THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 11, 1995 TAG: 9502110249
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
This hadn't been the easiest week for the Granby Comets.
First they lose to Maury on Tuesday to fall into a three-way tie in the Eastern District race.
Then they lose their head coach Wednesday when Jim Harvey was suspended by the Norfolk School System for unspecified reasons, with an investigation pending.
But when they fell behind, 11-4, in the early going Friday at Lake Taylor, they refused to lose their heads.
The Comets, South Hampton Roads' second-ranked team, regrouped and followed the leadership of Shawn Hobson and Toweh Ketter to a 60-47 victory. The win assured Granby (16-2 overall, 5-2 district) a shot at winning the district's regular-season title.
Granby meets Booker T. Washington Tuesday and if the Comets win that one they would assure themselves of no worse than a playoff game with Maury for the district's regular-season title.
Like Granby, Booker T. and Maury both have two district losses. But the Comets end their district season Tuesday while Booker T. and Maury both end their district seasons next Friday.
Tuesday's game has been moved from Granby to Lake Taylor to accommodate more spectators.
The gym didn't immediately seem to the Comets' liking Friday. Plus, Lake Taylor was coming off a 19-point victory over Booker T.
``Panic set in and we didn't know what offense to run,'' said Tim Sweeney, a Granby assistant principal who took over the team on emergency basis Wednesday. ``Bottom line was I didn't know the offense and I couldn't call an offense I didn't know.''
The Comets went on an 11-0 run to overcome their early deficit, taking a 15-11 lead early in the second quarter and never trailed after that.
``(The coaching change) wasn't easy,'' Ketter said. ``(Sweeney) is having to adjust. But Shawn Hobson showed real leadership.''
Hobson, a 6-foot-5 guard/forward, finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and five steals while Ketter, a 6-6 forward, had 20 points.
Reggie Hawkins led Lake Taylor (11-6, 1-5) with 17 points.
``If there was ever a victory that had nothing to do with me as a coach, this was it,'' said Sweeney, who coached at Norfolk Catholic in the early 1980s. by CNB