THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 8, 1996 TAG: 9602080558
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Top-ranked Maury clinched the Eastern District championship and became the first team to earn an Eastern Region playoff bid Wednesday night with a 65-61 victory over Booker T. Washington.
``I'm very, very pleased,'' Maury coach Jack Baker said. ``We weren't the favorite coming in. This is a nice surprise.''
Maury (18-0, 6-0) rallied from a four-point deficit with 6 1/2 minutes to play after leading by 17 in the first half.
Ricardo Trevisan and Tommy Spruill led Maury with 17 points each. Trevisan also grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked two shots.
Booker T.'s Russell Branch, a sophomore playing in only his second game, led all scorers with 20.
The Bookers (8-8, 2-3) scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to go up 52-48 with 6:35 left and prompt Maury to call timeout.
A steal and a layup by Ike Richardson and a corner jumper by Spruill tied the score and forced Booker T. to take a timeout.
Terry Gray missed a short jumper for the Bookers, and Jake Schultz scored from the baseline to put Maury in front for good 54-52 with 4:48 remaining.
The lead was still only two when Richardson missed the second shot of a one-and-one with 2:59 left. There was a tieup on the rebound and the possession arrow pointed to Maury.
After another timeout, Richardson penetrated the lane and kicked the ball out to Spruill, who hit a 3-pointer - his third of the game - to make it 60-55.
``I knew we needed it,'' Spruill said. ``It was the spark we needed to get the crowd in it.''
The Bookers refused to fold. A reverse layup by Branch cut the deficit to 60-59 with 1:33 left.
Spruill missed a 3-point attempt, but Stacey Gregg grabbed the offensive rebound for Maury and got the ball to Richardson who was fouled.
Richardson, who scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, hit 5 of 6 from the line in the final 50 seconds to clinch it.
``We're loving every minute of it,'' Richardson said. ``There's no pressure on us. We love being No. 1.''
The four-point loss was the Bookers' second to Maury this season.
``We hustled to get back in it, and then once we got the lead, we didn't handle the situation well at all,'' Booker T. coach Jarrell Wilkerson said.
In other games:
Norview 62, Granby 57: David Martin scored 20 points, including two free throws in the last five seconds, for the Pilots, who once led by 11. The Comets cut it to three on a Charles Banks' 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds to go.
Atlantic Shores 63, Northampton 51: Damon Thornton had 18 points for the No. 5 Seahawks. Sam Ames scored 17 for the Yellow Jackets.
Cape Henry 68, Hampton Roads 59: Kinte Smith had 21 points and eight assists and Chris DiNunzio added 14 points and 18 rebounds for the Dolphins.
Southampton 99, Poquoson 61: Shawn Tann scored 39 points, including his 1,000th career point, for the Indians.
Fork Union 70, Norfolk Academy 69: Bryan Duquette had 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Bulldogs' four-game winning streak ended with an overtime loss. by CNB