THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 29, 1994 TAG: 9412290563
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
While his teammates celebrated wildly at center court, Shaun Jackson hobbled to the bench and flopped into a chair, asking for ice for his bruised right thigh.
He'd already iced his strained right shoulder each day for a week.
Such is the life of a workhorse.
Jackson, in typical fashion, scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Maury beat Boys and Girls of New York, 70-66, Wednesday night in the championship game of the Catholic Holiday Invitational at Catholic High.
``He can play for me with one arm and one leg anytime,'' Maury coach Jack Baker said of his 6-foot-6 senior. ``I wouldn't trade him for anyone in the country. And it's not that he's that talented. He just works that hard every day and night.''
The numbers told the story. In the Commodores' three-game march to their third Holiday Invitational title in four years, Jackson averaged 19 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. He was an easy selection as the tournament's most valuable player.
But the pain from the shoulder and the strain of three games in three nights appeared to be taking its toll in the first half of the final as Jackson scored just five points and had only four rebounds. Maury (9-1) led at the half, 36-34. But the advantage was tenuous at best.
``I pulled Shaun aside at the half and told him we weren't going to win this thing without him,'' Baker said. ``He hadn't played a particularly good first half.''
He responded with a monster second half in a game in which there were 16 lead changes and neither team led by more than six.
The Kangaroos (6-2) took a 51-48 lead with a minute left in the third quarter when 6-9 center Bobby Collins powered over Jackson and converted a three-point play.
But Jackson responded with a three-point play of his own with 22 seconds left in the quarter that cost Collins his fourth foul.
``Bobby played tentatively on defense after that,'' Boys and Girls coach Ruth Lovelace said. ``He didn't want to foul out. He got it (the fourth foul) early and they were in the bonus early, but you can't blame the refs for the loss.''
The Kangaroos scored the next five points to take a 56-51 lead, but back-to-back baskets by Ray Heard and a short jumper by Deshan Davis gave Maury, South Hampton Roads' fifth-ranked team, a 57-56 advantage. The lead see-sawed until the Kangaroos' Hashim McFarlane scored back-to-back baskets to give Boys and Girls a 64-61 lead.
At that point, Maury's Ike Richardson took over.
Richardson hit two free throws with three minutes left and a 3-pointer with 1:08 remaining to give Maury a 66-64 advantage.
Then with Boys and Girls rushing shots and fouling to regain possession, Richardson hit four foul shots in the final 14 seconds to seal it.
Still, the Kangaroos had a chance to tie when McFarlane drove the lane with 40 seconds remaining, but Jackson blocked his short jumper.
Jackson's bruised thigh occurred early in the fourth quarter when he was involved in a mid-court collision. He had to come out of the game, but only for a few seconds.
``It bothered me, but I knew I had to suck it up,'' Jackson said. ``You can be hurt off the court, but not on it.''
Richardson said that only one thought ran through his mind when Jackson crashed to the court.
``I hope he gets up,'' Richardson said.
Much to Lovelace's chagrin, Jackson did return.
``He's a terror on the boards,'' Lovelace said. ``He's an athlete if you ever asked for one.''
Richardson finished with 13 points and five assists.
Boys and Girls was led by Collins' 17 points while McFarlane had 14 and Justin Watson and Neil St. John had 12 points each. St. John, however, picked up his fourth foul with one second left in the first half and sat the entire second half.
The all-tournament team included Richardson, Collins, Cox High's Matt Whalen, Kempsville's Tyren Johnson and Potomac's Melvin Watson. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/
Maury's Todd Davidson brings the ball up, eluding Justin Watson of
Boys and Girls High. Maury won, 70-66.
by CNB