TCS nips VES in tourney final

Jason Spear wasn't as prolific this time, but his timing more than made up for it.

Fresh from a 21-point outburst Friday, the guard punctuated a somewhat cooler outing Saturday by nailing a 3-pointer with two seconds left, lifting Timberlake Christian School to a 51-48 victory over Virginia Episcopal School in the Holiday Classic championship game.

Spear had made seven 3-pointers in Timberlake's semifinal win over Holy Cross but had to settle for 12 points Saturday — that, and the unforgettable game-winner.

"He sure hit the one we needed," said Timberlake coach Charlie Williams, clutching the trophy representing his school's first title in the eight-year-old tournament.

Lynchburg Christian Academy defeated host Holy Cross 53-50 in the consolation game, setting a final that seemed headed toward overtime when Spear missed a 3-point attempt on the Tornadoes' next-to-last possession.

VES controlled the rebound but threw the ball away — into the hands of Timberlake's Paul Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, who had assisted on Jon Phillips' game-winning 3-pointer Friday, duplicated the scene by hitting Spear on the left wing for the deciding points.

"That's just pressure," VES coach Bob Leake said of the late turnover. "We were trying to scream for a timeout, but in the noise he didn't hear us."

VES led by as many as five points in the final period, but Bart Hogge's stickback of a James Napier miss capped a 5-0 run that drew the Tornadoes even at 48-48 with 1:33 to go.

VES guard Scott Guggenheimer then missed the front end of a one-and-one with 1:02 left. The Bishops, though, gathered the rebound and worked the ball around until a controversial Boss Poe basket — on a driving follow of his own miss — was disallowed with 27 seconds left because of traveling.

"That mentally shot us, right there," Leake said. "I guess (the official) thought he was passing the ball to himself. But the guy on the baseline didn't call it. The guy on the far side did."

Phillips, completing an outstanding tourney despite being hampered Saturday with fouls, led Timberlake with 16 points. Napier added 11 for the Tornadoes, who effectively slowed the tempo against the deeper and more run-oriented Bishops.

VES, which ousted LCA in the semifinals, received 12 points from Poe and 10 from Scott Keplinger. It was Timberlake, though, which broke through after losing in last year's championship game to Holy Cross.

"I told the guys in the locker room that last year I was just happy to be in the finals," Williams said. "This year, we were looking to win it."

In the consolation game, LCA (5-4) excelled underneath, getting 14 points from Don Barrows and 13 from Ben Martin. The Bulldogs built a 49-42 lead with 4:13 left to fend off a late push by the Gaels, led by 3-pointers each from Abe Hughes and Dan Schemmel.

"The boys showed a lot of resiliency to bounce back like they did," LCA coach Tim Hill said. "I thought, mentally, we were all better prepared."

Schemmel led Holy Cross (0-6) with 13 points and Roger Colinger added 12. The Gaels, though, made just 9 of 20 free throws and missed five attempts early in the final period that prevented a 5-0 Holy Cross from being even more damaging.

"It's hard to lose another close one," Holy Cross coach Stan Hull said. "But it's kind of tough to win a game shooting less than 50 percent from the line."

Named to the all-tournament team were Phillips, Spear, Poe, Keplinger, Schemmel and LCA's Trent Richardson.

By Gary Crockett, Staff Writer
Source: The News & Advance