THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 22, 1997 TAG: 9702220647
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BRIAN J. FRENCH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 63 lines
Cliff Jacobs scored 24 points, most of them in the paint, as seventh-seeded Oscar Smith shocked No. 1 Indian River 74-54 on Friday night to win the Southeastern District boys basketball tournament before a raucous and partisan home crowd.
``This game shows how, when we play together as a team, we can win,'' Jacobs said. ``We deserved this win.''
``We honestly approached this tournament with the idea that we were better than a seven seed,'' said Shane Smith, who took over the Tigers in January after coach Sandy Williams underwent surgery. ``We knew we could not win if we didn't play like a team, and we saw flashes of that in this tournament.''
After holding Nansemond River's Antoine Willie to 15 points in their first-round upset victory and then limiting Lakeland to two first-half field goals in a 60-30 quarterfinal win, the Tigers jumped out to a 10-2 led and forced the Braves to rush their offense and take a lot of 3-pointers.
``We made a number of mistakes early and it really hurt us,'' said David Selby, who still managed to score 28 points.
The frustration level grew for Indian River as the second quarter wore on - Braves coach Freddie Spellman picked up a technical early in the period - culminating in a 10-4 Oscar Smith run to give the Tigers a 39-25 halftime lead.
Lavar Griffin scored seven of his 21 points for Oscar Smith in the quarter.
And though the Braves rallied to begin the third quarter, they would get no closer than 43-36 late in the third quarter.
``The kids have to learn to play through adversity,'' Spellman said, ``and they didn't respond as well as I had hoped.''
Both teams already had their Eastern Region tickets punched; Oscar Smith will visit Eastern District champion Booker T. Washington while the Braves will host Lake Taylor.
But that didn't keep the emotion from pouring out of Shane Smith, his players, or the throng of fans spilling onto the floor at the final buzzer.
``We play well when we're emotional and enthused,'' Smith said. ``Maybe someone on the bench will become a cheerleader and draw the crowd in the game, and then the fans start getting louder and we start getting more enthused.''
In other games:
Southampton 48, Bruton 47: Jeff Watkins sank two free throws with five seconds remaining to lift the Indians in the Bay Rivers District championship game. Montrell Miggins led Southampton with 13 points.
Portsmouth Christian 56, Denbigh Baptist 52: Brian Rustay had seven steals and scored 14 of his 20 points in the third quarter as the top-seeded Patriots won a Metro Conference semifinal. Brian McCauley added 17 points for Portsmouth Christian, which will host Alliance Christian tonight at 7:30.
Alliance Christian 74, Hampton Christian 61: Chris Huneycutt had 19 points and James Smith added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Falcons. Chad Feyer had 12 points and Damien Byrd had 12 points and nine assists.
Paul VI 50, Catholic 45: The Crusaders had a chance to tie a state Catholic quarterfinal with 1:30 to go. But Eric Washburn, who led Catholic with 14 points and seven rebounds, converted just 1 of 2 free throws. Paul VI will face Bishop O'Connell in the semifinals.
Trinity Episcopal 82, Norfolk Academy 50: Jay Denny had 15 points as the Bulldogs lost a Virginia Prep League semifinal. Trinity will play Woodberry Forest in today's final.
Northampton 73, Arcadia 56: Yarn Brisco had 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds and David Jones added 13 points as the Yellow Jackets won the Eastern Shore District final.