TIMES-DISPATCH INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT: Day One Action

By Evan Kearney

The three-day Richmond Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament
got off to a great start Thursday at VCU�??s Siegel Center with all
sixteen teams �?? eight girls teams and eight boys teams �?? including
several of the region�??s top teams, seeing action. The top-ranked teams
tended to prevail in the first round, but the day still provided some
close games and tense moments, and plenty of good play.

GIRLS BRACKETS

Manchester 43, John Marshall 42: Trailing Throughout, Game Ends Well for Lancers

The
opening game of the 2006 Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament was one
of the day�??s most thrilling games. After trailing John Marshall for
much of the game, Manchester�??s Jennifer O�??Briant
put the Lancers ahead with 1:40 left in the fourth quarter. Her basket
turned out to be the last score of the game and the Lancers had won the
opening game of the Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament, 43-42.

Both
teams seemed to struggle with the early, 9:00 a.m. tip-off. At the end
of the first quarter, John Marshall led 7-5. In the second quarter,
both teams started waking up. The Lady Justices also opened up the game
a bit and took a 6 point lead into the half at 23-17.

When it opened the second half with a 7-0 run, Marshall looked like it would run away with the game, but Manchester came back to close the gap down to six by the end of the period, at 38-32.

In the fourth quarter, Manchester kept closing on John Marshall giving O�??Briant the opportunity for the go-ahead and winning shot.

Manchester was led by Porche Bentley (15 points) and O�??Briant (14). Also scoring for the Lancers were Ja�??Nell Jones (8), Abbey Hendricks (3), and Julie Remmers (3).

John Marshall was led by Sabrina Treakle with a game high 16 points. Deja Middleton added 10 points, while Valentina Toogood put in 8 points, and Shaneka Robichaux and Vanity Toogood had 4 points each.

Manchester will meet Atlee in the second round of the tournament on Friday, and John Marshall will meet St. Catherine�??s.

Atlee 46, St. Catherine�??s 28: Lady Raiders Dominate Saints

Sydney Henderson
scored 10 of her 12 points in the second quarter to help the Atlee
Raiders open up a comfortable lead on the St. Catherine�??s Saints in
first round action in the Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament on
Thursday. The tournament-favorite Raiders went on to overpower the
Saints, 46-28.

The Lady Raiders took an early lead of 11-6 to begin the game. With Henderson�??s help, Atlee really opened up in the second quarter, outscoring the Saints 19-6 in the period to make it 30-12 at the half.

St. Catherine�??s cut the deficit only slightly in the third quarter, and Atlee headed into the final period in charge, 37-21.

In the fourth quarter, many of the reserves on both sides saw playing time as Atlee coasted to victory.

In addition to Henderson�??s 12 points, Richelle Price also was in double figures for Atlee, contributing 10 points. Kristen Lescalleet scored 8 for the Lady Raiders, and Brittany Hill and Lindsay Martin each scored 6. Michelle Gordon added 3 points and Sydney Jenkins was able to get a free throw in for 1 point.

St. Catherine�??s was led by Maggie Anderson�??s 15 points. Emma Starnes scored 5, McKenzie Jump added 4, and Alison Outland and Stephanie Stinson each scored 2.

Atlee next will play Manchester in the second round on Friday, while St. Catherine�??s will play John Marshall.

L. C. Bird 48, Hanover 23: Strong Defense Leads Skyhawks to Victory

L.
C. Bird�??s defense proved to be too strong for the Hanover Hawks and
Bird cruised to victory in the first round of the Times-Dispatch
Invitational Tournament on Thursday, 48-23.

The Skyhawks, one of the top girls teams in the tournament, limited Hanover to 6 or fewer points in each of the first three quarters. Hanover made it close in the first quarter, which ended with Bird up, 8-5. However, Bird�??s defense held Hanover to just 2 points in the second quarter, and Bird took an 18-7 lead into the half.

In the third quarter, Bird extended its lead to 32-13 and continued to control the game in the fourth quarter.

Bianca Vaughan led the Skyhawks scoring with 15 points. Ruthanne Doherty added 8 points. Jalissa Taylor and Barbara Sitton each scored 7 points. Ebony Patterson contributed 6 points and Sarah Hill rounded out the scoring with 5 points.

Kimberly Browning led Hanover with 8 points. Chelsea Coward added 6 points, Tiquana Hill had 5 points, and Courtney Long had 4 points.

L. C. Bird will meet Midlothian on Friday in the TDIT second round, and Hanover will play Deep Run.

Midlothian 51, Deep Run 46: Deep Run�??s Comeback Bid Against Midlothian Falls Short

Deep Run erased a 10 point halftime deficit against Midlothian,
but the Trojans had just enough to retake the lead and hold on for a
51-46 win in the first round of the Times-Dispatch Invitational
Tournament on Thursday.

Deep Run took the lead 40-39 with 4:45 left in the game, its first lead since leading early at 3-2, but Midlothian then went on a 12-6 run to end the game.

Both
teams started the game shooting and looking like the quality teams they
are. Midlo led 13-8 at the end of the first quarter. The Trojans then
extended their lead in the second quarter and went into halftime with a
29-19 advantage.

Deep
Run closed the gap some in the third quarter, cutting the lead down to
6 going into the fourth quarter, 36-30. The Wildcats then quickly
erased the deficit at the start of the final quarter, and captured the
lead. But the Trojans responded by bearing down, retook the lead, and
squeaked out the win.

The Trojans were led by Rachel Matthews, who had 15 points. Following her closely were Temperance Brantley (14 points) and Brooke Leonard (13). Jermile Batten (4), Brittany Harris (3), and Jennifer Abbott (2) also contributed to the scoring.

Deep Run�??s Brittney Grove led all scorers with 18 points. The Wildcats�?? Natalie Fergusson also was in double digits with 10 points. Pamela Champ (9 points), Amy Turner (7), and Lauren Kornacki (2) also scored for the Wildcats.

Midlothian will meet Dominion District foe L. C. Bird in the second round on Friday and Deep Run will meet up with Hanover.

BOYS BRACKETS

Collegiate 60, Meadowbrook 56: Cougars Hold Off Pesky Monarchs

Collegiate
held off Meadowbrook in the second half to secure a hard-gained, 60-56
first round win in the Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament on
Thursday. Meadowbrook had been the tournament�??s two-time defending
champion coming into the game.

Both
sides came out shooting to start the game, but Collegiate�??s three point
shooting produced an early lead, 14-11. Both teams�?? shooting got even
hotter in the second quarter, with Collegiate taking a 33-26 lead into
the half.

In
the third quarter, Meadowbrook started to close the gap, shrinking the
lead to 5 (43-38) going into the fourth period. The Monarchs came out
firing in the fourth and grabbed the lead, but Collegiate came back and
retook the lead. The flow seesawed back and forth, but Collegiate
prevailed and ended Meadowbrook�??s dreams of a tournament championship
three-peat.

Cole Hawthorne led the Cougars with 18 points. Also scoring for Collegiate were Zach Jung (9 points), Jimmy Wiltshire (8), Russell Wilson (7), Jake McGee (7), Scott Pickett (4), and Rob Gorrell (3).

Justin Harper led the Monarchs and all players with 20 points. Paul Finn, Jr. was right behind with 18 points. Also scoring for the Monarchs were Michael Williams (8 points), Ahmad Bizzell (4), Kwame Davis (4), and Brandian Ross (2).

The Cougars will meet Highland Springs in the second round, while Meadowbrook will go up against Douglas Freeman.

Highland Springs 62, Douglas Freeman 54: Springers Take Care of Rebels

The
highly regarded Highland Springs Springers took care of the Douglas
Freeman Rebels in first round Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament
action on Thursday thanks, in part, to the Springers�?? three point
shooting in the first half. Douglas Freeman came back to challenge the
Springers in the final period, but just ran out of gas.

Both
teams shot a barrage of early three pointers, with Highland Springs
taking the early lead, 22-16. The Springers opened up the game a little
in the second quarter, building a 10 point lead by halftime, 36-26.

Highland
Springs looked to have put the game away in the third quarter and
headed into the final period with a 51-36 lead. However, Freeman was
not done. The Rebels staged an 11-0 run to close to 51-47. But,
Freeman�??s shooters then went cold and Highland Springs held on for the
win.

Highland Springs�?? Jamar Abrams was the game�??s top scorer, finishing with 23 points. Jay Threatt (14 points) and Brandon Rozzell (11) also were in double digits for the Springers. Tony Purnell (9), Harvey Mills (3), and Chris Hilliard (2) contributed scoring to the win.

Jake Eastman led the Rebels with 20 points. Freeman received balanced scoring from six other Rebels, including Omari Vaughan-Nelson (9 points), Tommy Barila (6), Ahyaro Phillips (6 points), Kip Robson (6 points), Garrett Harvey (5 points), and Rob Love (2 points).

Highland Springs will meet up with Collegiate in second round action on Friday, while Freeman will face Meadowbrook.

L. C. Bird 65, Trinity Episcopal 47: Skyhawks Coast After First Quarter

Rico Ferguson and Jordan Brown each scored 11 points in the first quarter to pace L. C. Bird past Trinity in the first round of the Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament on Thursday on the way to a 65-47 win.

The
Skyhawks flew through the first quarter, taking a 26-8 lead. They then
proceeded to coast the rest of the game, leading 41-24 at halftime, and
53-34 after three quarters.

Brown led all scorers with 24 points and Ferguson followed with 17 points. K. J. Trent (9 points), Travis Keeis (7), Kendrick McClary (5), and Everett Jasper (3) also helped L. C. Bird in the scoring.

Corey Pegram led scoring for Trinity with 14 points. Also in double figures for the Titans were Jabez Wallace with 13 points until he fouled out in the fourth quarter, and Drew Lawson who had 11 points. Austin Chillemi (4 points), Gummi Kristjannson (3), and Alex Eschenroeder (2) also scored for Trinity.

Tournament favorite Benedictine is up next for L. C. Bird in the second round on Friday, and Trinity will face Varina.

Benedictine 88, Varina 34: Cadets Trounce Blue Devils

Benedictine
showed on Thursday why it is favored to win the 2006 Times-Dispatch
Invitational Tournament by destroying the Varina Blue Devils, 88-34, in
the tournament�??s opening round.

The
Cadets made clear in the first period that they mean business,
controlling both ends of the court and taking a 24-4 lead. The second
quarter saw more of the same. Varina�??s frustration showed up in the
period when an intentional foul was called on Andre Branch. Benedictine went into the half up 46-17.

The third quarter was even wilder as Blue Devil DeMarcus King
was ejected after a double technical foul. Benedictine continued to
open its lead, and was ahead 73-28 at the end of the quarter.

Even when substituting freely in the fourth quarter, Benedictine continued to dominate and won the game going away.

Benedictine scoring was led by Ed Davis, with 19 points. Daniel Heppert (13 points), Bradford Burgess (11), Liki Turner (11), and Kevin Estes (10) also scored in double figures for the Cadets.

King led Varina with 11 points. Several other Blue Devils contributed to the scoring including DeAntre Rhoades (9 points), Marell Evans (8), Andre Branch (5), Norris Gaskins (3), Peyton Martin (2), Rocky Patterson (2), Tony West (2), and Kevin Martin (1).