THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 8, 1997 TAG: 9701080576
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 59 lines
The way Granby's Corey Franklin figured it, the only problem with the Comets on Tuesday was their play in the first and third quarters.
``Other than that, we did OK,'' he said.
But two solid periods weren't nearly enough against top-ranked Booker T. Washington, which blitzed No. 6 Granby 72-53 at Granby to remain the Eastern Region's only undefeated team.
The Bookers (9-0, 5-0 in the Eastern District) jumped to a 14-2 lead, withstood a Granby surge in a foul-plagued second quarter and took off on 9-0 and 8-2 runs to build a 14-point advantage heading into the final quarter.
``We're taking it like we're 0-9,'' said Bookers guard Adrean Newton, who scored 12 points and was one of five Bookers in double figures. ``We're going to come out hard every night.''
The Comets (9-3, 3-2) upended then-fourth-ranked Norview on Friday and were greeted Tuesday by a raucous, near-capacity crowd. But they sputtered from the gate, at one point failing to inbound the ball on three straight possessions.
``I think some of the young guys got nervous,'' said Franklin, a senior whose 15 points led all scorers.
Granby trailed by 14 at the start of the second quarter, but unveiled its newfound love for penetration and went 9 for 13 from the free-throw line to whittle its halftime deficit to six.
``We're letting teams get in the one-and-one and the double-bonus way too early,'' Bookers coach Jarrell Wilkerson said.
Two games ago, the Comets, who coach Lonnie Blow said were intimidated by 6-foot-10 center Ian Caskill, attempted only three free throws against Cox. Since then, they've stepped to the line 77 times.
But when the Bookers began relying on footwork instead of handspeed on defense in the third quarter, the Comets were unable to answer. Meanwhile, the Bookers got 17 points from seven players in crafting a 49-35 lead that sucked most of the drama out of the fourth quarter.
That third quarter was a reflection of the Bookers' offensive balance. In addition to Newton's 12, Kelvin Fuller and Akil Epps each scored 11, Russell Branch and Kentrell Hines each had 10 and Terry Gray chipped in nine.
``Everybody was on the same page tonight,'' Newton said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
The Comets' Dexter Reid found the floor, but no teammates to pass to
as he was triple-teamed by, from left, Russell Branch, Robert Jordan
and Adrean Newton. Booker T. Washington's defense had Granby bottled
up all night, as the Bookers remained the only unbeaten team in the
Eastern Region with an easy 72-53 victory Tuesday night.