THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 18, 1995 TAG: 9501180568
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Bayside High point guard Shawn Blassingill hadn't seen much need to score this season.
But with Green Run determined to take away the Marlins' inside game Tuesday night, Blassingill saw both the need and the opportunity.
The 5-foot-8 senior erupted for a career-high 25 points as South Hampton Roads' top-ranked boys basketball team overcame a 13-point deficit in the first half to beat the Stallions, 69-59.
It was the ninth consecutive victory for Bayside (11-1 overall, 10-0 Beach District) and ended a four-game winning streak by No. 8 Green Run (8-4, 7-3).
With the Stallions' defense sagging on Bayside big men Lashawn Jones and Marcus Riddick, Blassingill took advantage of any and all chances to drive the lane and score.
After the Stallions bolted to a 33-20 lead midway through the second quarter, Blassingill pretty much had to.
``We tried to go to our power game, but Green Run did a great job of shutting it down,'' Bayside coach Ron Jenkins said. ``There are going to be times when we have to show we've got more than one system that works. This was one of those nights.''
Blassingill scored on a variety of spinning jumpers and drives, finishing 9 of 14 from the field and 7 of 10 from the foul line. He also had seven rebounds, six assists and six steals while committing just three turnovers.
``We were a little out of control at the start,'' said Blassingill, who'd scored only 23 points in his previous five games combined. ``We just felt we had to settle down and execute and we'd be OK.''
The first half was all Green Run as junior forward Plaxico Burress scored 18 points on the way to a 39-29 lead, including an alley-oop dunk to end the half.
But as Burress dominated the first half, Blassingill did the second.
Bayside nibbled away at Green Run's lead in the third quarter and cut the deficit to 49-48 when Blassingill scored on a driving layup at the end of the quarter.
The Marlins then went on an eight-point run to start the fourth quarter and never trailed again.
``We've more or less asked Shawn to initiate our defense and run the offense and the fast break,'' Jenkins said. ``There are some nights when in a coach's eyes that alone is like scoring 25 points. It just doesn't show up in the boxscore.''
Donald Mitchel added 10 points for the Marlins while Jones was held to nine points, almost eight below his average.
Burress finished with a season-high 23 points and eight rebounds.
Ocean Lakes 52, Kempsville 49: Jack Wheeler hit a layup with 2.5 seconds left for the final margin. Wheeler scored nine of his 12 points in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins (5-8, 3-7) have won two straight and five of their last seven. Lex Sheriff led the Chiefs (6-7, 5-5) with 16.
Salem 59, Princess Anne 47: Point guard Corey Irvin had 26 points with six assists and only one turnover for the No. 9 Sun Devils.
Anthony Williams added 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals for Salem (8-3, 7-3). Tracey Corprew scored 12 points and Mike Wilson added 10 for the Cavaliers (2-10, 2-8).
Tallwood 69, First Colonial 39: Jake Lovelace scored 13 points and Neil Roberts added 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the 10th-ranked Lions (8-3, 8-2) snapped a three-game losing streak in beating the winless Patriots.
Cox 72, Kellam 48: Ben Green and Carl Lentz each hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter to trigger the Falcons.
Cox (8-5, 6-4) had five players score in double figures, led by Matt Whalen's 14 points. Ben Matthews scored 18 for Kellam (2-10, 2-9). by CNB