H. Cross, TCS land in finals

The King Fieldhouse at Virginia Episcopal School was not a place for the faint of heart Friday night. Timberlake Christian (2-2) survived a nail-biting game to post a first-round win in the Holiday Classic. The Tornadoes advanced with a 52-45 comeback win over the host Bishops (0-2).

Brian Fitzgerald, held scoreless in the first half, scored 15 points to rally Timberlake from a 30-21 halftime deficit. The Tornadoes outscored Virginia Episcopal 15-4 in the third period and Fitzgerald dealt the Bishops a serious blow when he banked home a 3-pointer from about 22 feet as the buzzer sounded ending the third quarter.

"That shot really pumped us up," Williams said. "We seemed to turn up our defense and our overall play really smoothed out."

VES coach Bob Leake asked Williams after the game what he put in his water bottles at halftime. Maybe Williams also tampered with the Bishops' refreshments as well.

After scorching the nets and racing to a 16-7 first-quarter lead, the Bishops made several costly turnovers that led to some easy Timberlake baskets. "Perhaps we became a bit overconfident after that fast start," Leake said. "We told them that good shooting to get TCS back in it, and they were obviously hungry for the win. It seemed the second half everything went away. We were rocked back on our heels from the get-go of the second half and we never recovered."

Williams seemed even more satisfied because his team survived the first round without starting guard Jon Phillips, who was out with a sprained ankle. Ryan Spear, whose brother Jason scored 14 for TCS, filled in for Phillips with 9 points.

"We're just tickled pink to win this game and get in the finals," Williams said. "To beat that team without our best player makes this a great win as far as I'm concerned."

By Jeff Motley, Staff writer
Source: The News & Advance