THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9502240197
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 30 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAN COOLEY, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
Two buzzer-beater layups, one made and one missed, were the difference in the championship games of the 1995 Chesapeake Middle School League basketball tournament, as host Indian River claimed both the girls and boys city titles.
For the Braves' boys team, it was a positive end to a season that began amid much disappointment. For the Indian River girls, the championship marked the biggest upset of the season over previously unbeaten Great Bridge.
A missed layup by Western Branch's David Fanning and nifty playmaking by Jarvon Mack allowed the Braves to claim their fourth consecutive boys CMSL title with a narrow 43-42 win over the Bruins.
The Braves, seeded fifth out of six teams, began the regular season 1-4 after dominating the league for three years. Western Branch was seeded third with a 5-5 record, an improvement from last year's winless season.
Both teams were surprise finalists, as Indian River upset regular-season champion Deep Creek in overtime while the Bruins knocked off second-seeded Great Bridge.
In the final, the Braves held the advantage on the glass, particularly on offense, and outrebounded Western Branch 42-22, led by Terrell Taylor's game-high 16. More than half of Indian River's scoring came on second-chance points.
There were 11 lead changes in the final, including six in the fourth quarter. Neither team led by more than six points.
The Bruins were up 40-37 with 1:22 left to play, but Mack put the Braves ahead with two 3-pointers off Western Branch turnovers. Danta Wilson responded with a jumper to draw the Bruins within one, 43-42, with 26 seconds left.
An offensive foul gave the ball back to Western Branch, but Mack came up with a steal and was fouled himself with eight seconds on the clock. He missed the front of a one-and-one and the ball was grabbed by Fanning, who rushed down the court but couldn't quite convert on the Bruins' last-second shot.
``The loss is disappointing, but I'm proud of my kids. We beat every team in the league at least once,'' Bruins coach Ted Smith said. ``People can't remember the last time Western Branch won a tournament game, let alone making it to the championship.''
Mack also provided the heroics in Indian River's semifinal upset of Deep Creek, sending the game into overtime with a layup off a steal as the buzzer sounded to end regulation.
In the extra period, Mack could not be denied and hit two 3-pointers, scoring eight of the Braves' 10 points.
``We had many kids playing organized ball for the first time, and the guys didn't believe in themselves at first,'' Indian River coach James DeLoatch said after the tournament. ``I told them to play together and concentrate on the tournament. And look what happened. We won the thing.''
The Lady Braves came into the CMSL tournament seeded third after finishing with a 6-4 record. Indian River easily dispatched Crestwood in the opening round and went on to face second-seeded Oscar Smith.
Against the Tigers, the game went right down to the wire. A free throw by LaVonne Cuffee, who scored a game-high 26 points, broke a 41-41 tie with 26 seconds left and the Braves' defense held Oscar Smith scoreless on two straight possessions to end the game with a 42-41 win.
The victory avenged an Indian River loss at home to those same Tigers just eight days earlier.
But the Braves' road to the city championship would hit a major obstacle in the form of Great Bridge, who finished the regular season 10-0. The Wildcats had already scored two convincing wins over Indian River, including a 48-32 pounding in the final game of the regular season.
In the championship, the Braves stayed close to Great Bridge early, then took the lead at the end of the first quarter en route to a 21-19 lead at the half.
The Wildcats tied the game at 29 after three. Ashley Etheridge, who had a game-high 20 points and eight rebounds, put back a missed shot to give Great Bridge a 35-34 lead with 1:42 left to play.
Jasmine Wilson tied the game with a free throw, but Adrienne Shelton connected on a short jumper with less than a minute remaining to put the Wildcats up by two. Great Bridge got the ball right back on a turnover, but instead of holding the ball Etheridge forced a layup attempt and Wilson took the ball the other way for a game-tying basket with 18 seconds left.
After each team turned the ball over, Denita Griffin was fouled, giving the Wildcats a chance to go ahead with 10 seconds on the clock. But Griffin missed the front of a one-and-one, and Stacy Hammond grabbed the rebound for the Braves.
Hammond launched a perfect length-of-the-court pass down to Cuffee, who made a layup at the horn for a 39-37 Indian River win.
Cuffee led the Braves' with 16 points, and Tiffany Smith added 8.
``We slowed the tempo of the game down and forced Great Bridge to play Indian River's type of game,'' said Braves coach Sonya Anderson. ``We had better ball control and made less mental mistakes than the last time we played them. I think our defensive pressure surprised them a bit, too.'' by CNB