THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 22, 1997 TAG: 9702220622
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 43 lines
For the second time in as many nights, Kempsville made an opponent suffer through a frustrating episode of ``Leave it to Beaver.''
McKinley Ford, the burly 6-5 power forward whose had the nickname ``Beaver'' since he was about the size of one, scored 18 points and snatched 14 rebounds to help Kempsville secure an Eastern Region tournament berth with a 57-50 victory over Salem in the Beach District boys basketball final Friday at Ocean Lakes.
Ford, one of the Chiefs' seven seniors, had an especially monstrous night on the offensive boards. Six of the Chiefs' first eight points came on Ford putbacks and half of his rebounds came on Kempsville missed shots as he had his way against a team with no player taller than 6-3.
``Beaver was just outstanding tonight,'' Kempsville coach Vernon King said.
On Thursday, Ford poured in 20 points to help the Chiefs down Ocean Lakes.
Kempsville's victory sets up the most glamorous of the four boys regional quarterfinals Tuesday at 7 p.m. - the Chiefs, South Hampton Roads' preseason No. 1, winners of seven in a row and featuring North Carolina signee Brian Bersticker, visiting Hampton, the Peninsula District regular-season and tournament champions starring King Crabber Ronald Curry.
Cox, the Beach's top seed at regionals by virtue of its district regular-season title, will host Peninsula No. 2 Menchville Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Ford's dominant inside play and the three-point shooting of Levar Wright (3 of 4 from behind the arc in the first half) allowed Kempsville to build a nine-point halftime lead.
The Chiefs (19-6) led by as many as 11 in the third quarter. But the gritty Sun Devils fought back behind the acrobatic play of point guard Von Hunter. The 5-7 junior continually zipped through the Chiefs' interior for twisting layups and scored a game-high 21 points before fouling out in the final minute. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Kempsville's Bernard Staples loses his footing between Salem's Jamie
Pointdexter, left, and Kenny Knightnor.