THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 19, 1995 TAG: 9501190520
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
With second-ranked Booker T. Washington making a non-district visit Wednesday night, Indian River's youthful Braves stole a scene out of Tom Hanks' hit movie ``Big.''
They grew up overnight.
The Braves, South Hampton Roads' sixth-ranked team, got 37 points from their starting sophomore backcourt of David Selby and Doug Basnight and never trailed as they stunned the Bookers, 90-80, in front of a capacity crowd of 2,300.
``For the young guys on this team, it's just a confidence thing,'' Indian River coach Freddie Spellman said. ``They had to get to the point where they knew they can play against real good teams and play together as a team.''
The Braves (8-3) raced to a 15-5 lead in the opening minutes, but the Bookers (9-2) stayed within striking distance throughout the first half, trailing 37-30 at intermission.
A 3-pointer by Basnight to open the second half pushed Indian River's lead to 10 and it remained a double-digit lead from that point.
The Braves pushed the lead to 81-60 with 2:30 remaining as Quintae McLean, who finished with 14 points, completed a 3-point play.
Basnight had 14 points and Morgan Jackson finished with 13 for Braves. Freshman forward Jason Capel added eight points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots.
The Bookers were playing without starting guard Ashley Berry and lacked cohesion throughout. And their usually dangerous 3-point shot failed them as they were a combined 2 of 23 from behind the arc.
``We couldn't let them get off easy 3s,'' said Selby, who finished with a team-high 23 points. ``We had to guard the perimeter.''
The only Booker who was on his game was 6-foot-4 senior swingman Shawn Wilson, who scored a career-high 41 points, including six dunks, the capper being a 360-degree breakaway slam at the buzzer.
``It was one of those nights,'' Booker T. coach Barry Hamler said. ``They're a good team and they're finally coming around. But they've got to come to Norfolk.''
The Braves visit Booker T. for a rematch Feb. 11. by CNB