THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 27, 1996 TAG: 9601270393
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Third-ranked Indian River held a housewarming party Friday night, but those weren't doughnuts the Braves were dunking.
In their first home game of the season before a standing-room crowd huddled eight and nine deep in the corners, the Braves threw down four dunks in the first five minutes and went on to hand No. 9 Oscar Smith its first Southeastern District defeat 84-70.
David Selby scored a game-high 25 points and Jason Capel added 21 and grabbed 16 rebounds as Indian River (12-3, 8-1) seized first place in the district. Oscar Smith (10-5, 7-1) fell into a tie for second with Deep Creek (8-5, 7-1).
Oscar Smith dealt Indian River its only district defeat in December before the football players joined the squad and the combination of revenge and finally playing at home had the Braves salivating all week. The Braves had been forced to play on the road all season because their home floor was damaged.
``We've been waiting all year for this and it was better than I had hoped,'' Capel said. ``To come out and play like that in front of our fans, well, I think we gave them what they came to see.''
Indian River got 53 points from players who weren't on the team the first time it played Oscar Smith, led by Selby's 25, James Boyd's 17 and Stretch Seward's eight to go with five blocks.
``Just write the boys are back,'' Selby said.
The difference this time?
``I think we were overhyped,'' said Jamar Lewis, who led Oscar Smith with 21 points. ``We knew what their press would be like, but our shots just didn't fall.''
That may have seemed the case in a game played at a breakneck pace, with both teams pressing fullcourt. But both teams shot well - Indian River was 35 of 69 from the field (50.7 percent) and Oscar Smith was 31 of 63 (49.2).
The shooting percentages were a direct result of the numerous easy shots produced by both defenses. Ocsar Smith committed 29 turnovers to Indian River's 28.
The Braves led by 10 points at halftime and started the third quarter with a 9-0 run to go up 57-38. Selby hit a 3-pointer, Terry Rouse fed Capel for a dunk, Selby hit a baseline jumper and Seward tipped in a miss.
The Tigers made several runs at the Braves. On three ocaasions they cut the deficit to nine, the last time at 73-64 with 3:00 left. But the Braves responded with an 8-2 run to ice it. Capel scored six of those points getting four on a pair of dandy baseline moves. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. Todd Spencer
by CNB