Timberlake Christian opened its own Holiday Classic tournament by outlasting Lynchburg Christian Academy 49-42 in the Friday-night semifinal, setting up a championship date with Holy Cross, who had beaten Virginia Episcopal 53-38 in the tourney's other semifinal.

The game was a physical battle between Timberlake's driving offense and LCA's inside game. With the Bulldogs' outside shooters struggling to find their range, LCA leaned heavily on senior center Jimmy Kirshberger, who powered his way to a team-high 17 points and nearly rallied LCA to a late lead early in the fourth quarter.

Nathan Williams answered for the Tornadoes, scoring the go-ahead basket, extending the lead with a later layup, and sealing the win at the free-throw line. He finished with a game-high 23 points. Freshman Brandon Mitchell came up with several key defensive plays down the stretch and added eight points.

The News & Advance