THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 30, 1995 TAG: 9512300515
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Sixth-ranked Lake Taylor sucked the life out of Great Bridge's offense and drubbed the Wildcats 66-42 in the championship game of the South Norfolk Holiday Classic Friday night at Oscar Smith.
The Titans' aggressive man-to-man defense limited the Wildcats to 35 percent shooting from the field and held high-scoring guards Steve Hargrow and Tony King to a combined 13 points, 23 below their average.
Lake Taylor (7-1) led 12-0 before Great Bridge scored on Chris Gibson's 3-pointer with 2:06 left in the first quarter. The closest the Wildcats would come was 39-31 at the end of the third quarter.
Then Lake Taylor's Toot Young took over. Young, who was voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the margin to 16 with 6:20 remaining.
Young finished with a game-high 18 points to give him 56 in the three tournament games. He also drew the defensive assignment on Hargrow and shut him out in the first half.
``I put a lot of pressure on Toot because I expect great things from him,'' Lake Taylor coach John Kelley said. ``Tonight he was excellent on the defensive end after getting taken by a couple of kids (in the first two games of the tournament) and showed the caliber of player he is with his rebounding, passing and scoring.''
Young said he scouted Hargrow in Great Bridge's victory over Kempsville in the semifinals and was up for the challenge.
``He doesn't have much of a right so I just tried to contain his left side,'' Young said. ``I could tell they were getting frustrated by the expressions on their face and they were just throwing up stuff.''
Hargrow scored 11 points, eight below his average. King, who was averaging 16.9, never got going and finished with two. Deshawn Hendrick spearheaded the defensive effort on King.
Lake Taylor did most of its damage inside. The starting frontcourt of Toni Harrell, Brian Kelley and Darnell Whitaker combined for 34 points. Harrell had three dunks.
Lake Taylor has won seven in a row since a season-opening loss to Bayside, but that streak will be challenged immediately. The Titans' next three games are against No. 4 Indian River, No. 2 Maury and No. 3 Tallwood.
In other games:
Oscar Smith 81, Kempsville 79: Jamar Lewis scored 19 points as the Tigers built an 81-73 lead in the third-place game.
Ocean Lakes 63, Western Branch 48: Jack Wheeler had a game-high 17 points as the Dolphins claimed fifth place.
Kellam 62, Princess Anne 47: Ben Matthews scored 19 points in the first half as the Knights overcame the Cavaliers' 10-0 opening run to earn their first victory of the season in the seventh-place game. ILLUSTRATION: L. TODD SPENCER
The Virginian-Pilot
Lake Taylor's Darnell Whitaker and Great Bridge's Lewis Frampton
chase a loose ball in Friday's South Norfolk final.
by CNB