TIMES-DISPATCH INVITAITONAL TOURNAMENT: L. C. Bird and Benedictine Claim Championships

The Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament
wrapped up on Saturday with several great games that weren�??t decided
until the closing seconds. Benedictine claimed the boys championship in
a hard fought battle with Highland Springs. In the girls championship
game, L. C. Bird defeated Atlee.

Boys Championship Game �?? Benedictine 56, Highland Springs 54 �?? Springers�?? Rally Falls Just Short

Down
19-10 after the first quarter of the Times-Dispatch Invitational
Tournament boys championship game Saturday night, the Highland Spring
Springers�?? fought all the way back, only to see Benedictine�??s Bradford Burgess win the game, 56-54, on free throws in the final seconds.

Kevin Estes
paced Benedictine in the first quarter as the Cadets jumped out to a
19-10 lead. Highland Springs responded in the second quarter by holding
Benedictine to just 6 points and by cutting the deficit to 3. The teams
went into halftime with Benedictine ahead, 25-22.

Benedictine
kept its lead in the third quarter with the score standing at 40-36 as
the teams went into the final period. In the final period, Highland
Springs finally tied up the game, 54-54, with less than a minute left.
But on Benedictine�??s ensuing possession, Burgess was fouled near the
three point line with 6 seconds remaining. After Burgess made both of
his free throws, Springer Jay Threatt�??s last chance three point attempt fell just short.

Benedictine was led by Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament MVP Estes, who had 18 points. Benedictine�??s Ed Davis also scored in double figures (12 points). Also scoring for the Cadets were Joey Cantafio (9), Burgess (5), Daniel Heppert (5), Liki Turner (4), Jeff Gill (2), and Wayne Whiting (1).

The Springers were led by Threatt, who had 16 points. Also in double figures were Jamar Abrams and Brandon Rozzell, each with 14 points. Also scoring were Tony Purnell (5), Harvey Mills (3), and Omar Briggs (2).

Boys Third Place Game �?? Collegiate 50, L. C. Bird 49 �?? Hawthorne�??s Fourth Quarter Heroics Bring Cougars Back Against Skyhawks

Cole Hawthorne
scored 11 fourth quarter points to bring Collegiate came back from a 12
point halftime deficit against L. C. Bird to win the third place game
in the Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament on Saturday, 50-49.

L.
C. Bird was dominant early and built a 14-8 first quarter lead. The
Skyhawks continued their dominance in the second quarter and were up
27-15 at halftime.

After
the half, the tables were turned. The Cougars were determined as they
cut the deficit in half, to six, going into the fourth quarter,
trailing 39-33. In the fourth, Collegiate kept up the pressure. Hawthorne�??s
heroics were especially important as he hit two 3-pointers in the final
30 seconds �?? the second one was the game winner with 2.6 seconds left
on the clock.

Hawthorne led the Cougars with 14 points, all of which came in the second half. Teammate Jimmy Wiltshire also was in double digits with 11. Other Collegiate scorers were Zach Jung (9 points), Russell Wilson (6), Scott Pickett (5), Gray Fain (3), and Jake McGee (2).

The Skyhawks were led by Travis Keeis, who had a game high 16 points. Other L. C. Bird players to score were Jordan Brown (9 points), Kendrick McClary (9), Rico Fugerson (6), Marvin Woodley (6), and K. J. Trent (2).

Boys Fifth Place Game �?? Douglas Freeman 54, Varina 40 �?? 16-0 Run Pushes Rebels Past Blue Devils

A
16-0 run in the second quarter gave the Douglas Freeman Rebels all the
lead they needed against the Varina Blue Devils in the fifth place game
of the Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament Saturday. Freeman won,
54-40.

The Blue Devils kept the game close in the first quarter, and trailed only 12-8 at the end of the period. Peyton Martin
hit a three-pointer for the Blue Devils near the beginning of the
second quarter to bring the score to 14-11. Unfortunately for Varina,
Martin�??s trey provided Varina�??s only points for the period. Freeman, in
the meantime, scored the next 16 points, unanswered. Freeman led at the
half, 30-11.

In
the third, the Blue Devils cut the deficit down to 15, at 39-24. But
Varina was unable to make much additional headway in the fourth and
Freeman held on for the win.

Freeman had another balanced scoring night. Omari Vaughan-Nelson led the Rebels with 12 points. Other Freeman players to score were Jake Eastman (8 points), Ahyaro Phillips (8), Kip Robson (7), Tommy Barila (4), Chapin George (3), Rob Love (3), Garrett Harvey (3), and Chris Moore (2).

The Blue Devils were led by Norris Gaskins, who had a game high 15 points. Other players to score were Chevon Davenport (5 points), Martin (5), Dallas Dowling (5), Marell Evans (2), DeAntre Rhoades (2), JaTon Carter (2), Andre Branch (2), and Tyler Smith (2).

Boys Seventh Place Game �?? Meadowbrook 65, Trinity Episcopal 48 �?? Monarchs Put Away Titans

The
Meadowbrook Monarchs outscored the Trinity Episcopal Titans in the
third quarter, 20-12, and took an easy 65-48 win in the seventh place
game of the Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament Saturday.

Meadowbrook
established its game early, allowing Trinity only 5 points in the first
quarter which ended with the Monarchs ahead 12-5. Trinity looked alive
in the second quarter, but was unable to narrow the gap. Meadowbrook
went into halftime with a 31-24 lead.

The
Monarchs applied their dominance in the third quarter to extend the
lead to 15, with the Monarchs ahead at the end of the quarter, 51-36.
Trinity mounted a brief rally, but the Monarchs soon were able to relax
the rest of the way to their victory.

Meadowbrook was led by Justin Harper who had 21 points. Paul Finn, Jr. was also in double figures, as he put in 19. Other Monarchs who scored were Ahmad Bizzell (9 points), Michael Williams (7), Doug Harrison (7), and Tirahn Thorpe (2).

Trinity�??s leading scorer was Drew Lawson, who poured in 19. Other scoring Titans were Jabez Wallace (9 points), Corey Pegram (6), Paul Franklin (5), Alex Eschenroeder (5), Austin Chillemi (3), and Gummi Kristjannson (2).

Boys Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament All-Tournament Team

Benedictine�??s 6�??7�?� forward/center senior, Kevin Estes, was named the Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament MVP.

Jake Eastman	Douglas Freeman
Kevin Estes (Tournament MVP)	Benedictine
Jamar Abrams	Highland Springs
Cole Hawthorne	Collegiate
Ed Davis	Benedictine

Girls Championship Game �?? L. C. Bird 60, Atlee 30 �?? L.C. Bird Doubles Up Atlee in Championship Game

In
a championship game that was supposed to go down to the wire, only one
team came to play �?? L. C. Bird. With a balanced scoring attack and a
tough defense, the Skyhawks dominated their opponent, the Atlee
Raiders, in all aspects of the game and won easily, 60-30, in the girls
championship game of the Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament
Saturday night.

Using
a 12-0 run in the first quarter, the Skyhawks jumped out to a 20-6
lead. The teams traded scores in the second period and Bird took a
31-17 lead into halftime.

In
the third quarter, Bird stressed defense again, held the Raiders to 8
points, and pushed the score to 46-25 by the end of the period. The
Skyhawks�?? dominance continued through the final period when they
outscored the Raiders 14-5 and cruised on to the championship.

L. C. Bird was led by senior standout Ebony Patterson, who scored 14 points. Also in double figures were Jalissa Taylor, Ruthanne Doherty, and Barbara Sitton, who each scored 12 points. Also scoring for the Skyhawks were Sarah Hill (6 points) and Chynna Burwell (4).

The Raiders were led by Richelle Price, who had 8 points. Also scoring for the Raiders were Brittany Hill (7 points), Michelle Gordon (5), Sydney Henderson (5), and Lindsey Martin (5).

Girls Third Place Game �?? Midlothian 46, Manchester 34 �?? Midlothian Takes Care of Business

The Midlothian girls basketball team took care of business Saturday when it came to winning on the court, as they beat Manchester, 46-34, in the third place game of the Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament.

After
getting out to a slow start, the Trojans began rolling and held the
lead after one quarter, 14-9. Only allowing the Lancers 4 points in the
second period, Midlothian extended its lead to 12 by halftime, 25-13.

After the break, Manchester worked to close the gap, bringing it down 9 after three quarters. Midlothian, however, controlled the rest of the game and secured the win.

Midlothian was led by Temperance Brantley, who had a game high 14 points. Rachel Mathews also scored in double digits (12 points) for the Trojans and Jermile Batten had 9. Brittany Harris (5), Brooke Leonard (4), and Meg Durcan (2) also scored for the Trojans.

The Lancers were led by Porche Bentley�??s 13 points. Also scoring for the Lancers were Abbey Hendricks (9 points), Julie Remmers (8), and Lauren Barnett (4).

Girls Fifth Place Game �?? Deep Run 45, John Marshall 36 �?? Deep Run Outlasts John Marshall

In
the fourth quarter of Saturday�??s fifth place game in the Times-Dispatch
Invitational Tournament, the Deep Run Wildcats opened up what had been
a close game with the John Marshall Lady Justices and won, 45-36.

The
Wildcats were hot early and jumped out front, 12-8, in the first
period. The Lady Justices stayed in the game, though, and were down by
just 3 at the half, 23-20.

John
Marshall cut the lead a little more in the third quarter and found
themselves down just by 2, at 28-26. However, in the last frame, the
Wildcats outscored the Justices, 17-10, to nail the win.

Brittney Grove led the way for the Wildcats with 14 points. Also in double figures were Amy Turner and Natalie Fergusson, each with 10 points. Others who scored for Deep Run were Pamela Champ (7 points) and Sarah Price (4).

The Lady Justices were led by Deja Middleton with 13 points. Sabrina Treakle also contributed in double figures, scoring 12. Other John Marshall players who scored were Shaneka Robichaux (6 points), Valentina Toogood (3), and Sierra Seaborne (2).

Girls Seventh Place Game �?? St. Catherine 45, Hanover 44 �?? Starnes�?? 3 at Buzzer Lifts Saints Past Hawks

Despite
(or maybe because of) being the game to determine the last two places
in the Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament, Saturday�??s St.
Catherine�??s-Hanover contest turned out to be a nail-biter. St.
Catherine�??s Emma Starnes hit a three pointer as time expired, and the Saints beat the Hanover Hawks in the seventh place game, 45-44.

The
first quarter showed what was to come as the Saints took a slight edge,
11-10. In the second quarter, the Hawks evened up the score and the
teams went into their locker rooms at halftime, 21-21.

In
the second half, the scoring picked up for both teams, but the score
remained close. The Saints regained the lead going into the fourth
quarter, 37-35, but in the fourth, the Hawks captured the lead and
built it to 4 at 43-39. Starnes then hit a 3-pointer to bring the
Saints within 1. After Deep Run�??s Tiquana Hill made 1
of 2 free throws, the Saints called a timeout to set up their last
play. Starnes rolled to the top of the key and easily made the buzzer
beater.

St. Catherine�??s Maggie Anderson led all scorers with 17 points before she fouled out. Starnes finished with 11. Other Saints to score included Eliza Blackwell (9 points), Liz Dunivan (4), McKenzie Jump (2), and Kate English (2).

Amanda Woolard led the Hawks with 14 points. Also scoring for Hanover were Chelsea Coward (7 points), Hill (7), Carolyn Mack (6), Kimberly Browning (4), Courtney Long (3), and Leigh Ledbetter (3).

Girls Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament All-Tournament Team

Times-Dispatch
Invitational Tournament champion L. C. Bird dominated the
All-Tournament Team designations with three Skyhawks getting the call,
including Tournament MVP, senior guard Ebony Patterson.