Timberlake ousts Word of Life in VIS

Timberlake Christian School's Chris Newsome stood his ground.

The Tornadoes and Word of Life Academy were tied at 37 with 1:34 left in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's first round game of the Virginia Independent State Division III boys basketball tournament when Newsome took a charge from the Ambassadors.

Timberlake went to the other end of the court and Alex Miller found Newsome open inside for a layup to give TCS a 39-37 lead. Newsome stood his ground again, drawing a second charge in less than a minute.

Seven free throws and 71 seconds later the Tornadoes had earned the school's first state tournament victory by defeating Word of Life 46-37.

Coach Jason Spear singled out Newsome's two charges afterward, pointing out that hustle plays like that don't show up in a box score the way steals or rebounds do but matter just as much. Newsome, for his part, said he'd read the Ambassadors' drivers well enough in the moment to step in front and take the contact.

The Tornadoes (14-17) will play at No. 1 seed Stonebridge at 6 p.m. Thursday in the state quarterfinals. Spear noted it was just Timberlake's third state tournament game ever, and its first tournament win — he felt the team had already exceeded most expectations for the year, pointing to a strong three-week stretch of play and saying a single true road win now stood between the Tornadoes and the state final four.

Jon Morgan controlled the game for the first two quarters, scoring 15 of his 21 points in the first half as the Tornadoes built a 27-19 lead going into halftime.

But the Ambassadors opened the third quarter in a box-and-one defense designed to deny Morgan the ball. Spear said it was a defense Timberlake hadn't seen at all that season, and admitted the team was initially passive and slow to attack it. The Tornadoes turned the ball over six times in the third quarter and scored only four points — Spear later noted the team can fall into a rut trying to force everything through Morgan when opponents take him away, but credited his teammates for stepping up once the fourth quarter arrived.

Word of Life eventually tied the game at 29 with 55.6 seconds left in the third quarter, but Morgan's offensive rebound and layup at the buzzer gave Timberlake a 31-29 lead to start the fourth. The Ambassadors took their first lead of the game at 32-31 on Smokey Pratt's put-back of an offensive rebound with 7:19 left to play. Pratt led Word of Life with 17 points.

The game was tied at 33 and the teams traded baskets until Newsome drew his first charge. He finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Timberlake made seven of its eight free throw attempts in the last minute of the game, and the Ambassadors didn't score a point over the final 2:43. Spear credited the team's defense as generally solid all game, allowing for the occasional lapse. "Getting that first state tournament win is the greatest thrill of my basketball career," Newsome said afterward.

By Chris Humphreys, Staff Writer
Source: The News & Advance