,000 career points. ``We had an attitude like it wasn't a big game. But then we switched up our defense.''
Lake Taylor was left playing the remainder on the perimeter, where Toot Young and Reggie Hawkins, who each had 12 points, went to work. But it was too little too late.
``We went to a trap and we picked up the tempo,'' Granby coach Tim Sweeney said. ``We tried to stop the penetration and, of course, Shawn took his game to a different level.''
Said Lake Taylor coach John Kelly: ``We started out well, but we lost our gas and couldn't get it back. (The zone) hurt us because we couldn't rebound and break.
``But what really hurt us was that we couldn't stop them.''
The Comets will meet the winner of tonight's Maury-Booker T. Washington semifinal Friday at Lake Taylor at 7:30 p.m.
Since Granby already clinched an Eastern Region tournament berth as the district's regular-season champion, tonight's game is for the district's second regional berth.
In girls semifinal action, Ray Ray Johnson scored 13 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as Lake Taylor defeated Granby, 36-31.
The Comets came out with a triangle-and-two on Lake Taylor's Juritus and Tasha Thompson and held the Titans scoreless in the first quarter.
But in the second, Lake Taylor picked up the pace with a 17-7 run, holding Granby to one field goal.
``We started off slow,'' Lake Taylor coach Theresa Jones said. ``The problem was that they weren't looking to the basket.''
The Comets, however, didn't have any trouble looking. It was making the shots that was the problem.
``I think we lost our confidence in the first half,'' said Granby coach Berdell Wilson, whose team shot 18 percent from the floor. ``We were doing what we were supposed to be doing and the ball wasn't falling.''
Lake Taylor will meet the winner of tonight's 6 p.m. matchup between Booker T. Washington and Maury in Friday's 6 p.m. final.
Tonight's winner will also secure a berth in the girls region tournament since Lake Taylor won the district's regular season title. by CNB