THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 16, 1996 TAG: 9603160515
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Indian River's Jason Capel embellished his repuation as one of the best sophomores in the nation Friday night with 31 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.
But with a berth in the state Group AAA championship game on the line it was another 10th-grader who took over the game.
George Washington's Marques Cunningham scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, including 12 in a row in the last three minutes to lift the unbeaten Eagles to an 82-75 victory before a crowd estimated at 8,500 at Liberty University's Vines Center.
Cunningham's heroics came after the Eagles' two leading scorers, Bobby Wimbush and Nathan Poole had fouled out.
``Coach knows I'm a sophomore, but he told me to take over,'' said Cunningham, a 6-foot-1 guard who led the Eagles with 20 points. ``If the game's on the line that's my job.''
George Washington (27-0) plays Hopewell tonight at 8:45 for the championship. Hopewell (27-1) whipped William Fleming 81-61 in the first semifinal.
Indian River (24-5) led 67-65 on two free throws by Capel with 3:14 left. But he would score only two more points as the Braves went cold down the stretch.
``We got tired, but there are no excuses,'' Capel said. ``The ball just didn't bounce our way.''
Cunningham answered Capel's free throws with a 3-pointer to give George Washington the lead for good at 68-67. He added a baseline jumper and hit 7 of 8 free throws as the Eagles converted on nine consecutive possessions in the final three minutes.
Indian River shot only 31.4 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers. David Selby added 15 points and 10 rebounds, but was 6 of 23 from the field.
``We missed some easy shots,'' Indian River coach Freddie Spellman said. ``We were trying to hit a jump shot instead of going inside.''
Both teams looked tight in the first half as they combined for 21 turnovers. Capel was Indian River's only reliable offensive weapon with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and two assists. Ed Seward was 3 of 3 and the rest of the team was 3 of 21.
George Washington, substituting at almost every whistle, also lacked continuity. But the Eagles got a huge lift from another sophomore, 6-5 Charles Stephens. He came off the bench to score 19 points, 12 in thr first half.
Indian River led 15-7 behind nine points from Capel, but then missed its next seven shots. George Washington the lead at 21-19 on a fastbreak layup by Marques Cunningham, but the margin was still only one until DeMarcus Morrison, another reserve, hit a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left to make it 32-28.
The Eagles regained possession when Capel turned it over in the lane. Capel blocked Stephens' jumper with two seconds left. But Stephens grabbed the rebound and floated a 14-footer over Capel's outstretched arm at the buzzer to give the Eagles their largest lead of the half at 34-28. by CNB