THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 1, 1995 TAG: 9503010633
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
With an influx of public school talent and a first-year coach, this was supposed to be a building year for the Atlantic Shores basketball team.
But after Tuesday's 58-45 victory over St. Anne's Belfield in the first round of the Virginia Independent Schools tournament, it appears things are shaping up quite well.
Atlantic Shores, ranked No. 4 in the last VIS Division I state poll and the third seed in the tournament, moves on to the next round Thursday at Flint Hill Academy in Fairfax County. The Seahawks will play Trinity Episcopal, a 62-41 winner over Catholic, at 3:15 p.m.
``These kids don't yet understand what it takes to become a champion,'' Seahawks coach Mark Phelps said at halftime, his team up by 10. ``We're playing a little reckless. This team (St. Anne's Belfield) is doing what they want.''
Well, not quite.
But one thing the Saints were able to do was remind Phelps of his team's last loss to Flint Hill - the top-ranked private school in the state. Atlantic Shores led Flint Hill by 21 points in the fourth quarter, only to lose.
While Atlantic Shores' victory never seemed in doubt, there were a few moments, such as midway through the third quarter, when the Saints (12-13) scored six unanswered pointsto close the gap to four points. Or an 8-0 fourth-quarter spurt that cut Atlantic Shores' lead to 50-42.
The difference was that the Seahawks (24-8) had built up advantages of 10 and 14 points when the Saints attempted to run.
That . . . and the big men.
``I've never seen two big guys leap like those two did,'' Saints shooting guard Tim Rizzo said of Atlantic Shores' 6-foot-7 twin towers, Damon Thornton and Kenny Inge. ``Those guys were good, and I think they were the difference.''
Thornton finished with a game-high 22 points, while Inge chipped in 12 - including one thunderous alley-oop dunk off a feed from point guard Brandon Wynn.
Wynn, however, felt that his team might have been playing it safe to make sure it advanced.
``We were trying to play too conservative,'' Wynn said. ``That's not our style. We're more of a run-and-gun team and we're going to have to play like that from now on.''
Thornton and Inge also teamed to get Saints center Billy Coleman in foul trouble, sending him to the bench early in the third quarter with his fourth foul.
That left forward Danny Graham with the bulk of inside duty, and he struggled. The Saints' leading scorer, Michael Trotter, led the way with 14 points. Rizzo followed with 13.
In other games:
Benedictine 63, Nansemond-Suffolk 46: Lee Small scored 14 points for Benedictine, which built a 12-point lead in the first half.
``We got off to a bad start,'' said Nansemond-Suffolk coach Trip Hobbs, whose Saints trimmed the deficit to three in the first half and to five in the second.
``We cut to five, but we could never get over that hump.''
Tom Dougherty had 21 points for the Saints. Eddie Bagnell added 11.
Richmond Collegiate 66, Norfolk Christian 56: Tim Dabney had 17 points, including four 3-pointers in the first half, as second-seeded Collegiate advanced to a quarterfinal matchup with St. Stephen's and St. Agnes.
Down, 17-9, after a quarter and by as many 10 in the first half, the Ambassadors sliced the margin to two late in the third quarter. But Collegiate went on an 8-0 run over last 40 seconds of the period, then built the lead to 14 in the fourth.
Matt Morelewski had 30 points and 11 rebounds for Norfolk Christian.
Trinity Episcopal 62, Catholic 41: Trinity grabbed a 38-8 halftime lead to advance to the quarterfinals. Andrew Prickett led Catholic with 12 points.
In Group AA girls volleyball:
Fort Defiance 2, Nansemond River 0: The Fighting Indians swept the Warriors, 17-15, 15-6, in a quarterfinal match. Fort Defiance will meet Lee-Staunton, victors over Poquoson, in a semifinal Saturday. by CNB