Virginia Episcopal School executed a near-flawless game plan to defeat Timberlake Christian 65-53 and claim the Holiday Classic title at the Vines Center, handing the Tornadoes their first loss of the season after an 11-3-pointer outburst in Friday's first-round win. VES used an extended man-to-man defense to take away Timberlake's outside shooting, with Walker Hobson shadowing Paul Fitzgerald and Scott Keplinger assigned to Jason Spear. The plan worked: Spear didn't hit his first field goal until the 3:25 mark of the third quarter, and Fitzgerald made just 2 of 7 shots in the first half.

Timberlake actually opened with a 5-2 lead on a 3-pointer from Fitzgerald and a layup from Clint Dodson, but VES answered with a 14-7 run to close the first quarter ahead 16-12. The Bishops pulled away in the second with a 6-1 spurt and took a 28-17 lead into halftime, then extended it further with another 14-7 run in the third to go up 48-30. A basket from Nate Neel with 5:55 left gave VES its largest lead of the night at 54-33. Timberlake rallied to cut the deficit to 61-50 with 1:24 remaining, but free throws from Jack Gray and Hugh Caperton sealed the win for VES.

Hobson finished with a game-high 23 points and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, while Keplinger earned an All-Tournament spot largely for his defensive work despite scoring just two points. Jason Spear and Paul Fitzgerald each led Timberlake with 13 and 11 points respectively, and Wyatt Craig added 11 as well. Hobson and Keplinger were joined on the all-tournament team by Fitzgerald, Spear, Holy Cross's Sherman Hughes and LCA's Andrew Pantana.

By Marvin Hamlett, Staff Writer
The News & Advance