THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 21, 1994 TAG: 9412210640
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Tallwood High's boys basketball team gave itself an early Christmas present by giving Cox fits.
The Lions, who moved into the No. 10 slot in the area rankings Tuesday morning, proved they belonged Tuesday night, beating the Falcons, 65-60, at Cox.
Tallwood popped into the top 10 mainly on the strength of a 64-54 victory over then-No. 7 Green Run nine days ago.
This time it was the fifth-ranked team they derailed.
The Lions did it with trademark trapping pressure defense and some timely 3-point shooting by junior guard Rian Everett.
``We set a goal of being 5-0 prior to Christmas,'' said Tallwood coach Johnny Pope, whose goal was met. ``This was a big win for us.''
The Lions, 5-0 overall and in the Beach District, raced to a 38-31 halftime lead and never trailed in the second half, although the Falcons were able to tie matters, 55-55, with just under four minutes remaining when Matt Whalen scored off a rebound.
Everett answered Whalen by making his fourth and most important 3-pointer.
With 3:10 remaining, Everett pulled up on the left wing and launched a rainbow shot while being fouled by Cox's Chris McInnis. He completed the four-point play for a 59-55 lead.
``It was a big game,'' said Everett, who finished with a game-high 23 points. ``I just had to step up.''
The shot appeared ill-advised at first, but Pope never doubted his star guard's decision to take it.
``With Rian it's never `No, no, no!' '' Pope said. ``He's an incredible athlete and you've got to be able to rely on your go-to player.''
After neither team converted on its next two possessions, Jake Lovelace scored on a rebound with 1:40 remaining for a 61-55 advantage. Lovelace, a 6-foot-5 senior, finished with 13 points.
Tallwood maintained its half-game lead over Bayside (5-1 overall, 4-0 district), the area's top-ranked team, in the Beach District race.
If there was a specific aspect that lost it for Cox, it was free throw shooting. The Falcons (3-2 overall and district) were 14 of 29 at the foul line.
``We wanted to run 'em and take their legs from 'em,'' Pope said. ``When fatigue factors into your concentration, free throw shooting becomes a different ballgame.''
Whalen, the Beach District's player of the year last season, scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. But he was 5 of 13 from the free throw line.
Guard Xavier Wilson also had 21 points for the Falcons.
``I'm not going to get a lot of sleep tonight,'' Cox coach Kenny Edwards said. ``We missed layups, we missed free throws and we made a lot of bad passes.
``Some of that's to Tallwood's credit. They did a good job of bothering our shooters. I've said all along they had a good ballclub.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MOTOYA NAKAMURA
Matt Wilbricht of Cox, left, takes the low road for a pass around
the soaring Rian Everett of Tallwood.
by CNB